During a recent segment, a CNN panel compared President-elect Donald Trump to Julius Caesar when commenting on his appearance at a UFC fight. According to Marc Caputo, a national political reporter at The Bulwark, Trump mimicked the famous ancient Roman leader appearing with cabinet picks whom he labeled his “gladiators.”
Caputo claimed, “Yeah, and it really looks like ancient Rome.” Commenting on Trump’s landslide victory, he added, “This is sort of a conquering Republican Caesar who’s going into the Coliseum, everyone’s cheering, and he’s got his political gladiators with him.” Caputo further claimed the appearance was intended to send a message, continuing, “That appearance isn’t just about him enjoying the applause. He’s sending a message to the Senate, for sure, like, not only are you entertained, but these are my people, and are you willing to fight? Because here’s who I am.”
Politico national political correspondent Meridith McGraw stated, “Are any of us surprised by this? I feel like, for anybody who has been covering Trump’s campaign or his movement, the past few years, he’s picked. Sure, they’re raising eyebrows, to say the least but yes exactly. They’ve been with him at all these rallies. They’ve played a key role in where he’s at now.”
The American Tribune reported on other news regarding CNN, where the network is allegedly set to begin mass layoffs which could include on-air talent. The X account Wall Street Silver reported on the news, writing, “CNN ‘will ax top stars in layoffs that’ll see hundreds fired’. CNN is reportedly set to fire some of its top talent in a round of post-election layoffs. The rumblings, first reported by Puck News, come as high-paid personalities like Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer were reportedly recently denied raises.”
“The two already boast salaries of $7million and $3million, while stars like Anderson Cooper take home an annual $20million. Kaitlan Collins and Erin Burnett also command inflated earnings – $3million and $6million apiece, respectively.” The post added, “Insiders told Puck the new round of firings will likely see on-air talent like them affected, as the network’s new CEO looks to free up finances amid waning ratings.”
Moreover, other networks across the mainstream media appear to be struggling with ratings in the wake of the election. “This is out just a little while ago, the ratings for MSNBC,” conservative commentator Sean Spicer said on a recent forum. “Morning Joe down 39.6, Andrea Mitchell down 39.7, Ari Melber down 49.6, Joy Reid down 54.6, all in the last week. Lawrence O’Donnell down 60.6, Stephanie Ruhle, the big winner, down 67 percent in ratings.” Spicer concluded from the data, “They lost the trust of the American people.”
Spiucer continued, “I mean, Chris Wallace, this morning announced that he’s leaving CNN to go to a platform. The thing is, you know, my view, I get, I’ve been asked, probably by about 10 to 12 reporters in the last 48 to 72 hours, how did we miss this again?” He further pointed out, “And I said we didn’t. You did. And I mean, and I say this respectfully, but I was just like, look, here are the guests that we’ve had on.”
Watch CNN compare Trump to Caesar below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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