NYT Reporter Stuns CNN's Goldberg by Spinning for Anti-Semitic Protesters

On Tuesday's CNN This Morning, while right-leaning contributor Jonah Goldberg was condemning the anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas rhetoric used by far-left protesters on college campuses, New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro got snippy as she jumped in to cut him off and argue against the use of police against anti-Israel protesters harassing Jewish students. After host Kasie Hunt had just interviewed Congressman Josh Gottheimer -- a Jewish moderate Democrat from New Jersey -- about his visit to Columbia University and his calls for the university administration to protect Jewish students, she then went to Goldberg to begin a panel discussion. The right-leaning CNN contributor and Fox News alum complained: Look, I think the anti-Semitism stuff, particularly at Passover, is a big issue. It's a legitimate issue to talk about. It's a serious issue, and I think there's a lot of anti-Semitic stuff going on out there. But when you're saying you're Hamas, when you're praising Hamas, when you're praising Hezbollah, when you're saying you're going to globalize the intifada --     Garcia-Navarro took exception to his commentary and jumped in to interrupt: GARCIA-NAVARRO: Excuse me, I'm so sorry. GOLDBERG: Yeah? GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm sorry, but everyone is -- GOLDBERG: I'm going to finish my point. It means you're pro-terrorist. If you are celebrating Hamas, you are pro-terrorist. After declaring that she was "not disputing" that part of his analysis, she then spun for left-wing student organizers who did not act to stop anti-Semitic rhetoric at their demonstration by recalling that left-wing Jews had also protested against Israel: "Yeah, but what I'm saying is there are selective quotes that are being taken not from students themselves -- in the encampments in Columbia, they have said this -- there are Jewish students who are actually part of this." As Goldberg reacted with a befuddled facial expression, the Times journalist added: "And I just would say more broadly, when people are calling for action -- like Representative Gottheimer -- what are they actually calling for? You already had police go on --" Hunt jumped in to inject: "Well, hold on. If there are -- if the people in those encampments -- whether they're Columbia students or not -- if the university can clear them from that encampment, that is something the university can do." Garcia-Navarro continued: But they've already put -- let me just say how we got here. Columbia chose to bring police to clear the encampment that inflamed the situation to where you're now seeing these protests spread to Yale, to New York University, and beyond. I am -- many people have said that the action of bringing police into a group of people who are already feeling that they are sort of representative of the oppressed -- who are inspired by what happened with George Floyd in 2020 and seeing what is happening in Gaza, that that has really only acted as a catalyst here. And so I wonder at the wisdom of bringing in the armed police into what is essentially a university campus. Goldberg was visibly taken aback as the two went back and forth again: GOLDBERG: I question the wisdom of having a double standard that says it's okay to shout hateful pro-terrorist things at Jews, but you can't --you have to have total -- GARCIA-NAVARRO: No one is endorsing that. GOLDBERG (after looking shocked): A lot of people are endorsing that. A lot of people aren't -- GARCIA-NAVARRO: Not here. GOLDBERG: -- condemning it. Yeah. A lot of people aren't condemning it, and I -- look, I agree with you. Universities and the Democratic party and the left have a huge problem trying to figure out how to cut this Gordian knot that they've created for themselves. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN This Morning April 23, 2024 6:55 a.m. Eastern (after interview with Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) (a moderate Democrat) about anti-Semitic protests on college campuses) KASIE HUNT: Just how troubling is this? And how did we get to this point? JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Gosh, you got an hour? HUNT: We have six minutes. GOLDBERG: I think there's a long tradition of campus protests in this country that goes back to before the founding. It has gotten much more intense whereas schools -- they consider part of your academic college experience to be protesters. And I think that sort of encouragement gives a lot of administrators a blind eye to when these things go off the rails. Look, I think the anti-Semitism stuff, particularly at Passover, is a big issue. It's a legitimate issue to talk about. It's a serious issue, and I think there's a lot of anti-Semitic stuff going on out there. But when you're saying you're Hamas, when you're praising Hamas, when you're praising Hezbollah, when you're saying you're going to globalize the intifada -- LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO,  NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALIST/CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Excuse me, I'm so sorry. GOLDBERG: Yeah? GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm sorry, but everyone is -- GOLDBERG: I'm going to finish my point. It means you're pro-terrorist. If you are celebrating Hamas, you are pro-terrorist. GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm not disputing that. GOLDBERG: Okay, that's my point. