PBS's Yamiche Alcindor: That Madison Cawthorn must be a white supremacist, you know

When everything is racist, then nothing is racist. This logic has never been more clear than now, during the Summer of Love. With cities burning on a nightly basis and looters running wild in the streets all in the name of social justice, any traditional expression of love of America will be trashed as a dog whistle by the left, including their wingmen in the media.

Advertisement

Case in point – PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor waded into racial warfare after Madison Cawthorn delivered his speech during Night Three of the Republican convention. Cawthorn, the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District formerly held by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is 25 years old and is paralyzed from the waist down from a car accident as a teenager. His was one of many good speeches that referenced personal stories. He’s very young, he’s an articulate speaker, and he doesn’t lack a sense of patriotism.

Cawthorn ended his speech in a very dramatic way. Two young men came out to him and placed a walker in front of his wheelchair. Then Cawthorn began to rise up out of the wheelchair and stood, with the assistance of his aides and the walker. It was an unexpected and powerful moment. He urged Americans to not “cower to a mob,” and to “kneel before God but stand for our flag.”

“Be a radical for liberty and be a radical for our republic for which I stand, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all,” Cawthorn said as he rose from his wheelchair and stood behind a walker.

Advertisement

And, just like that, the angry mob tore into him, including Yamiche Alcindor. Alcindor tweeted that surely Cawthorn must be a white supremacist or something, because well, how dare he.

I first noticed the kerfuffle as I read this tweet:

This is where we are – any (white) person who says it’s ok to stand for the flag and encourages others to have enough of a spine to publicly express feelings of patriotism is a racist to the woke crowd. White athletes kneel with black athletes. You must accept this new normal shown on sports fields or you will be given the Drew Brees treatment. Participate in groupthink or be harassed and shunned.

Here’s the thing – nowhere in Cawthorn’s speech did he mention any kind of desire to rebuke the kneelers or even mention black athletes. This is just Yamiche’s opinion, not Yamiche actually reporting on the speech. Unfortunately, this is Yamiche’s history as she covers this White House and President Trump. There are many examples where she crossed the line from being a reporter to being a political activist.

Advertisement

We’ve seen this malarkey over and over again during the last four years. The bad Orange Man is a racist, you see. The White House press corps frequently behave as activists during press briefings and are emboldened to bring the drama during the televised briefings. Especially the women reporters, I’m sorry to say, who jab fingers at either the president or White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and raise their voices as they argue their points of view. It’s quite a spectacle but it’s not journalism. Journalists slept through eight years of President Obama and he could do no wrong. President George W. Bush was treated like a Republican president and called a racist and even Hitler. He could do no right. The dishonesty in the coverage of Trump has been off the charts. This is why stories about unprofessional journalists who cover the White House continue. Journalists are the story, not the actual news or the newsmakers.

Advertisement

“Today, political forces want to usher in the digital dark ages,” he said. “National leaders on the left have normalized emotion-based voting, and a radicalized identity politics that reject MLK’s dream.”

He’s not wrong here. That’s probably why Yamiche tried to zing him on social media. He hit a nerve. Yamiche deserved the blowback she received.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 22, 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement