‘R’ is for... Democrat? CNN labels Virginia governor ‘Republican’ in segment on KKK photo
A Democrat with a racist past? That fact might be too far from the mainstream line for CNN, so they labeled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam a ‘Republican’ when reporting on his apology for a past racist photo.
Northam is under pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to resign after admitting that he is one of two men that appeared in an old photograph, one in blackface and the other dressed in a KKK robe.
He apologized for the photo, unearthed from a 1984 school yearbook this week, saying that it did not reflect the person he is today, and promised to work to regain the public’s trust, but did not indicate any intention to leave office.
When the story was covered on Anderson Cooper’s show on CNN Friday night, the governor’s name was labeled with the letter ‘R’ – which stands for ‘Republican’.
CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°" falsely claims that Virginia Democrat Governor Ralph Northam is a member of the Republican PartyWatch the Chyron at the bottom as they show the video of Northam.CNN identifies him as "Gov. Ralph Northam (R) Virginia" pic.twitter.com/3pMUNUlIJG
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) 2 февраля 2019 г.
The network, which has been in bitter conflict with President Donald Trump – who often refers to CNN as ‘fake news’ – apologized for the mistake after being torched on social media.
Virginia governor apologizes for ‘racist and offensive’ costume in photo showing people in blackface, KKK garb.A previous tweet had a video misidentifying Gov. Northam’s party affiliation, it has been removed and the video has been corrected https://t.co/Us56lyz1tUpic.twitter.com/OvqnPvngrL
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) 2 февраля 2019 г.
Your chyron which your network takes great pride in being snarky with the other side of the aisle called him a Republican and this is the only statement from anyone at CNN or CNNPR as to why. https://t.co/UQKvpeyFjP
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) 2 февраля 2019 г.
Aaaaaaand CNN identified Ralph Northam as a Republican... Yet they still can't figure out why people call them #FakeNews. https://t.co/ToLKwIVF7n
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) 2 февраля 2019 г.
The photo of Northam was first published by conservative news outlet Big League Politics, but was soon authenticated by the Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, the state’s largest daily newspaper.
Northam won a tight gubernatorial race in 2017 over Republican contender Ed Gillespie, who he accused of racism and bigotry for supporting Trump’s immigration reform agenda.
Now that the old picture has surfaced, several journalists wondered how the mainstream media had not dug up the image earlier, given all the attention they dedicated to the Virginia election, and Gillespie’s campaign, when it came to doing opposition research.
If you want an idea of how well the media vets Democrat candidates, Ralph Northam supports infanticide and dressed like a Klan member and we're just now hearing about it
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) 1 февраля 2019 г.
Past actions conveying racism typically cost public officials their jobs. Just last week, Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel, a Republican, resigned in disgrace after photos of him mocking Hurricane Katrina survivors by wearing blackface and drag in 2005 were posted online.
A Republican county official in Pennsylvania, Carla Maloney, resigned last year due to past social media posts in which she compared kneeling NFL players to “baboons.”
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