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, but what I'm saying is there are selective quotes that are being taken not from students themselves -- in the encampments in Columbia, they have said this -- there are Jewish students who are actually part of this. And they are being used -- (Jonah Goldberg displays a confused facial expression) -- wait, let me -- let me -- GOLDBERG: You didn't let me finish my point -- GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's true. GOLDBERG: -- but go ahead. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And I just would say more broadly, when people are calling for action -- like Representative Gottheimer -- what are they actually calling for? You already had police go on -- KASIE HUNT: Well, hold on. If there are -- if the people in those encampments -- whether they're Columbia students or not -- if the university can clear them from that encampment, that is something the university can do. GARCIA-NAVARRO: But they've already put -- let me just say how we got here. Columbia chose to bring police to clear the encampment that inflamed the situation to where you're now seeing these protests spread to Yale, to New York University, and beyond. I am -- many people have said that the action of bringing police into a group of people who are already feeling that they are sort of representative of the oppressed -- who are inspired by what happened with George Floyd in 2020 and seeing what is happening in Gaza, that that has really only acted as a catalyst here. And so I wonder at the wisdom of bringing in the armed police into what is essentially a university campus. There have, you know, to try to be (inaudible) GOLDBERG: I question the wisdom of having a double standard that says it's okay to shout hateful pro-terrorist things at Jews, but you can't --you have to have total -- GARCIA-NAVARRO: No one is endorsing that. GOLDBERG: A lot of people are endorsing that. A lot of people aren't -- GARCIA-NAVARRO: Not here. GOLDBERG: -- condemning it. Yeah. A lot of people aren't condemning it, and I -- look, I agree with you. Universities and the Democratic party and the left have a huge problem trying to figure out how to cut this Gordian knot that they've created for themselves. But that doesn't mean I have to sort of condone or not call out. I spent -- I got a lot of scars from calling out horrible statements on the right over the last 10 years. I call out anti-Semitism and bigotry all the time on the right. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Of course. GOLDBERG: I don't hear a lot of that from the sort of Squad adjacent type people calling out this stuff on the left. HUNT: So John Fetterman had put out a tweet yesterday saying, like, "We are very close to Charlottesville for some of this stuff." Do you agree with that? GOLDBERG: I think the comparison can go too far, but I think Joe Biden's statement yesterday where he basically -- basically did "there are good people on both sides" kind of thing, was not the kind of moral clarity. The written statement was pretty good, but, look, Democrats have a huge problem here because there's a big chunk of Biden's coalition that does not like to hear criticism of any of this, you know, anti-Israel stuff, and they don't know how to get out of it.

MSNBC Blames TN Gun Laws for Shooting -- But Gunman Came from Illinois

On this past weekend's The Saturday Show, MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart teamed up with anti-gun activist Dr. Jonathan Metzl to spread misinformation about the effects of gun laws as the two discussed his book on the 25th anniversary of the Columbine school shootings. As the discussion turned to the 2018 attack on a Nashville Waffle House by 29-year-old Travis Reinking, Dr. Metzl reflexively blamed Tennessee's "pathologically loose gun laws" without divulging that the gunman had only somewhat recently moved into Tennessee from the blue state of Illinois. He soon complained about Tennessee expanding gun rights since the shooting: And so, instead, what we've seen is a dramatic expansion in every kind of law that led to the shooting. People can carry guns without permits now. We're arming teachers, long guns to people with 18 and older, so we have this total disconnect between what people know we need as a society to keep our country safe and what the political process in its gerrymandered state right now is delivering which is, unfortunately, more of these horrific mass shootings.     