CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour apologized on air after comparing President Trump’s four years in office to the Nazis’ Kristallnacht purge of the Jewish people in 1938.
She made the ill-advised comparison last week during a segment on her CNN International show commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the pogrom.
“This week 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened,” Amanpour opened the segment. “It was the Nazis’ warning shot across the bow of our human civilization that led to genocide against a whole identity.”
“And in that tower of burning books, it led to an attack on fact, knowledge, history and truth,” she continued.
“After four years of a modern-day assault on those same values by Donald Trump, the Biden/Harris team pledges a return to norms, including the truth.”
A glimpse of what so many of the people who control large corporations,the media and Hollywood really think. That the over 72 million Americans who voted for Trump are supporters of the modern day equivalent of Nazi’s. pic.twitter.com/tAPI75PabD
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2020
Christiane Amanpour Apologizes For Comparing Trump to Nazis
Amichai Stein, a correspondent for the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, reported that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had demanded an apology from Amanpour.
“The comparison between Kristallnacht and Trump’s actions are unacceptable and an apology is required,” the MFA was quoted as saying.
Scoop: After CNN’s senior presenter Christiane Amanpour compares Kristallnacht to the 4 years of Trump admin, the Israeli MFA has sent a letter to CNN demanding an apology: “The comparison between Kristallnacht and Trump’s actions are unacceptable and an apology is required.”
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) November 16, 2020
Diaspora Affairs Minister Omer Yankelevitch slammed the network over the comments.
“Using the memory of the Holocaust for cheap headlines or a political agenda is concerning and distorts the historical and moral truth,” Yankelevitch said.
“Using the memory of the Holocaust for cheap headlines or a political agenda is concerning and distorts the historical and moral truth.” @CNNhttps://t.co/osVohQTX1w
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) November 16, 2020
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Amanpour’s Apology For Comparing Trump’s Hyperbole to Kristallnacht
On her Monday broadcast, Amanpour issued the apology.
“I observed the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, as I often do,” she began. “It is the event that began the horrors of the Holocaust. I also noted President Trump’s attacks on history, facts, knowledge and truth.”
“I should not have juxtaposed the two thoughts. Hitler and his evils stand alone, of course, in history,” Amanpour lamented. “I regret any pain my statement may have caused.”
A relatively rare occurrence: an apology for comparing Trump to Nazis. From @Jerusalem_Post ‘CNN’s Amanpour apologizes for comparing Trump era to Kristallnacht.’ https://t.co/jCPyI50m9N
— Byron York (@ByronYork) November 17, 2020
In 2015, Amanpour made headlines during a “Breaking News” segment on CNN with another ill-advised reference, calling Islamic extremists who murdered the 12 journalists at Charlie Hebdo “activists.”
