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CNN Panel Mocks Video's Thanks to Trump For Favoring 'Merry Christmas'
Newsbusters.org ^ | December 24, 2017 | Tom Blumer

Posted on 12/24/2017 5:34:20 PM PST by Kaslin

Anyone who has been out in the real world during current and previous Christmas shopping seasons knows that there has been an informal (and occasionally formal) proscription against stores wishing customers a "Merry Christmas" and promoting Christmas in their ads and promotions. On Friday, Wolf Blitzer's CNN panel tried to pretend that the hostility towards "Merry Christmas" has never existed, as they mocked a video which exaggerated its thanks to President Donald Trump for "allowing us to say merry Christmas."

Trump has made his preference for "Merry Christmas" very clear. The Trumps' 2017 Christmas card, as would be expected, has a "Merry Christmas" greeting. It's obviously not Trump's fault that the video in question incorrectly gave him credit for somehow "allowing" people to say "Merry Christmas" again.

By contrast, though the CNN panel referred to a video montage of predecessor Barack Obama saying "Merry Christmas" several times which was shown earlier in the week, Barack Obama and his administration generally avoided the "Merry Christmas" greeting in official communications, as seen in Christmas cards from 2016 ("Happy Holidays" and "holiday season"), 2015 ("warmest wishes for health and happiness this holiday season"), 2014 ("spirit of the holidays"), 2013 ("joy of the holidays"), 2012 ("joy of the holidays"), 2011 ("may your holidays shine"), 2010 ("may your holidays be filled"), and 2009 ("Season's Greetings" and "a joyous holiday season").

Readers should keep this in mind while watching the CNN Friday afternoon video segment below, as the panel tried to pretend that there's never been any reluctance to mention Christmas:

CNN makes Fun Of Christmas-Related Thanks to Trump

Transcript (bolds are mine throughout the remainder of this post):

WOLF BLITZER: David, let me ask you this. There's a pro-Trump non-profit associated with a super PAC which is called America First Priorities (actually, it's America First Policies. — Ed.). They've just released an advertisement reflecting on the President’s first year in office. The ad touts the tax plan, other accomplishments. Let me play another clip from this ad. Listen to this.

(go to Super PAC ad)

VETERAN: As veterans, thank you for reminding us to stand for our national anthem.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Thank you, President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED LITTLE GIRL: Thank you, President Trump, for letting us say "Merry Christmas" again.

(return to studio)

BLITZER: "Thank you, President Trump, for allowing us to say 'Merry Christmas.'" As far as I know, people have been saying merry Christmas for a long time.

DAVID SWERDICK: Yeah, Merry Christmas, Wolf. Merry Christmas, Rebecca. Merry Christmas, Jeffrey. You can already say "Merry Christmas."

REBECCA BERG: Don’t you feel liberated?

DAVID SWERDICK: Yeah, I do. Like thank you, President Trump. Look, it’s a bit of a ridiculous ad. At the same time, this for the 35 percent of Americans that still support President Trump, this is the value add. (The December 22 Rasmussen poll had Trump's approval rating at 44 percent. — Ed.) A President Bush could have passed a tax cut. A President Rubio could have appointed a Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch. But this culture war, this sort of ax grinding is what people got out of President Trump, and they’re sort of touting it now as they end the year.

BLITZER: Jeffrey, go ahead.

JEFFREY TOOBIN: I just wanted to say that finally, you know, the Obama prohibition on "Merry Christmas" has been overturned, and I for one am grateful for that.

BLITZER: Although we have a lot of clips of former President Obama actually saying those words, "Merry Christmas."

TOOBIN: It’s true. It’s true. Just a little Christmas cheer here, you know.

BLITZER: What do you think, Rebecca?

BERG: I would agree it is a little bit ridiculous, but, you know, can we also say Happy Chrismica? I think that's also appropriate —

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You can say "Merry Christmas." As far as I know, this is a free country. We have freedom of speech. You can say all of the above, and a lot more. We’ll take a quick break. Much more right after this.

Trump backers aren't claiming that "Merry Christmas" was banned speech. "Merry Christmas" was discouraged as too sectarian, as not "inclusive" enough.

What the CNN panel also didn't mention, because it's utterly embarrassing, is that the press is the group that is the most allergic to the word "Christmas."

For 13 years, I've tracked media mentions of "Christmas shopping season" and "holiday shopping season" on Google News. The "Christmas" results have come in as low as 7.0 percent in 2015, the last Christmas season during the Obama era (in the American psyche, 2008 and 2016 belong to Obama and Trump, respectively, because they were in their respective presidential transition periods), and only as high as last year's 16.7 percent:

But when it comes to reporting on corporate layoffs occurring near the end of the year, the press has had a habit of suddenly remembering that it's Christmastime. In that regard, 2017 was no different than any of the previous 12 years I've tracked:

This year, consistent with previous years, Christmas was mentioned in reporting on layoffs more than three times as often (42.0 percent compared to 13.1 percent) than it was in connection with shopping.