It was not mentioned that Illinois police had confiscated several guns from Reinking after he showed signs of schizophrenia, but then gave them to his father who then returned them to his son later. One of those firearms was used in the Nashville attack after the gunman moved to the state. Reinking's father was also convicted in connection with giving his son's firearms back to him. Capehart played the race card by hinting at the far-left liberal trope that the cops allowed Reinking to live because of he was white. "Dr. Metzl, a question occurs to me when we showed the Waffle House shooter. Was he taken alive after that -- that manhunt?" he played coy. Metzl obliged. Then, without offering any evidence that other racial groups are treated differently, Metzl claimed that the Waffle House gunman was allowed to keep his guns because he is white: Not only was he taken alive, what I show is there were five or six incidents before the shooting. He tried to jump the fence at the White House -- he came to the attention of the FBI -- he jumped naked into a pool and jumped out and shook his gun at people -- and so part of the story I ask in the book is, "What does it take to disarm a white man in America?" That's really the story of the book. And it turns out it's very hard because the laws -- the system -- people see a white man as a patriot. And, yes, he was taken alive after the shooting. He was not killed. Back in February, Metzl made another appearance on the same show to promote his book, and, on that occasion, spread misinformation blaming the loosening of gun laws in Missouri around 2008 for an increase in homicides in that state: Missouri had these pretty reasonable gun laws. I mean, there's a long history of gun ownership ... but until about 2008, believe it or not, you know, people would go to get a permit at the sheriff's office. ... And then they started overturning all the gun laws, overturning everything -- guns in parks, guns in bars, persons -- in 2021, made it almost a crime to even have cities mandate their own gun laws or enact federal -- any federal laws -- and what I saw was not just a rise in all kinds of gun injury and death gun, suicide gun, homicide -- all these things went up.     But, in fact, homicides in Missouri did not see a sustained increase until after 2014 when the Ferguson effect led to a surge in crime after the Mike Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri -- coinciding with a crime surge that was also seen across the country. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC's The Saturday Show April 20, 2024 6:52 p.m. Eastern JONATHAN CAPEHART: Dr. Metzl, your book takes a deep dive into the 2018 Waffle House shooting and how these mass shooters reveal a lot about the issues on race and mental health we continue to face in our country. Can you expand on that? Dr. JONATHAN METZL, AUTHOR OF WHAT WE'VE BECOME: Yeah, my book, What We've Become, really takes a deep dive into that 2018 Waffle House shooting. It was a shooting where a naked white shooter went into a Waffle House in a part of Nashville where it was 2:30 in the morning full of young adults of color celebrating after the clubs closed. And it was many things -- it was a mental ill mass shooting -- it was a race shooting -- it was a sign of what happens in a state like Tennessee with our pathologically loose gun laws. In many ways, it's the same thing (similar to the Columbine school shootings from 25 years ago). Our town came together and said, "Enough is enough -- we're going to -- we're going to turn course -- this has shown us the worst of humanity, and now let's turn course." I want to say there are a lot of people who are building from the horror of that moment -- people running for office. The mother of one of the victims of that shooting, Shaundelle Brooks, is running for state office in Tennessee. So there are many things that come out of the aftermath of the horror, but, again and again, it was a similar story, which was the people demanded some kind of action, but because Tennessee is a supermajority state, there was no pressure. Nobody was going to get pushed out of office or voted out of office. And so, instead, what we've seen is a dramatic expansion in every kind of law that led to the shooting. People can carry guns without permits now. We're arming teachers, long guns to people with 18 and older, so we have this total disconnect between what people know we need as a society to keep our country safe and what the political process in its gerrymandered state right now is delivering which is, unfortunately, more of these horrific mass shootings. CAPEHART: Dr. Metzl, question occurs to me when we showed the Waffle House shooter. Was he taken alive after that -- that manhunt? Dr. METZL: Yeah, that's kind of the story I tell in the book. Not only was he taken alive, what I show is there were five or six incidents before the shooting. He tried to jump the fence at the White House -- he came to the attention of the FBI -- he jumped naked into a pool and jumped out and shook his gun at people -- and so part of the story I ask in the book is, "What does it take to disarm a white man in America?" That's really the story of the book. And it turns out it's very hard because the laws -- the system -- people see a white man as a patriot. And, yes, he was taken alive after the shooting. He was not killed. CAPEHART: Dr. Jonathan Metzl, as always, thank you very much for coming -- for coming to the show. (...) MSNBC's The Saturday Show February 17, 2024 6:46 p.m. Eastern JONATHAN CAPEHART: You wrote -- you focus on three states. One was Missouri Missouri's lax gun laws and what those lax gun