CNN anchor Chris Cuomo defended the domestic terrorist group Antifa, claiming their “good cause” is not comparable to that of neo-Nazis or white nationalists.
In other words, he made the argument that there are some ‘fine people‘ amongst a group known for perpetuating violent acts to push their political cause.
The issue came to a head during a Monday evening interview with panelists Steve Cortes and Rob Astorino, the latter being a former gubernatorial opponent of Cuomo’s brother in New York.
Cortes began by comparing the left-wing agitators to modern day “brown shirts,” to which Cuomo instantly leaped to their defense.
Defending Antifa
“You can talk about Antifa. I’ve watched them in streets protesting in different situations, okay?” Cuomo shot back. “There are certainly aspects of them that are true to a cause, that is a good cause, they want social justice, they want whatever they want in that context.”
The response from Astorino and Cortes was, as it should have been, swift.
“Not Antifa,” Astorino immediately responded.
Cortes then unloaded:
“Chris, Antifa is not a good cause. Antifa does not have good aims. Antifa wants political power taken through force. That’s what Antifa is all about. I mean, they are the inheritors of Nazis and brown shirts.”
CNN’s Chris Cuomo says Antifa is “a good cause” pic.twitter.com/mCMgoyPszQ
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 30, 2019
The crux of the entire argument, of course, is the Charlottesville media hoax, that CNN and Chris Cuomo have tried spreading ever since President Trump commented on the violent incident. That hoax has pushed the idea that Trump called neo-Nazis “fine people” which he most certainly, provably, did not.
Domestic Terrorists
Confidential documents in the Department of Homeland Security revealed that authorities had been labeling Antifa ‘domestic terrorists’ as far back as 2016.
Politico reported that “Those reports appear to bolster Trump’s insistence that extremists on the left bore some blame for the clashes in Charlottesville.”
The Political Insider has covered the group’s violent actions extensively, including:
- A violent assault on a pair of Marine reservists of Mexican heritage.
- Throwing burning flares at police officers in an attempt to set them on fire.
- Knocking a 56-year old man unconscious and sending him to the hospital.
- Threatening to murder President Donald Trump, resulting in a Secret Service investigation.
- Assaulting a Bernie Sanders supporter for carrying an American flag.
- Harassing Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s wife and attacking his home.
That is just a short list of what Cuomo refers to as “a good cause” and “social justice.”
Backpedal
Cuomo tried to walk back his comments, claiming he wasn’t trying to “espouse Antifa,” which Cortes argued he sounded like he was.
The CNN host said making that argument “is BS,” then defended the group yet again by saying, “You don’t draw a moral equivalency between the neo-Nazis and the people there who fight against them.”
One might be able to overlook Cuomo’s comments and give him the benefit of the doubt when he states he’s not trying to ‘espouse Antifa’ … if he hadn’t already done so before.
A segment in August of 2018 saw Cuomo defending the violence that Antifa spreads because they have the moral high ground over neo-Nazis.
“When someone comes to call out bigots and it gets hot, even physical, are they equally as wrong as the bigot they are fighting?” Cuomo asked. “I argue no.”
“[Trump] needed to call out the bigots and the white supremacists and he didn’t,” Cuomo lied.
“The bigots are wrong to hit. Antifa or whomever, anarchists or malcontent or misguided, they are also wrong to hit. But fighting hate is right.”
Fighting a media who constantly lies is right as well. Cuomo is lying about Charlottesville. He is lying that Antifa represents ‘a good cause.’ And he should be called out just as forcefully as he would be calling out the President.
