It was only a week ago when New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hollowly told CNN’s Chris “Fredo” Cuomo that he didn’t see Republicans as “enemies” (though he did see them as un-American whores putting a bullet in the country). Yet on Monday’s PrimeTime, Freidman found some new and colorful ways to smear the GOP, this time calling them “the biggest threat to our democracy since the Civil War.”
That certainly sounds like they’re his enemy, and the enemy of the people.
In introducing Friedman, Fredo again boasted about Friedman’s mind. “Let's bring in someone who can help us look at this in sharper focus because this is a critical moment and we need critical thinking,” he proclaimed. In reality, Friedman was about as sharp and dense as a mortar and pestle.
To kick off his deranged rambling, Friedman decided to compare the GOP to American soldiers stationed on the frontlines overseas and whine that they weren’t going to make the ultimate sacrifice (Click “expand”):
Well, Chris, you know, I keep thinking about this moment, and Trump is such a small man in such a big time. We are facing not only just a transition of power, but a transition of power in the middle of a pandemic. And all over the world, not only in America where Americans are looking to the government for help. Chris, all over the world, there are soldiers men and women on post right now in Syria, in Iraq, in Afghanistan ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
And these Republican senators and senior officials who are backing Trump in this ridiculous wild goose chase, they will not make the smallest sacrifice. These are people, Chris, who will not risk $174,000 in salary and free parking at national airport to stand up and say the right thing.
“It is not only shameful, this is actually, Chris, the biggest threat to our democracy since the Civil War,” he added. “It's all from within. Because we have a deeply, deeply disturbed party populated now by people who are day in and day out ready to put the interest of that party ahead of the nation and ahead of the constitution.”
Then, despite the fact Friedman was not a medical professional or scientist, Fredo asked him to comment on Pfizer’s newly announced coronavirus vaccine and how there would be unforeseen problems with the rollout. It’s also worth noting that Chris’s brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo promised to withhold the vaccine from his constituents.
Speaking on using the military to help distribute the vaccine, Freidman asserted that President Trump had “decapitated the secretary of Defense.” But back in reality, Mark Esper was fired by the President and he still had his head.
“And you know what's behind this man holding power. He knows, Chris, he is looking at humiliation, incarceration, and liquidation if he's out of power, and he is going to do everything he can to hold on. And that's not to mention the other clowns around him,” he proclaimed.
Friedman went on to bizarrely exclaim “Oh baby, I want to be there” when describing how Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would need to hail cabs in Washington D.C. in a couple of months.
“And that’s what they fear. They fear their perks, and they are ready to sell out this country in order to preserve their perks, their fantasies of running for president one day, and their need for the endorsement of this incredibly disturbed man who is our president,” he sneered.
These were people who were not well. This is CNN.
Friedman’s demented ramblings were made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Fidelity and Rocket Mortgage. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Cuomo PrimeTime
November 9, 2020
9:05:12 p.m. EasternCHRIS CUOMO: Let's bring in someone who can help us look at this in sharper focus because this is a critical moment and we need critical thinking. Tom Freidman, New York Times columnist, author of best seller Thank You for Being Late. Good to see you. How big a deal with it that they are trying to hamstring Biden from getting the briefings and allowing his team the transition help it needs?
TOM FRIEDMAN: Well, Chris, you know, I keep thinking about this moment, and Trump is such a small man in such a big time. We are facing not only just a transition of power, but a transition of power in the middle of a pandemic. And all over the world, not only in America where Americans are looking to the government for help. Chris, all over the world, there are soldiers men and woman on post right now in Syria, in Iraq, in Afghanistan ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
And these Republican senators and senior officials who are backing Trump in this ridiculous wild goose chase, they will not make the smallest sacrifice. These are people, Chris, who will not risk $174,000 in salary and free parking at national airport to stand up and say the right thing.
It is not only shameful, this is actually, Chris, the biggest threat to our democracy since the Civil War. It's all from within. Because we have a deeply, deeply disturbed party populated now by people who are day in and day out ready to put the interest of that party ahead of the nation and ahead of the constitution.
(…)
9:08:17 p.m. Eastern
CUOMO: And the idea that we're good, Tom. We're good. That's it. We're going to be able to go back to normal life, what's being missed?
FRIEDMAN: Well, what’s being missed is – um – you know, this is just the inoculation process, Chris. It is a two stage process. You’ll need to have two injections several weeks apart and then there will be a period before, you know, the full immunity kicks in. And then in terms of the number, to distribute this vaccine requires extremely cold temperatures. You know, to be able to do this and maintain the vaccine and the cold chain.
That's just something you want. You want to enlist the U.S. military for that. What did we do today? The President just decapitated the secretary of Defense. Because why? Because that secretary of Defense wouldn't put Trump's interests ahead of the constitution. People need to stop and think how crazy that is!
We just fired the secretary of Defense because he wouldn't go to a church with Trump, move away crowds so Trump could hold a bible upside down to advance his campaign in the middle of a pandemic? Folks, do you realize how crazy that is?
And you know what's behind this man holding power. He knows, Chris, he is looking at humiliation, incarceration, and liquidation if he's out of power, and he is going to do everything he can to hold on. And that's not to mention the other clowns around him.
CUOMO: Right. That's the real risk here. Trump is what he is, period.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah.
CUOMO: But McConnell, Cruz, Rubio, a lot of big shots in that party now and in the future are saying, “hey, hold on, he may have something here.”
FRIEDMAN: Of course, as you noted, this is all court cases looking for evidence, not evidence demanding court cases. And every one of those guys in the administration who don't speak up, Barr Pompeo.
Oh Chris, I want to be there. Remember what Jimmy Baker said? How do you know you're out of power in Washington? When your limousine is yellow and your driver speaks Farsi. Oh baby, I want to be there! I want to be there and watch Barr and Pompeo having to hail a cab. And that’s what they fear. They fear their perks, and they are ready to sell out this country in order to preserve their perks, their fantasies of running for president one day and their need for the endorsement of this incredibly disturbed man who is our president.
(…)
