In a viral video, CNN’s Don Lemon, joined by panelists Rick Wilson and Wajahat Ali, imitate the “credulous boomer rube demo” that speaks with Southern drawls, struggles to read the lines on a map, and, worst of all, supports President Trump.
On Saturday’s edition of CNN Tonight, @donlemon cracks up laughing while @TheRickWilson and @WajahatAli took shots at @realDonaldTrump‘s “credulous Boomer rube base.”
“You elitists … with your math and your reading.” pic.twitter.com/PCW6MGjYv2
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 28, 2020
Many have already compared the clip with then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s infamous “basket of deplorables” comment. Others have warned CNN that the segment will backfire in 2020. And instead of admitting the comments were made in poor taste, Ali and Wilson have doubled down:
Nope. Only those that should know better but still celebrate & excuse the regular vulgarity, cruelty & racism of your father and his Administration. You too can stand up for the female journalists that Pompeo mocked and for geography. Enjoy your Chinese trademarks. #BeBest. https://t.co/bCMfe9il3B
— Wajahat “Some Muslim…I’ve Never Heard Of” Ali (@WajahatAli) January 28, 2020
Someday, your children will know that their grandfather was a serial bankrupt, was duped by foreign powers, screwed porn stars, insulted war heroes, and went down in history as an impeached, corrupt scumbag.
And really, isn’t that the greatest gift of all? https://t.co/hMuA3S6s6z
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 28, 2020
Put aside the shameless mimicry for a moment, and the most interesting part of the clip becomes the panel’s disbelief in elitism: “‘Donald Trump’s the smart one, and y’all — y’all elitists are dumb!'” Wilson says, pretending to be a Trump supporter. To which Ali replies in a similar voice, “You elitists with your geography and your maps and your spelling!” while Lemon laughs.
Like Clinton’s 2016 remarks, Lemon’s clip reveals how little the panel cares for Republican voters. Wilson might not claim to be a Democrat, but most liberals within the party have stopped pretending persuasion is still worthwhile. Democrats don’t want to win over Republicans, they want to isolate them. Take a look at this clip from Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff:
Jon @Ossoff is out to cancel conservatism. In a new clip he says he wants to make it so Republicans/ Trump supporters “never show their faces again”
Ironic because most thought Ossoff would be too embarrassed to ever show his face again after burning $30M to lose his last race. pic.twitter.com/O3A352jWre
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 28, 2020
Lemon and Wilson think they know better than the backwater Trump supporters who can’t point out Ukraine on a map. It’s a deeply liberal and, dare I say, elitist mentality — one that voters rejected in 2016 when they elected Trump and expert-led governance was forced to give way to the populist uprising that had been brewing for years.
Lemon and the rest still don’t seem to understand why 2016 occurred, in part because many of them refuse to acknowledge there is a divide between Washington, D.C., and those on the outside looking in. The ruling class sees only what it wants to see, ignoring the opioid crisis ravaging Midwestern communities, the crumbling economic infrastructure in the Rust Belt, and the systematic failure plaguing public education in low-income communities.
Meanwhile, Washington grows fat at the expense of the nation it governs.
Trump is by no means an average American or political outsider, but he has pushed back against the D.C. establishment, especially on immigration policy and cultural issues, such as abortion. He has threatened the status quo and reduced bureaucratic consolidation, and that’s why those at the very top despise him and every one of his supporters.
Lemon, Wilson, and the rest stand to benefit from the ruling class’s top-down governance, so it’s no wonder they’d dismiss Trump supporters’ concerns about elitism. In the past, I’ve referred to this kind of arrogance and condescension as a blind mistake. Now, more than ever, it seems intentional. There really is a sense that D.C. politicos are trying to keep Trump supporters out. Their opinions don’t matter and neither do their votes, and therefore belittling them makes no difference.
But it did make a difference in 2016. It will likely make a difference this year, too. Already, Lemon’s segment has been viewed millions of times. Trump has shared it on Twitter, and the Republican Party has marketed it as free advertising.
Lemon and Wilson might not think this matters — but then again, Clinton didn’t either.
