Politicians often excuse inconvenient things they have said by saying that the offensive quote was “taken out of context.” It can happen. But in my unscientific analysis, I suspect that 95% — 99% of the time, that specious claim is merely the last refuge of a scoundrel. However, once in a while, a quote is truly taken out of context — or bastardized in some way to give it a completely different meaning.
For example, CNN’s Scott Jennings, who the foundering network frequently features to appeal to a conservative audience that will never watch them, slammed MN Governor Tim Walz for threatening secession. His evidence? He quoted Walz as saying: “Minnesota will remain an island.” Jennings then added his commentary in a tweet:
Walz cannot be more explicit – this buffoon believes he is seceding from the Union.
We are well into Insurrection Act territory.
Here’s a screen grab.
Damn. That sounds ominous. However, I must say that “Minnesota will remain an island” seems cryptic. And open to other interpretations than a demand for secession. In addition, if Walz did mean that his state was plotting its withdrawal from the Union, wouldn’t the form be “Minnesota will become an island”? “Remain” means no change. And Minnesota is currently a fully paid-up member of the USA.
Fortunately, for people who think Jennings might be making things up, the pundit did link to Walz's original tweet. When you expand that, the whole thing comes into view — including Walz’s complete quote. To wit:
State investigators have been on the scene in North Minneapolis.
I know you’re angry. I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets.
But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace.
Don’t give him what he wants.
That certainly does not paint a picture of a Governor threatening to quit the Union. However, the exchange does illuminate Jennings as a man who will do anything to distract from the killing of an American mother by an ICE agent.
Perhaps Jennings discovered his facility for deception at college. Scott went to the University of Louisville on a McConnell Scholarship. That academic award was established by the Senate’s longtime Republican leader, Mitch McConnell. A man who has long had an on-again, off-again relationship with the truth. And who also has a flexible approach to the Senate’s rules on appointing Supreme Court Justices.
If Jennings were a pod-bro, I would write this off as a standard act by a clickbait addict desperate to get his fix. But I thought CNN wanted to be considered a reputable news source. I realize that the days of dispassionate accuracy in news reporting are long gone. And that cable news no longer believes that the truth should be its North Star.
However, I didn’t realize that cutting quotes in half to slime someone was something CNN tolerated. In fairness, as far as I know, Jennings did not repeat this absurdity on the cable. But if you repeatedly turn to someone for their opinion, you ought to check around to make sure they’re an honest broker.
Perhaps I am wrong. Maybe CNN has no standards at all. In that case, they are still betting on the wrong horses to drag them out of the ratings basement. Their viewership numbers remain closer to those of the hardcore, but niche conservative outlet Newsmax than to those of the industry leader, Fox News.
If you are going to fail, why not do it in a way that allows you to at least say you went down trying to be honest? If your business plan is to be ‘like Fox,’ what’s the incentive for those who watch Fox to switch?
And if CNN thinks giving the ethically challenged Jennings a voice is going to attract liberals, then it deserves its likely future as the answer to the future trivia question: What was the now-defunct cable channel that introduced 24/7 news to the US?