laws did to Missouri. Real quickly, talk about that. Dr. JONATHAN METZL, AUTHOR OF WHAT WE'VE BECOME: Well, I'm from Missouri -- I grew up in Kansas City -- my brothers and my dad were at the Super Bowl, you know. And so Kansas City is kind of home, and I know from this and from my own research that Missouri had these pretty reasonable gun laws. I mean, there's a long history of gun ownership -- of hunting -- of people caring about the 2nd Amendment -- but until about 2008, believe it or not, you know, people would go to get a permit at the sheriff's office. I interview people in my research -- it took about three seconds to get that. Nobody cared. And then they started overturning all the gun laws, overturning everything -- guns in parks, guns in bars, persons -- in 2021, made it almost a crime to even have cities mandate their own gun laws or enact federal -- any federal laws -- and what I saw was not just a rise in all kinds of gun injury and death gun, suicide gun, homicide -- all these things went up. But the bigger issue for me was that it was the end of a kind of particular public space that people stopped congregating in places like Swope Park -- this park in the middle of the town -- and the public pools -- because everybody was so worried that they were going to get shot. And so there was injury and death, but there was also the end -- I mean, for me in Missouri, there was a Super Bowl parade pretty much every day -- it just never got on the news. But people -- it wasn't weird to go in a public space with people who were different than you. And that's what these gun -- these loose gun laws killed, was the sense of camaraderie and civic engagement. CAPEHART: The name of the book is What We've Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms

NBC's Alba Wrongly Hints Columbine Mass Shooters Bought Guns Legally

In a few appearances on Thursday afternoon, NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba helped spread misinformation about there being a link between gun shows and school shootings as she promoted President Joe Biden's latest push to require unlicensed gun dealers to do background checks on buyers. MSNBC afternoon host Chris Jansing set up a segment on the issue and asked Alba to explain how the President's move was to "fill a loophole." "And, Chris, we know all too well there are horrible stories about shooters who maybe were denied the ability to purchase a gun at a sporting goods store, but then they were able to go online and buy one because it was an unauthorized retailer," she proclaimed. What she refused to meantion was that firearms purchased online needed to be delivered to licenced firearms dealers, whereupon pick up, the purchaser would have a background check conducted.     Then, even though the gunman who attacked a school in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 passed a background check to buy his gun, Alba misleadingly made it sound like the new background checks requirement was somehow relevant to this case as she continued: "So this is really the Biden White House trying to curb that, and it's something that specifically became a huge movement and moment for the White House to try to accomplish after the horrific school shooting in Uvalde. So this was something that the President vowed to do." A bit later, Alba misleadingly suggested a background check requirement might have prevented the school shootings at Columbine 25 years ago: And, again, Chris, we're talking about just next week it's going to be the 25th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and those shooters were able to get those guns, again, through this unauthorized process which is known as the "gun show loophole." So it just really is a stark reminder of for how many years this has been such an issue. And the Biden administration says this is a step forward. Alba then made a couple of appearances on Hallie Jackson's show on NBCNOW and made similar claims about the Columbine attackers. About 5:32 p.m. Eastern, she asserted: And when you look at the two shooters in that case, they were able to purchase weapons because of the so-called "gun show loophole," and that means that even if maybe they went to try to get those guns from a sporting goods store or from a retailer, and maybe they would have been stopped there because they would have had to undergo a background check, then they were still able to go and get them from an unauthorized retailer which right now really is a sort of shadow market that exists online. It exists at these sort of flea markets. It exists at these sort of gun shows.     