Viewers Are Fuming At CNN For ‘Inciting Violence,’ Saying If Trump, Pence Assassinated, Obama Cabinet Member Will Take Oval Office
CNN is on the hot seat and viewers are crying foul.
During this week’s coverage of events leading up to Inauguration Day, the media giant hosted a segment that explored what would happen in the untimely event that President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence were assassinated. Based on the “Order of Succession,” CNN said an Obama cabinet member would be on standby to assume the Oval Office. Viewers took to social media and charged that producers were inciting violence deliberately.
The Washington Free Beacon covered the developing news story and described the events that transpired leading up to the public uproar. CNN titled a segment that read, “Disaster could put Obama appointee in Oval Office.” It explored what options the members of Congress would have if Trump and Pence were killed during the inaugural — before being sworn into office.
CNN says Trump’s death would lead to Democrat president #auspol irresponsible idiots https://t.co/lQQhRkAT6W
— Free Australian (@den2114) January 20, 2017
For reference, CNN appended the ABC show, Designated Survivor, a David Guggenheim-created political conspiracy drama, that stars Keifer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone, Adan Canto, Italia Ricci, and others. Over 22 episodes for its debut season, the show centers on if the Capitol building — the location where Donald Trump is sworn in — were to be hit with a terror attack and the incoming president of the United States dies.
CNN said the successor, based on protocol adopted by Congress, would be someone in President Obama’s cabinet at the secretary level. Viewers slammed the 24-hour global multiplatform, saying it was creating fertile ground to tempt anti-Trump proponents to attempt a “treasonous attack.”
Critics, who call the Turner Broadcasting System product the “Clinton News Network” for its alleged support for the former Secretary of State as POTUS, say CNN is deliberately trying to lure an attack on the event as a scurrilous way to retain a Democratic stronghold.
A bevy of people and groups on Twitter assailed CNN’s decision to air the controversial segment one day before Trump takes the oath of office.
CNN is a total disaster and out of control. I hope Trump their reporters are omitted from press corp. https://t.co/L9jpL0kwL1
— Tammy Gray (@Sweetg8824Tammy) January 20, 2017
#ThursdayThought CNN reporting disaster scenarios that would keep democrats in power those are assassinate Trump subliminals SHUT DOWN CNN
— gab.ai/LGBTFORTRUMP (@LGBTFORTRUMP) January 19, 2017
.@CNN your report on presidential succession is distasteful and even treasonable. #Inauguration2017 #UnitedWeStand
— Elle Miles (@homespunhouse) January 20, 2017
Some skeptics went as far as suggesting that Rep. John Lewis — who days ago said he does not think Trump is a “legitimate President” and said he and other Democrats are skipping the inauguration — may be part of the plot to take out the incoming commander-in-chief.
CNN hosts explained that if Trump and Pence are killed, based on the order of succession, the next in line is the House Speaker and then the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. From there, it continues down a long list of successors.
The logic in the procedure is to prevent the country from going into anarchy without a leader in place. It’s the same procedure that’s put in place and is often editorialized on the day of the yearly State of the Union address.
CNN calling for assasination? In inaugural disaster, an odd succession quirk @CNNPolitics https://t.co/QWav27Tyq9
— John Oliver (@sokeijarhead) January 19, 2017
The law, called the 1947 Presidential Succession Act, states that a Democrat would take over the presidency temporarily until special elections are held. However, this could take months and Washington could be gridlocked. The order of the position is based on its original creation. For example, the Secretary of Homeland Security, an office created after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings, is last.
- Vice President
- Speaker of the House of Representatives
- President pro tempore of the Senate
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of Defense
- Attorney General
- Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture
- Secretary of Commerce
- Secretary of Labor
- Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Secretary of Transportation
- Secretary of Energy
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Secretary of Homeland Security
In the past, CNN has been the target of pro-Trump supporters and the president-elect himself for alleged biased journalism. Trump has locked horns with the broadcasting company throughout his presidential campaign and lumped it into the category of “fake news” during a recent press briefing.
Inquisitr previously reported that CNN was denied entry into the “Deploraball,” a so-called reference to Hillary Clinton’s now infamous characterization of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables.” The event is a hodgepodge of notable social media allies and grassroots activists — numbering 1,000 or more — that supported the New York real estate mogul.
An event organizer of the Deploraball posted a statement on Twitter about CNN’s request for coverage and the group’s response. A purported spokesperson for the event, MAGA3X, or @MagA3X, shared a statement of denial to CNN with supporting reasons.
They recognized the optics of their denial, but insisted their decision to refuse press credentials was not partisan politics; they’ve extended invites to the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and others.
“We’re hosting the Deploraball at the Press Club because we support quality journalism. We sincerely want to rebuild trust with the media. Unfortunately, we feel your coverage during the election was biased to the point of being irresponsible. We question your integrity as an institution of journalism. Therefore, we will not be issuing you press passes.”
Do you think CNN had an agenda in airing the segment or it is part of standard journalism?
[Featured image by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images]
