Cable news pundits were not satisfied with the answers given by Attorney General William Barr at his press conference on the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian collusion Thursday morning. As Barr once again confirmed that there was no collusion by the Trump campaign, members of the mainstream media desperately clung to their long-held conspiracy theories.
Here are some of the most hilarious meltdowns that happened on social media and live television.
Over on MSNBC, Neal Katyal said Barr, “sounded like a spokesperson [for Trump], not an attorney general.”
The Cut was disturbed by Rod Rosenstein’s lack of body movement.
The haunting image of Rod Rosenstein’s overall stillness was a sight to behold https://t.co/1iCBWxEWv8 #MuellerReport
— The Cut (@TheCut) April 18, 2019
Ken Dilanian agreed.
Rod Rosenstein does not look like a man at peace.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) April 18, 2019
CNN even brought out their super panel!
CNN has 8 people talking about this & they all vehemently agree with one another on every last thing. This has been a major part of the problem from the start. All humans are more likely to err or worse if they are insulated from challenge or dissent. It’s inherently corrupting: pic.twitter.com/6U5aZqzgPn
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 18, 2019
One after another, MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace shared a treasure trove of excuses, including that Mueller did not get to investigate “Trump’s state of mind,” and that Barr is acting as Trump’s “defense attorney.”
.@NicolleDWallace: “We know it wasn’t a criminal conspiracy with the Russians, but then what was it? Because Robert Mueller spent 22 months looking at it, and if there was nothing, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have taken 22 months to say nothing.” pic.twitter.com/UfP9CzDuhN
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) April 18, 2019
.@bwilliams: Barr is fine with his legacy being “the AG who took one for the team.”@NicolleDWallace: Barr’s use of “no collusion” was political message and repeating is proof of that claim being on “shaky ground.” Finishes by calling him “Bob Barr.” pic.twitter.com/3hVOKPVSRW
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) April 18, 2019
Eventually, Wallace stopped even trying to make coherent excuses and started attacking Trump in a way that played exactly into the “This is not normal” trope.
https://twitter.com/DavidRutz/status/1118892041709158402
CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin doubled down on the “Trump isn’t acting like an innocent man” theory.
Happy people don't obstruct justice. Trump's frustration at leaks and investigation are evidence of guilt, not innocence. But let's see the report . .
— Jeffrey Toobin (@JeffreyToobin) April 18, 2019
JuddLegum (rhymes with "bubblegum") composed the phrase "innocent people don't need memes" and then looked at it and said "yup. I'm tweeting that." pic.twitter.com/1aUDp3G1Rl
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) April 18, 2019
Obama Bro Tommy Vietor thinks he’s witty.
https://twitter.com/TVietor08/status/1118871915592994817
Another Pod Bro presented his truther explanation despite all contradicting evidence.
1. Russia interfered
2. They did it to help Trump
3. Trump wanted their help
4. Trump's campaign met with the Russians to seek out that help
5. Trump and his campaign repeatedly lied about those contacts
6. Trump fired the FBI Director to stop an investigation into the matter— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) April 18, 2019
Maybe Trump didn’t commit a crime but he must have still cheated to win the 2016 election in which millions of Americans voted for him, another Obama Bro asserts.
https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1118879693560668160
More attacks on Barr because he didn’t give the news the media wanted:
Chuck Rosenberg says he once believed AG Barr was a "principled institutionalist," but “he is not what I thought him to be … Barr has gone too far into the tank for the president of the United States.” https://t.co/aFJMPfrmgA
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 18, 2019
Barr is now issuing what amounts to a White House press release. Even if these are his heartfelt views, this will be seen as deeply inappropriate. The point of Mueller was that he wasn’t hired by Trump.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) April 18, 2019
What kind of language is that for an AG to use about the subject of an investigation? Imagine if Comey had spoken that way about Clinton? Instead, he just said there was no case. https://t.co/DSPqssfWzH
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) April 18, 2019
Good job, everyone! Way to keep a level head.