But, in fact, the two Columbine gunmen acquired their guns through circumstances that were already illegal. Both the individuals who supplied them with firearms knew that the gunmen were underage and intentionally bought the firearms for them, which meant it was an illegal straw purchase. Mark Manes was sentenced to six years in prison while Robyn Anderson, who provided two guns through an illegal straw purchase at a gun show, was not charged by prosecutors after she cooperated in the investigation. Transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC's Chris Jansing Reports April 11, 2024 2:05 p.m. Eastern CHRIS JANSING: Now to Washington where the White House just approved the biggest expansion of gun background checks in decades. NBC's White House correspondent Monica Alba is following this for us. Monica, this is intended -- this rule -- to fill a loophole. Tell us about that. MONICA ALBA, NBC WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Chris. This is known as the so-called "gun show loophole." So while some retailers and stores that sell arms do have to do background checks, there is really this market for people who can sell guns out of their home or online who don't have to meet those requirements. So this new rule put in effect by the Biden administration which would start in about a month or so would effectively force anyone who is doing that to conduct a background check. And, Chris, we know all too well there are horrible stories about shooters who maybe were denied the ability to purchase a gun at a sporting goods store, but then they were able to go online and buy one because it was an unauthorized retailer. So this is really the Biden White House trying to curb that, and it's something that specifically became a huge movement and moment for the White House to try to accomplish after the horrific school shooting in Uvalde. So this was something that the President vowed to do. And remember that when they were able to pass the bipartisan gun safety law that went into effect in 2022, this was a part of it. They said it's going to take some time to actually make this rule effective so that we can see now what's going to start to happen in the coming weeks. Now, it's possible this could face some legal challenges, but the administration believes that they can cite the 2022 law as a reason to uphold it. And, again, Chris, we're talking about just next week it's going to be the 25th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and those shooters were able to get those guns, again, through this unauthorized process which is known as the "gun show loophole." So it just really is a stark reminder of for how many years this has been such an issue. And the Biden administration says this is a step forward. It's something that they did pledge to do, but that they would like to do a lot more when it comes to gun violence prevention. And, of course, that's part of the President's pledge to also ban assault weapons which he has not been able to do so far in this Congress.  (...) NBCNOW's Hallie Jackson NOW April 11, 2024 5:31 p.m. Eastern HALLIE JACKSON: Back here to Washington now, and the Biden administration tonight taking steps to make the biggest expansion in decades to federal background checks for buying guns. The Department of Justice submitting this nearly 500-page set of regulations that makes sellers -- that would make sellers run background checks on a potential buyer's criminal and mental health history. Now, here's why it's such a big deal. It could mean the end of a controversial so-called the "gun show loophole" which basically lets unlicensed private sellers in some states legally sell guns at gun shows, out of their houses, and through online platforms without putting buyers through the background check system. The new rules come from legislation that Congress passed back in June 2022 after the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people were killed. Just this year -- just this year, rather, we've already seen more than 100 mass shootings -- each year before that, hundreds more. Monica Alba is joining us now. Big, big push here for the Biden administration to sort of regulate the so-called shadow market that's been growing fast. Talk us through it. MONICA ALBA, NBC WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Hallie, and it's so tragic when you think about mass shootings. The anniversary next week of Columbine is going to be here -- 25 years since that deadly shooting. And when you look at the two shooters in that case, they were able to purchase weapons because of the so-called "gun show loophole," and that means that even if maybe they went to try to get those guns from a sporting goods store or from a retailer, and maybe they would have been stopped there because they would have had to undergo a background check, then they were still able to go and get them from an unauthorized retailer which right now really is a sort of shadow market that exists online. It exists at these sort of flea markets. It exists at these sort of gun shows. So this new rule which takes effect in about a month from now from the Biden administration would effectively tell these thousands or so who  are selling these kinds of firearms that you do have to be federally licensed, and you do have to conduct background checks on anybody who is attempting to purchase these kinds of weapons. Now, this did come directly from the 2022 bipartisan gun safety law that the President was able to put into action, but he needed the DOJ to actually work on this rule specifically, but it was a major priority, and they feel like this will help. They do feel like there have been cases where specifically people have been denied the purchase of weapons in background checks, so if they can expand that to create a wider net, that that will all be incredibly helpful here.

