CNN and its contributors just may be the best in-kind donation President Trump’s re-election campaign could hope for. Never have we seen a better example of this opinion than a panel discussion during Don Lemon’s show Saturday night.

In a video clip that first ran last Saturday during special live coverage of the impeachment trial, the absolute hatred for Trump’s supporters came through in particularly ugly mockery as Lemon led a discussion with New York Times columnist and CNN contributor Wajahat Ali, and ex-GOP strategist Rick Wilson about the confrontation Secretary Pompeo had with an NPR reporter. Reports surfaced that during an interview Friday, NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly asked Pompeo questions about his defense of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador in Kyiv, or a lack of defense of her. Apparently the interview didn’t go well. Pompeo indicated that Kelly was overly aggressive in her questioning and focused on that one piece of the Ukrainian story. After the interview, Kelly said Pompeo yelled and cursed at her in his private living room. Pompeo also, according to Kelly, demanded that she point to Ukraine on a map.

Kelly said that after the NPR interview she was taken to Pompeo’s private living room, where he shouted at her “for about the same amount of time as the interview itself” and cursed repeatedly.

Pompeo responded Saturday that Kelly had “lied” to him, and he called her conduct “shameful.” NPR said it stood by Kelly’s reporting.

As is predictable, the CNN panel came to her defense and at one point, Rick Wilson began mocking the President as ignorant and went on to lump his supporters into the discussion. The other two men chimed right in and it got ugly for Trump supporters but hilariously funny for the commentators.

“[Pompeo] also knows deep within his heart that Donald Trump couldn’t find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter U and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it,” Wilson began, causing Lemon to chuckle. “He knows that this is, you know, an administration defined by ignorance of the world. And so that’s partly him playing to the base and playing to their audience. You know, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump.”

“‘Donald Trump’s the smart one — any y’all elitists are dumb!'” Wilson said with a heavy southern accent.

“‘You elitists with your geography and your maps- and your spelling!'” Ali chimed in during the mockery.

“‘Your math and your reading!'” Wilson added. “‘All those lines on the map!'”

Lemon is seen gasping for air because he is laughing so hard. At one point, we hear nothing but laughter and snorting from Lemon, he is so lost in his enjoyment of what is being said. Wilson began speaking with what must have been his idea of a hillbilly accent and Lemon laughed harder. Finally, Ali half-heartedly apologized for the turn of the conversation but the laughter continued and Lemon ended up thanking Wilson – “That was a good one. I needed that.”

The media hardly ever hides their contempt for @realDonaldTrump supporters but this clip is featuring CNN’s @donlemon, The New York Times’ @WajahatAli, and @TheRickWilson is ludicrous.

This is one of the most offensive segments I’ve seen in a while.
pic.twitter.com/CknQQZ5idR

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 28, 2020

I wonder why Lemon needed such an obnoxious laugh at the expense of Trump voters. Could it be because Trump’s legal team began to make their case in the Senate trial on Saturday and it was widely reported to have gone well for them? Remember, this was a special edition of his show, given that it is normally a Monday through Friday evening show.

The video lit up conservatives Monday when it began circling on social media. The utter contempt for voters was so strong in the clip that even casual supporters of the president weighed in on Twitter in response.

https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1222132747164057600

If you want to give people a reason to vote Trump as a screw you to the media, keep airing segments like these https://t.co/hbr1GVjJWw

— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) January 28, 2020

President Trump weighed in.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1222028267865223170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fmedia%2Fcnn-don-lemon-wajahat-ali-rick-wilson

He’s right. It took from when the show aired Saturday night to Monday evening before most people even noticed the segment on CNN.

Perhaps the best response came from radio host and FOX show host, Mark Levin. He asked, “Why does NPR still exist?” That’s something most of us ask pretty regularly. Why are taxpayers still paying for a radio network that was founded to provide everyone from city dwellers to rural listeners access to radio when everyone has access in today’s world? NPR is unapologetically liberal and at least half of the taxpayers in America are not.

Why does NPR still exist?  We have thousands of radio stations in the U.S.  Plus Satellite radio. Podcasts.  Why are we paying for this big-government, Democrat Party propaganda operation.  https://t.co/mYynXoY2MK

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) January 26, 2020

The State Department has denied NPR access to Pompeo’s upcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia. The State Department Correspondents’ Association calls it “retaliation”.

The State Department has denied a National Public Radio reporter a seat aboard Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s plane for an upcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia. The decision comes a few days after Pompeo allegedly lashed out at another NPR reporter when she asked him questions about Ukraine and Marie Yovanovitch.

NPR said in a statement Monday that correspondent Michele Kelemen wasn’t given a reason for being barred from the flight. The State Department declined to comment.

The State Department Correspondents’ Association said the decision to deny Kelemen a seat on Pompeo’s plane led it to conclude that “the State Department is retaliating” against NPR. The group asked the agency to reconsider and allow Kelemen to join Pompeo.

In the meantime, the campaign ads write themselves for Team Trump. Kudos, CNN. Those of us who live in flyover country appreciate your help in the president’s re-election campaign.