Media top headlines August 23
In media news today, a CBS reporter instructs the White House staff to show Biden the poll about his job approval falling, Bill Maher and Andrew Sullivan pan newsrooms for caving to the 'woke mobs,' and a CNN panel blasts Biden's 'bizarre' messaging on Afghanistan
MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan on Sunday defended President Joe Biden from detractors criticizing his handling of the "disaster" in Afghanistan and blasted those in the media, military officials, politicians and former Bush and Trump administration officials for their reactions to the unfolding situation in the war-torn country.
In the ‘60 Second Rant’ segment on his show, Hasan implored those critical of the administration over Afghanistan to observe a "period of silence" on the issue, and to only speak out on it if they were willing to say "sorry" for the roles they each played in the ongoing crisis.
"One of the most annoying aspects about covering the Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan is that the American public support the withdrawal and those of us who opposed this catastrophic war have been tragically vindicated. And yet, you wouldn’t know any of that from the debate we’re having right now," Hasan said.
MSNBC'S MEHDI HASAN CLAIMS ONLY DEMOCRATS EVER FACE ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER CUOMO SAGA
"Newspaper op-ed pages and our TV screens are filled with people who got it wrong still trying to lecture the rest of us about what should happen now in Afghanistan," he said. "There are the journalists … who never covered Afghanistan, never talked about it, helped make it the forgotten war all these years, now expressing outrage over the ending of it."
Hasan is one of several left-wing personalities in the news who have sought to deflect from the Biden administration's widely panned handling of the withdrawal. Among some of MSNBC's hosts and top guests are ex-George W. Bush officials and aides.
Hasan claimed that top U.S. generals and intelligence officials lied to the American people about the progress being made in Afghanistan over the years and were now pushing to stay longer.
He also claimed that officials from the Bush and Trump administrations were both trying to blame the situation on Biden, but criticized the Bush officials of getting the U.S. into the "mess" in the first place and the Trump officials for signing the "damned" peace deal with the Taliban. He, however, didn't go into specifics when slamming either of the former administrations.
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Hasan criticized the "carping and complaining" being heard from Democrats and Republicans over the deteriorating situation and withdrawal, and claimed they spent years "sending other people’s kids to fight and die in what they knew was an unwinnable and unpopular war."
"So forgive me when I say keep your views on the end of this war to yourself. Personally I would like a period of silence from all of you, if that's all right? And if you do feel the need to comment on the disaster that is Afghanistan, how about starting with the word sorry," he said.
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