MSNBC or Al-Jazeera? Mohyeldin Tosses Softballs to Israel-Bashing Rep. Jamaal Bowman

On his eponymous Sunday show, anti-Israel MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin spoke with Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and gave the "Squad" radical a forum to bash Israel while claiming to support the Jewish state.  Mohyeldin, a former correspondent for Al-Jazeera English whose mother is Palestinian, set up the segment by oddly labeling former Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a "moderate" in spite of her stridently liberal record as he recalled a recent increase in congressional Democrats pushing President Joe Biden to pressure Israel over how it is conducting military operations in Gaza: So, for months, progressive lawmakers have been vocally denouncing Israel's disproportionate retaliation in Gaza, and now today, six months into the war, that view is actually held by a majority of Americans. According to a Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Israel's military actions in Gaza. That is the majority. And, as we mentioned before the break, moderate Democrats including Nancy Pelosi who are, you know, strong supporters of Israel, have now joined that chorus. He added: "In a letter, they have asked President Biden to suspend weapons transfers to Israel until a full independent investigation into the World Central Kitchen convoy attack is complete." After Congressman Bowman talked up the likelihood of more Democrats joining together to be more critical of Israel, Mohyeldin followed up by sympathetically asking about AIPAC targeting his guest and other anti-Israel Democrats in their primaries: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- or AIPAC as we know -- expected to spend $100 million on trying to oust Democrats like yourself in their primaries before they even get to the general election. Another group -- the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC -- just endorsed George Latimer, the AIPAC-endorsed candidate who's running against you in New York's primary. What do you make of this? What do you say to these groups who are coming after you on this issue? Have you ever experienced anything like this in your short term in politics so far? He then followed up: Why though? Why is this happening? And, again, I don't know of another part of our politics or a policy issue -- it doesn't happen -- the gun lobby does not do this with your opponent. They don't primary you if you're not taking it -- the climate lobby doesn't do this. The labor lobby doesn't do this. So why is this happening? The far-left Democrat then made incendiary claims about Israel, calling it an "apartheid state" and referring to the founding of Israel that displaced Arabs as the "Nakba" (which means "disaster" in Arabic). Bowman: They don't want any criticism of Israel. Listen, Israel is an ally. We want them to remain an ally. But just like your brother or your cousin or your friend, when they're doing the wrong thing, you have to tell them they're doing the wrong thing and hold them accountable so they can improve. Israel has been doing the wrong thing not just as it relates to this collective punishment in Gaza and the starvation that's happening right now in Gaza, but prior to that, labeled an apartheid state, occupation, a blockade, the Nakba which nobody ever wants to talk about. Mohyeldin supportively asked that "one of the critiques is like you're too focused on foreign policy -- you're not focused enough on your district -- and that's what they're trying to do with Rashida Tlaib in Michigan with other progressives. Does that hold any water?" The New York Democrat answered: My district doesn't want bombs and weapons and billions to be sent to Israel to kill babies. My district wants that money sent to our district so people can afford housing and child care and utilities and have better paying jobs and can afford food and take a vacation. We want peace, and we want investments in the American economy and the American people -- particularly those black, brown, marginalized and left behind. Transcript follows: MSNBC's Ayman April 7, 2024 7:17 p.m. Eastern AYMAN MOHYELDIN: So, for months, progressive lawmakers have been vocally denouncing Israel's disproportionate retaliation in Gaza, and now today, six months into the war, that view is actually held by a majority of Americans. According to a Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Israel's military actions in Gaza. That is the majority. And, as we mentioned before the break, moderate Democrats including Nancy Pelosi who are, you know, strong supporters of Israel, have now joined that chorus. In a letter, they have asked President Biden to suspend weapons transfers to Israel until a full independent investigation into the World Central Kitchen convoy attack is complete. New York Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman is one of those who signed that letter. He joins me now. Let me start off with -- I don't know if you had a chance to see our previous segment, but one of the critiques was: It's only 37 lawmakers so far. You're one of those lawmakers. Give us a -- give us a response to what you say of that critique. CONGRESSMAN JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): Yeah, I mean, it's 37 lawmakers responding to the American people. The majority of the American people demand a permanent ceasefire. We see what's going on right in front of our eyes. We see hundreds of thousands of people and children starving to death in Gaza. So the American people are with us. We're just leading the way and responding to what the people in our own districts are saying. And so, yeah, I mean, you say it's 37 lawmakers now. It was only a few at the very beginning calling for a permanent ceasefire, and that number has grown exponentially. So you're going to see this number grow. I think you're going to see this number grow pretty rapidly. MOHYELDIN: Are you seeing any initial response or any backdoor channels of communication with the White House? How do these things work? You've sent the letter -- you've signed onto the letter. Do they start signaling to you, "Hey, we welcome this, and you're helping us, giving us more space so that we can -- the President can come out there now and start being critical of Israel on this issue"? (BOWMAN) Let me ask you about the Wisconsin vote again. We were talking about this in the previous segment. What do you make of the fact that the domestic politics in this country -- and you're talking about democracy, the representation of the American people. You had about 48,000 unrestricted voters in Wisconsin. The President won that state by 20,000 votes. Is that a cause of concern for the reelection of President Joe Biden? (BOWMAN) Let me ask you about what you're going through in terms of your own personal campaign. I want to kind of make sure I just got the number. