CNN’s Anderson Cooper condemned Donald Trump Jr. in a monologue Monday evening in response to the president’s eldest son promoting an “idiotic” conspiracy theory suggesting Cooper was dishonest in hurricane coverage.
As the remnants of Hurricane Florence continues to batter North Carolina over the weekend, Trump tweeted a photo depicting Cooper in water up to his waist, while a CNN audio tech is standing in much shallower waters.
“It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%,” Trump wrote. “What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad.”
It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%. What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad. https://t.co/O3XyWchsJh pic.twitter.com/BCUCxKnOvO
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 16, 2018
On his show, Cooper clarified that the image was from 2008 when he covered Hurricane Ike, not this year during coverage of Hurricane Florence.
“The idea that I am kneeling in water to make it look deep is frankly, idiotic,” Cooper said as he shared footage of himself walking into the deeper waters.
“The idea I am kneeling in water to make it look deep is idiotic.” @AndersonCooper debunks the lies being spread by Donald Trump Jr., and others who falsely claimed he and his team exaggerated the severity of Hurricane Florence. #KeepingThemHonest https://t.co/j2HptrYpe0 pic.twitter.com/zwfvIXCsIY
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 18, 2018
“Look, I don’t expect the president’s son to ever admit he was wrong, or one of the president’s former advisers or frankly anyone else who’s retweeted these pictures,” Cooper said. “But I at least thought that they and you should know the truth.”
Trump Jr. responded to Cooper in a series of tweets Tuesday morning, claiming that CNN was “doing what they do best. Crying & Lying.” He also said that “The illusion created by the pic is illustrative of the bs you sell!”
“Not surprised @AC360 lied about me on @CNN last night. Par for the course. I never said the pic of him was from Florence,” Trump Jr. tweeted. “When I tweeted out the picture of @AC360 it was with a link to an article about CNN’s dwindling ratings. Nothing to do with Florence.”
Instead of spending 10 minutes (incorrectly) fact checking a meme, maybe @CNN should focus on fact checking their reporting so they don’t have another Lanny Davis/Cohen scandal?
PS – I’m still waiting for an apology for the debunked Wikileaks story you wrote about me last year! https://t.co/wnRSns1Thf
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 18, 2018
CNN doing what they do best.
Crying & Lying.@AC360 says I said it was a pic from Florence
Isaid no such thing.“evidence” CNN provided doesn’t even reference Florence. You guys can’t even fact check a meme.
The illusion created by the pic is illustrative of the bs you sell! https://t.co/wnRSns1Thf
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 18, 2018
Not surprised @AC360 lied about me on @CNN last night. Par for the course. I never said the pic of him was from Florence.
When I tweeted out the picture of @AC360 it was with a link to an article about CNN’s dwindling ratings. Nothing to do with Florence. https://t.co/fflwOa10GK
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 18, 2018
The controversy between Cooper and Trump Jr. comes after Weather Channel correspondent Mike Seidel was caught putting on a show of struggling to stand during storm coverage of Hurricane Florence on Friday in Wilmington, N.C., even as two individuals casually walked by in the background.
“It’s important to note that the the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted,” the Weather Channel said in response.
