We've been chronicling Audie Cornish's adventures as host of CNN This Morning ever since she took over the post just shy of one year ago.
There was never a doubt that Audie leaned left. After all, before joining CNN, Cornish co-hosted NPR's All Things Considered for ten years. You don't get that gig unless your lefty credentials have been conclusively established.
But Audie's affect has always been more temperate than that of other liberal media hosts. See and compare with the hard-edged Nicolle Wallace, the screaming Joe Scarborough -- and don't even get us started on Joy Reid!
But there was apparently something about the video posted by President Trump's Truth Social account that depicted Barack and Michelle as apes that pushed Cornish over the edge. Audie would not normally express her liberal opinions outright. Instead, she would do so with a subtle suggestion, a loaded question, and by stocking her panels with a disproportionate representation of liberals. On those occasions when a conservative is permitted to appear, he or she is sure to be outnumbered by people on the left.
But today, Cornish adopted a tougher tone.
She twice flat-out accused Trump of "racism," and accused his administration of promoting "white supremacist ideology."
She refused to grant Trump any grace for having deleted the video in question: "You don't get points for not apologizing and saying someone else did it."
And, reacting with surprise to the fact that some Republicans had criticized Trump over the video, Cornish took a nasty little shot at the only black Republican senator:
"I was surprised, honestly, to see the Republican [inaudible.] I did not know they had a line. So we found it somehow. Even Tim Scott found his way to this line."
"Even" Tim Scott?
Speaking of Cornish's surprise at Republicans finding a line that Trump crossed that was too much for them:
Despite the glaring evidence of his incapacity, Biden never crossed a line with Democrats or the liberal media--all devoted members of the "Biden is just fine" cult--until the utter debate fiasco of "we finally beat Medicare."
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
2/9/26
6:25 am ETAUDIE CORNISH: President Trump refusing to apologize for a racist post on his Truth Social account depicting the Obamas as apes, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling out his racism.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud and the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is. Then I gave it to the people, so generally they'd look at the whole thing, but I guess somebody didn't.
REPORTER: President, a number of Republicans are calling on you to apologize for that post. Is that something you're going to do?
TRUMP: No, I didn't make a mistake.
CORNISH: Racism against the Obamas has been a longtime preoccupation with Trump. He launched his political career by questioning former President Obama's U.S. citizenship. This recent post was just the latest instance, however, of white supremacist ideology that's been amplified by the administration.
Joining us now in the group chat this morning, Zach Wolf, CNN senior politics writer, Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for USA Today, and Catherine Lucey, Bloomberg News White House correspondent.
So. the reason why I wanted to do this is because I keep seeing percolating online images that then people who are experts in this will say, hey, that looks strangely familiar.
So the last one I noticed was Kristi Noem. And I don't know if we have that image. But we also have Homeland Security is like a really big proponent of this as well, using phrases like One Homeland, One People. Can you talk about why? Oh, here's some of them. Can you talk about why you think we are seeing these comments and amplification and retweeting? What are they getting out of it?
ZACH WOLF: Well, those are very, those are very specific things that were done on purpose when you look at those Homeland Security, the ICE recruitment videos. So it's hard to deny that they are, at least, trying to appeal to this segment of society, the white nationalist segment of society.
If you add on to that something like President Trump's Truth Social post, which has something that's so obviously racist that even he deleted it, which I think is the real interesting thing here, it's hard to not, kind of add those things up and see that this administration is certainly trying to appeal to these people.
CATHERINE LACEY: And I do think, as Zach said, it is notable that they took this post down. He didn't apologize. But we rarely see any kind of retreat from this White House on any of these social media posts. You have the different kinds that you're talking about.
CORNISH: Isn't that the soft bigotry of low expectations?
LACEY: That is.
CORNISH: That's my soft bigotry.
LACEY: That is what we are getting on this.
CORNISH: You don't get points for not apologizing and saying someone else did it.
. . .
WOLF: The anti-wokeness element is still very much driving so much of what this president does.
CORNISH: But it seems like there's a red line even for the anti-woke, or else these Republicans wouldn't have been calling.
WOLF: Sure, and this is the thing that got those Republican lawmakers you mentioned frustrated and had them call out the president. But he has also referred to Somalis as garbage, and he didn't retreat from that at all. I mean, that's a patently horrible thing to do. And so the line, there is a line we have identified now, but --
CORNISH: Which I was surprised, honestly, to see the Republican [inaudible.] I did not know they had a line. So we found it somehow. Even Tim Scott found his way to this line.