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- or AIPAC as we know -- expected to spend $100 million on trying to oust Democrats like yourself in their primaries before they even get to the general election. Another group -- the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC -- just endorsed George Latimer, the AIPAC-endorsed candidate who's running against you in New York's primary. What do you make of this? What do you say to these groups who are coming after you on this issue? Have you ever experienced anything like this in your short term in politics so far? (BOWMAN) Why though? Why is this happening? And, again, I don't know of another part of our politics or a policy issue -- it doesn't happen -- the gun lobby does not do this with your opponent. They don't primary you if you're not taking it -- the climate lobby doesn't do this. The labor lobby doesn't do this. So why is this happening? BOWMAN: They don't want any criticism of Israel. Listen, Israel is an ally. We want them to remain an ally. But just like your brother or your cousin or your friend, when they're doing the wrong thing, you have to tell them they're doing the wrong thing and hold them accountable so they can improve. Israel has been doing the wrong thing not just as it relates to this collective punishment in Gaza and the starvation that's happening right now in Gaza, but prior to that, labeled an apartheid state, occupation, a blockade, the Nakba which nobody ever wants to talk about. So, because people like me are in Congress actually speaking the truth to hold Israel accountable so they can do better for themselves and for a free Palestine, now, AIPAC wants to come after us. They don't want any criticism of Israel which is absurd and unacceptable and is not going to help us maintain a good relationship or maintain lives in Israel or Palestine. MOHYELDIN: One of their -- and we're almost out of time -- but one of the critiques is like you're too focused on foreign policy -- you're not focused enough on your district -- and that's what they're trying to do with Rashida Tlaib in Michigan with other progressives. Does that hold any water? BOWMAN: Yeah, every accusation is a confession. My district doesn't want bombs and weapons and billions to be sent to Israel to kill babies. My district wants that money sent to our district so people can afford housing and child care and utilities and have better paying jobs and can afford food and take a vacation. We want peace, and we want investments in the American economy and the American people -- particularly those black, brown, marginalized and left behind. That's what my district wants. MOHYELDIN: Congressman Jamaal Bowman, always a pleasure.

CNN's Smerconish Accuses GOP of 'Demonizing All Immigrants'

On his eponymous Saturday morning show, CNN host Michael Smerconish blurred the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants as he asserted that conservatives will "demonize all immigrants" in response to a new RNC website that documents crimes committed by illegal aliens. After recalling that President Donald Trump recently coined the slogan "Stop Biden's Border Bloodbath" as part of his presidential campaign, Smerconish fretted about the RNC starting a website called "Bidenbloodbath.com." And, although the site lists examples of crimes by illegal aliens in the U.S., the CNN host described them simply as "migrants," and recalled studies finding that "immigrants" generally have a lower crime rate than American citizens. The CNN host related: And the RNC launched a new website called Bidenbloodbath.com. Go to that site, and you're going to read a diatribe against President Biden, claiming that, quote, "Lives of everyday Americans have been shattered as a direct result of Biden's open border policies." And then there are tabs for 13 states which seek to track crimes committed by migrants. This despite the fact that researchers at Stanford found that migrants coming into the United States are actually 30 percent less likely to be incarcerated when compared to white American citizens. He then added: The study debunks any claims that immigration leads to more crime and concludes that, quote, "Recent waves of immigrants are more likely to be employed, married with children, and in good health. Far from the rapists and drug dealers that anti-immigrant politicians claim them to be, immigrants today are doing relatively well and have largely been shielded from the social and economic forces that have affected low-educated U.S.