This morning CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota hosted a panel discussion with five Trump supporters, who calmly explained to her that evidence of voter fraud was everywhere “in the media” and could be found on Google or Facebook if she was willing to look. It’s a fascinating albeit sobering look at the thought processes that led them to caste their votes for Trump.
The segment was a follow-up to an earlier panel held before election day, and focused mostly on Trump’s new appointees and allegations of voter fraud. But far more interesting were the panelists’ comments about “the media,” which they repeatedly referred to as some sort of collective entity, indistinguishable from outlet to outlet.
“Voting is a privilege in this country and you need to be legal, not like California where three million illegals voted,” one panelist named Paula asserted about four minutes into the segment. When Camerota asked her to cite her sources, she said she saw it in “the media—some of it was CNN,” before admitting she didn’t know where she saw it.
“It was coming all across the media. All across,” she said. “If CNN didn’t do it, then they were being smart this time.”
Another panelist told Camerota she heard with her own ears President Obama tell people they could vote even if they were in the country illegally.
Camerota: Did you hear President Obama say illegal people could vote?
Panelist: Yes.
Camerota: Tell me where?
Panelist: On uh, you can find it—Google it. You can find it on Facebook.
The report, it turned out, was a debunked Fox Business Network clip that had been deceptively edited, which a look at the transcript would have immediately made clear.
The whole segment is worth a watch. The panelists also explain they don’t care if the wall actually gets built because they trust Trump will keep “the illegals” out, and blame the rise of white supremacists on the media.
“That’s been around forever. If you keep reporting on it, it’s going to grow like a cancer,” Paula said. “If you forget about it, it’s probably going to go away. The media has to hop on everything and it’s wrong.”
The only thing more notable than watching a panel of people realize they don’t know whether or not something is true is watching a panel of people realize they don’t particularly care, because it feels true enough.
