During Tuesday’s Cuomo Prime Time, host Chris Cuomo claimed that the Republican message for the midterms was “fear and loathing.” He accused Republicans of trying to “create a farce that (the migrants) are an invading force filled with dealers and murderers, whip up as much xenophobia and conflict as he can.”
He also slammed the President for calling the media “the enemy of the people,” adding “that is a phrase propagated by Stalin, used by Hitler.” Cuomo also recycled the tired talking points about how awful it was that President Trump called himself a nationalist and referred to Fox News as “state TV.”
According to Cuomo, his idea of a “midterm hate campaign” was “so obviously true” that “even state TV had this banner.” Cuomo put up a screenshot of a chyron on Fox News reading “Democrats emphasize healthcare & the economy, GOP ramps up culture wars for the midterms.”
Cuomo, who has borrowed phrases from commercials he's watched, admitted that he took the phrase “fear and loathing” from the Hunter S. Thompson book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. Cuomo used the phrase “savage journey” as he delivered a mini-monologue about the President’s immigration policies:
We are on a savage journey, and it is a battle for the heart of the American dream. Or, more directly, will the dream have any heart anymore? Will there be new Colossus? Will there be lady with the lamp? Is the Statue of Liberty going to be painted gold and called the last line of defense? And will the torch become an AR-15 because it’s all about demonizing and keeping people out and force? Illegal entrants and legal? More Norway, less ways like the ones that his wife, the President’s wife and in-laws used? Imagine how they feel with that talk.
Cuomo then turned the discussion to how the President’s “M.O. is spreading,” pointing to an ad by Virginia Republican Senatorial candidate Corey Stewart describing the Democratic Party as “an unhinged angry mob of thugs” that also said: “They allow criminal illegal aliens to assault our daughters, murder our sons and deal drugs.” Stewart warned that “if Tim Kaine wins and the Democrats take the Senate, it will get worse, much worse.”
Cuomo concluded by holding up Stewart’s ad as an example of how President Trump is “molding the GOP in his image” and “daring Republicans who don’t believe in all this jingoism and hateful talk to vote for someone else or not at all.”
The far-left CNN host argued that “President Trump is betting they are not” before adding: “One week from today, we will see if he made the right bet.” It seems like the media have made a bet of their own, where they hope the barrage of negative coverage of President Trump and the GOP that they have provided will lead to a “blue wave.” To paraphrase Cuomo, “we will see if they made the right bet.”
A transcript of the relevant portion of Tuesday’s Cuomo Prime Time is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Cuomo Prime Time
10/30/18
09:55 PM
CHRIS CUOMO: Help me understand. Why are Trump folk fighting the idea that their campaign message for the midterms is fear and loathing? It’s the truth. Identify enemies threatening to create more “carnage,” as Trump put it in his inaugural speech, then demonize, like with the migrants, create a farce that they are an invading force filled with dealers and murderers, whip up as much xenophobia and conflict as he can. Democrats are evil. Media is the enemy of the people. And, again, that is a phrase propagated by Stalin, used by Hitler. The President says he’s a nationalist. Again, we know where this comes from, and it’s painful, especially to the ears of those who fled and fought the Nazis like the 11 Jewish people massacred this past weekend. Trump was there in Pittsburgh today. He did the right thing. He showed respect. But he was shown some disrespect precisely for this kind of talk. And apparently, he is okay with all of it. It’s so obviously true, this midterm hate campaign, that even state TV had this banner. Look at it. I did not make this up. “Democrats emphasize health care and the economy, GOP ramps up culture wars for the midterms.” You can’t make it up. It’s so obvious that even they say it. I call it fear and loathing because it is. Now, the full title of the book that I’m borrowing that phrase from is the famous Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. And that part may apply just as much. We are on a savage journey, and it is a battle for the heart of the American dream. Or, more directly, will the dream have any heart anymore? Will there be new Colossus? Will there be lady with the lamp? Is the Statue of Liberty going to be painted gold and called the last line of defense? And will the torch become an AR-15 because it’s all about demonizing and keeping people out and force? Illegal entrants and legal? More Norway, less ways like the ones that his wife, the President’s wife and in-laws used? Imagine how they feel with that talk. And the most objectionable part may be why he’s doing this. The President is doing this not out of some deep, profound conviction. It’s because he thinks it sells. It’s all about the sell. That’s why he hated the bombings, not because of what it said about his rhetoric or the risks to the people they were sent to. He never even reached out to the former Presidents who were targeted. His M.O. is spreading. That’s more proof. Trump’s choice for U.S. Senator in Virginia is a guy we tested here on this show and exposed him as someone who is way too close to people who are way too bigoted. And he fought it, kind of, and then put out this ad.
COREY STEWART: They allow criminal illegal aliens to assault our daughters, murder our sons, and deal drugs. The Democratic Party of today is an unhinged angry mob of thugs, and Tim Kaine tells them to fight in the streets and get in people’s faces. And if Tim Kaine wins and the Democrats take control of the Senate, it will get worse, much worse. I’m Corey Stewart, Republican for Senate.
CUOMO: Somebody’s face says thug, it’s got to be Tim Kaine. Obviously I’m kidding, but that’s the nature of it. It’s so brazen. It’s so obvious. And then there’s another ad. I almost didn’t show you this one because it gets my trump up, and I think we should be turning down the hostility. But you need to know what is being done out there in the name of democracy. So after the synagogue massacre, after it, this ad from Republican Ed Charamut, who is running for State Senate in Connecticut, shows in mailboxes, depicts his Jewish opponent, Democratic State Rep. Matthew Lesser, holding a fist full of money. Look at his face. Look at the expression on his face. This is what Trump is encouraging. This is how he is molding the GOP in his image, and that party seems to be sitting by, scared, or joining in. This is a far cry from where that party ever was, and they are basically daring Republicans who don’t believe in all this jingoism and hateful talk to vote for someone else or not at all. And Trump is betting they will not. One week from today, we will see if he made the right bet. Thank you for watching. CNN Tonight With Don Lemon starts right now.