-born men." But, in fact, Republicans and mainstream conservatives highlight specific crimes committed by illegal aliens, not legal immigrants. The process of legal immigration screens out non-citizens who already have criminal backgrounds whereas those who cross the border illegally, even if they are apprehended by Border Patrol, do not receive background checks that would include crimes committed in their home countries. Those who cross the border illegally are therefore a greater security risk than those who enter the country through the proper channels. Additionally, if one reads the study by Stanford, it is clear that the research does not specifically study illegal aliens but instead immigrants generally when it concludes that "immigrants" have a lower crime rate than American citizens. But, as previously documented by NewsBusters, a study by the libertarian CATO Institute -- which holds very liberal views on immigration -- admitted that illegal aliens have a higher rate of committing crimes than do legal immigrants, thus confirming that a disproportionate percentage of immigrant crime is committed by those who are illegal. The CNN host soon fretted that, because of the "sheer volume of the people coming into the United States," there will inevitably be more crimes committed by some of them which Republicans will then be able to exploit: "But the sheer volume of the people coming into the United States almost guarantees that that bloodbath website that the RNC has assembled, it's going to continue to have content. And some of those encounters are going to be high-profile." After listing several examples of illegal immigrants who have recently committed murders, Smerconish concluded: "Yet, because of the sheer volume of those crossing the border, such examples will inevitably keep cropping up, and they'll be weaponized to, however unfairly, demonize all migrants because politically it is very potent." The CNN host also gave the impression that there are only a small number of murders committed by illegals each year even though numbers previously released by both the Barack Obama administration and Trump administration suggested that around 1,000 to 2,000 illegals are deported each year after committing homicides. In 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, the Trump administration deported about 1,500 non-citizens each year who had been convicted of homicides, plus several hundred more who had been charged. Transcript follows: CNN's Smerconish April 6, 2024 9:41 a.m. Eastern MICHAEL SMERCONISH: As the campaign season hits stride, each side has a strong get-out-the-vote issue -- the border and abortion. First, on the border, Donald Trump has turned his offhand bloodbath remark into a campaign slogan. You'll recall Trump caused conniptions back on March 16 when he used the word "bloodbath" at a rally near Dayton, Ohio. I said at the time that context mattered. He used the word after a rant about trade, the Chinese, and the auto industry, and said that there would be a bloodbath if he were not elected. Now, given the events of January 16 (sic), many ignored the context, and they feared that it was yet another call for civil unrest. When he first said "bloodbath" in Ohio, it seemed unscripted, it seemed extemporaneous, but now he's owning it and in a different scenario. Trump was in the battleground state of Michigan this week, appearing in an event at Grand Rapids that was called, "Stop Biden's Border Bloodbath." And the RNC launched a new website called Bidenbloodbath.com. Go to that site, and you're going to read a diatribe against President Biden, claiming that, quote, "Lives of everyday Americans have been shattered as a direct result of Biden's open border policies." And then there are tabs for 13 states which seek to track crimes committed by migrants. This despite the fact that researchers at Stanford found that migrants coming into the Untied States are actually 30 percent less likely to be incarcerated when compared to white American citizens. The study debunks any claims that immigration leads to more crime and concludes that, quote, "Recent waves of immigrants are more likely to be employed, married with children, and in good health. Far from the rapists and drug dealers that anti-immigrant politicians claim them to be, immigrants today are doing relatively well and have largely been shielded from the social and economic forces that have affected low-educated U.S.-born men." But, politically speaking, volume is on Trump's side. Think about it. The U.S. Border Patrol had nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants coming into the United States from Mexico in December of 2023. That's according to government statistics. "Encounters" means both apprehensions and expulsions. And for comparison the population of Cincinnati is 300,000 people. It was the highest monthly total on record, easily eclipsing the previous peak of about 224,000 encounters in May of 2022. I think the vast majority of migrants coming to the United States are hardworking people seeking a better life for themselves and their families and/or asylum. I don't think that Mexico is sending us their rapists. Obviously, I need to underscore this: We need to tighten our border -- it's porous. But the sheer volume of the people coming into the United States almost guarantees that that bloodbath website that the RNC has assembled, it's going to continue to have content. And some of those encounters are going to be high-profile. I hope that I'm wrong, but human factors say otherwise. For example, 25-year-old Ruby Garcia, killed by an undocumented immigrant she was romantically involved with. Garcia's body found on the side of a highway in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last month. The 25-year-old suspect, later arrested, charged with murder. Or the case of Laken Riley -- the 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was killed on a college campus by someone who entered the country illegally. The suspect had been arrested back in 2022 but later released according to ICE. And in Maryland a toddler killed during a shootout between two groups over a drug dispute. One of the suspects charged in connection to the boy's killing was also here illegally and arrested last year for theft charges. Finally, an undocumented migrant acquitted -- you'll remember this case -- for the 2015 death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco -- will be deported to Mexico again. The high-profile case drew national attention after the public learned the suspect had been deported back to Mexico five times in the past. Yet, because of the sheer volume of those crossing the border, such examples will inevitably keep cropping up, and they'll be weaponized to, however unfairly, demonize all migrants because politically it is very potent.