Anderson Cooper Schools Donald Trump Jr. on Hurricane Coverage After He Tells CNN 'Stop Lying'
Anderson Cooper clapped back at Donald Trump Jr. after President Donald Trump‘s son told CNN to “stop lying.”
On Sunday, Trump Jr. tweeted out a photo of Cooper standing in floodwater and wrote, “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.”
Gavin Smith, whose Twitter bio says that he worked on the Trump campaign, tweeted out a similar image of Cooper and wrote, “Absolutely disgraceful! Apparently #HurricaneFlorence wasn’t devastating enough for @CNN’s @andersoncooper — so he had to exaggerate for his live shot. #FakeNews at its finest!”
Cooper pushed back against these tweets on CNN, saying he would never “try to fake something or overly dramatize a disaster.”
“I rarely respond to online conspiracy theorists or cable news cranks looking to get into a mutually beneficial beef that’ll boost their ratings,” he began. “I try not to argue with other TV anchors, and I usually let conspiracy theorists go unanswered.”
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
Absolutely disgraceful! Apparently #HurricaneFlorence wasn’t devastating enough for @CNN’s @andersoncooper — so he had to exaggerate for his live shot. #FakeNews at its finest! pic.twitter.com/9pUJ6Ulgqf
— Gavin J. Smith (@iamgavinjames) September 15, 2018
He continued, “I’ve covered hurricanes for about 14 years, and it really does make me sad to think that anyone would believe that I would try to fake something or overly dramatize a disaster.”
“Now, I debated whether I should even respond tonight to the president’s son. I know he considers himself an outdoorsman and pays a lot of money to be led to wildlife in Africa that he then kills,” Cooper added. “But I’m not sure if he’s ever actually been to a hurricane or flood. I didn’t see him down in North Carolina the last few days helping out, lending a hand, but I’m sure he was busy doing something important besides just tweeting lies.”
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Cooper then clarified that the photo was not taken during Hurricane Florence — it was taken ten years ago during Hurricane Ike.
Cooper explained that he was standing in the water instead of on the road, which was not submerged, in order to not interfere with rescue efforts and in order to show viewers how deep the water was. He said, “The idea that I am kneeling in water to make it look deep is frankly idiotic.”
“I don’t expect the president’s son to ever admit he was wrong,” Cooper concluded. “But I at least thought that they and you should know the truth.”
RELATED VIDEO: 3-Month-Old Baby Dies After Tree Falls on Mobile Home During Hurricane Florence
In response, Trump Jr. tweeted and retweeted posts about the segment multiple times. He pointed out that his original tweet did not specifically make any claims about the photo in question.
In one post, Trump Jr. wrote, “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.”
If you’re going to spend 10 minutes crying about a meme you may want to make sure you’re actually right. Good article as it shows exactly what CNN does daily to sell false truth. https://t.co/dp9W5SNxUG
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 18, 2018
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
CNN anchor Jake Tapper jumped into the quarrel on Tuesday when he tweeted, “It would show a lot of character if those who put out the dishonest meme about Anderson’s hurricane coverage watched this, corrected the record, deleted their false memes, and apologized.”
Tapper added, “Of course one has to have character before one can show it, I suppose.”
Jake, it’s laughable to watch you try to claim the moral high ground when the premise of Anderson’s attack on me was false (as usual). I never said it was Florence. Meanwhile several of CNN’s biggest “bombshell” lies about me and my father remain uncorrected.
Why is that? https://t.co/9eZJMxjxut— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 18, 2018
Trump Jr. replied, “Jake, it’s laughable to watch you try to claim the moral high ground when the premise of Anderson’s attack on me was false (as usual). I never said it was Florence. Meanwhile several of CNN’s biggest ‘bombshell’ lies about me and my father remain uncorrected. Why is that?”
