As part of First Lady Melania Trump’s Be Best anti-bullying campaign, she invited Wilmington, Delaware 6th grader Joshua Trump to be one of the guests at Tuesday’s State of the Union. By now you probably figured out that while he shared no relation with the President, Joshua was bullied because they share the same last name. But that gesture rubbed CNN hosts Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon the wrong way during Monday’s Prime Time.
“I hate bullies, you hate bullies. You got to feel for this kid. My concern, though, about tomorrow night is that he's going to be used as a political pawn,” Cuomo speculated. “That of all the different kinds of bullying that goes on, they're highlighting somebody giving Trump a hard time.”
Despite claiming he thought it was a “good thing that she invited him”, Lemon also suggested Joshua was going to be used as a “political pawn”. “…You know, I don't know. I hope that they're not using it for political expediency,” he sighed.
Cuomo then seemed to take a shot at Joshua’s parents for allowing him to be a guest of the White House:
No, I'm just worried the – I’m worried about the kid because he's got enough trouble, you know? His family is letting him go out there, hopefully, to empower him, give him some confidence in himself. And now if he becomes representative of the President you don't want to put that on somebody, let alone this kid.
“That's where I was going,” Lemon agreed. “If they really don't want to draw attention to his last name and keep him from being bullied, maybe it's not the best thing for him to go to the State of the Union and get all of this press.”
In a transition to taking shots at President Trump, Cuomo mocked Melania for being in a “bind” with her anti-bullying campaign. “The problem is she's married to one,” he spat to Lemon’s laughter. “You know, I mean he’s bullied in this office the way we've never seen. The bully pulpit is one thing. Teddy Roosevelt never meant it the way this President executes it.”
These two are ones to talk when it comes to bullying since they’re basically CNN’s resident Mean Girls. NewsBusters has an extensive catalog of the vial things they spewed at people on the right. Just last week, the duo argued in favor of allowing businesses to ban people who wear MAGA hats and justified showing prejudice against people who wear them.
Bullies are known to get violent and Cuomo has promoted violence on more than one occasion. Last year, he justified violence by the radical Antifa because they had “morality” on their side. This year, he bragged about how he would knock someone out who said something mean to Lemon. He had also lectured conservatives about what it means to be pro-life, but no current mention of his brother’s ghoulish abortion bill in New York though.
Where to begin with Lemon and his hatred for Trump supporters? Last year, he described them as “people who will lie, steal, and cheat, lie to their mother.” He also attacked Kanye West and asserted he was mentally ill for putting on “a minstrel show him in front of all these white people” in the Oval Office.
The two have also teamed up to mock prayer and gun rights activists. They’ve even stooped to the bullying tactic of mocking people’s looks, like the “puppy dog puss” of Fox News Host Tucker Carlson, and President Trump. And, of course, they just think all Trump supporters are racist.
Unironically, Cuomo suggested that it was President Trump who could learn from Joshua. “And maybe he'll see the error of his ways, and he'll stop calling people names and making fun of them because this kid knows how it feels firsthand to be bullied, and maybe the President can learn from that.” This is CNN.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time
February 4, 2019
9:48:12 p.m. EasternCHRIS CUOMO: Big night tomorrow night: State of the Union. The guests that will sit with the First Lady include a 6th grader from Delaware who has been bullied. Now—By now, we all know about the scourge of bullying. Somewhere between a third and a quarter of kids in America say they have been bullied at school. Trump's own Health and Human Services identifies being gay or disabled as those most at risk.
The First Lady, though has made bullying a cause as you know. So the person she’s inviting is Joshua Trump, 6th grader, being bullied at school because of his last name, Trump. No relation.
Let's bring in D. Lemon. I hate bullies, you hate bullies. You got to feel for this kid. My concern, though, about tomorrow night is that he's going to be used as a political pawn. That of all the different kinds of bullying that goes on, they're highlighting somebody giving Trump a hard time.
DON LEMON: Yeah well, the first lady invited him. And I have to -- I think it's a good thing that she invited him. I think you'll agree with that. And, listen my last name is Lemon, Chris. Come on. You think-- I got it in elementary school, junior high school, high school, and then I just kind of made it work for me. I still get it now, you know? So I understand it. And no one likes to be bullied and I say, good on the first lady for inviting him. But I also see the political pawn thing, you know, I don't know. I hope that they're not using it for political expediency.
CUOMO: No, I'm just worried the – I’m worried about the kid because he's got enough trouble, you know? His family is letting him go out there, hopefully, to empower him, give him some confidence in himself. And now if he becomes representative of the President you don't want to put that on somebody, let alone this kid.
LEMON: That's where I was going. If they really don't want to draw attention to his last name and keep him from being bullied, maybe it's not the best thing for him to go to the State of the Union and get all of this press. I don’t know, the parents can decide that. But, I think that if they didn’t want to, maybe they shouldn’t go. But, I think it's a good thing that the First Lady invited him and let's hope it all works out for good for this kid. He's a sixth grader, right?
CUOMO: Look, she's in a jam. She wants to address something that needs to be addressed. The problem is she's married to one. [Lemon laughs] You know, I mean he’s bullied in this office the way we've never seen. Bully pulpit is one thing. Teddy Roosevelt never meant it the way this president executes it.
LEMON: The lesson- - The Lesson -- If there's a lesson in this for anyone, it's beyond the kid. It's for this President. Maybe this President has something to learn from a 12-year-old sixth grader.
CUOMO: Yeah, and look --
LEMON: And maybe he'll see the error of his ways, and he'll stop calling people names and making fun of them because this kid knows how it feels firsthand to be bullied, and maybe the President can learn from that.
CUOMO: True. True. I think a more reasonable hope is the kids who are giving this kid a hard time now recognize that, boy, this is amazing that he got recognized, and he got to go there, and let's give him a break, and let’s worry about ourselves and be better to others.
LEMON: I hope so. The internet is a terrible place. And so, sometimes kids can be really, really cruel. As you know, you have three young ones, three of them.
