CNN’s Chris Cuomo said Thursday that calling a reporter a purveyor of “fake news” is the same as using a racial slur.
While hosting CNN’s “New Day,” Cuomo read aloud a tweet from President Trump accusing Cuomo of failing to ask Sen. Richard Blumenthal about his military record, then proceeded to throw a fit.
Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
Cuomo had in fact asked Blumenthal about his military record, and played the clip of the interview to prove it.
Chris Cuomo responds to President Donald Trump's tweet about him: "The President … is once again off on the facts" https://t.co/tReOdUwP7y
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 9, 2017
Blumenthal avoided answering Cuomo’s question. Instead, he talked about comments made by Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
“Literally the first point that I made in the interview,” Cuomo said. “The president, with all due respect, is once again off on the facts. That’s not something that any of us have any desire to say on a regular basis, but it keeps being true.”
“‘Fake News’ is the worst thing that you could call a journalist,” Cuomo said. “It’s like an ethnic disparagement. We all have these ugly words for people, and that’s the one for journalists.”