As for the supposedly non-existent war on Christmas, Victoria Taft at Independent Journal Review, who also noticed that CNN's Don Lemon claimed earlier in the week that Trump's "Merry Christmas" greetings represent "a dog whistle to the base because no one has ever stopped using Merry Christmas," believes the good guys have won the war on Christmas, but made the following observations about the press's current outlook which tie directly into the attitudes seen in the video above (link is in original)

.... the (original) war to send “Christmas” down the memory hole is now being recast as “War on Christmas? What war on Christmas?”

Why? Donald Trump.

... the Chicago Tribune reports that another study shows that “Merry Christmas” is now a political declaration ...

... Considering this study and the recent casting of “Jingle Bells” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” as racist and sexist, respectively, the War on Christmas is apparently raging on.

Or, despite, the pretense, the press would prefer to see a renewed hostility towards the greeting which supports the true reason for the season.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: antireligiousbias; barackhussein0bama; blogs; clownnewsnetwork; jeffreytobin; lastdays; media; mockers; msm; rebeccaberg; thesituationroom; trumpchristmas; wolfblitzer
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1 posted on 12/24/2017 5:34:20 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I’m aware of way more clerks saying “Merry Christmas”.


2 posted on 12/24/2017 5:38:41 PM PST by Terry Mross (Liver spots And blood thinners..)
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To: Kaslin

Here’s a question for Wolf. Is CNN wishing people a Merry Christmas? Is he?


3 posted on 12/24/2017 5:39:36 PM PST by Terry Mross (Liver spots And blood thinners..)
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To: Kaslin

Everyone I meet beside a few Muslims has been saying Merry Christmas to me.


4 posted on 12/24/2017 5:41:08 PM PST by JohnyBoy (The GOP Senate is intentionally trying to lose the majority.)
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To: Kaslin

I just love watching CNN offend the last few viewers it has....


5 posted on 12/24/2017 5:42:08 PM PST by ransomnote
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To: Terry Mross

“Here’s a question for Wolf. Is CNN wishing people a Merry Christmas? Is he?”

I don’t think Wolfie even says Happy Chanukah!


6 posted on 12/24/2017 5:42:42 PM PST by vette6387
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To: Kaslin

bkmrk


7 posted on 12/24/2017 5:43:43 PM PST by morphing libertarian (Build Kate's Wall)
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To: Terry Mross

So did I read this right? Blitzer and the other Jews on the panel making fun of Christmas?


8 posted on 12/24/2017 5:43:57 PM PST by Okeydoker
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To: ransomnote

CNN just doing spirit of antichrist work.

As always. That’s why they loved antichrist spirit Barack Hussein Obama.

And liberals think he’s soooo great.......


9 posted on 12/24/2017 5:48:42 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Kaslin

Thanks to Wolfie, too, for making an idiot of himself. Maybe next time he’ll do better than minus 2000 $ on Jeopardy...


10 posted on 12/24/2017 5:51:44 PM PST by rfp1234 (I have already previewed this composition.)
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To: rfp1234

It was actually worse than -$2,000 - :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVC28oemocA


11 posted on 12/24/2017 5:55:07 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: rfp1234

Wait til AT&T sells CNN to Rupert Murdock and Wolfie, gets a lump of coal in his stocking.


12 posted on 12/24/2017 6:02:53 PM PST by bigbob (People say believe half of what you see son and none of what you hear - M. Gaye)
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To: Kaslin

Small, bitter, spiteful, haughty, narrow and smirky.

Mornings in front of the mirror must be rough in those houses.

They constantly b!+ch, President of The United States Donald Trump just keeps on winning...

.


13 posted on 12/24/2017 6:10:42 PM PST by TLI ( ITINERIS IMPENDEO VALHALLA)
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To: Kaslin

These “people” are so easy to hate.


14 posted on 12/24/2017 6:16:11 PM PST by shalom aleichem
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To: Terry Mross

Even here in looney liberal LA Ive been hearing more people saying MERRY CHRISTMAS!


15 posted on 12/24/2017 6:33:47 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: ransomnote

It is weird. I do not think these idiots realize how much they tic people off with their inanity. I assume they think normal people are too stupid to notice that the PTB have been trying to get rid of “Merry Christmas” for the past couple of decades.


16 posted on 12/24/2017 6:38:59 PM PST by jospehm20
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To: Kaslin

17 posted on 12/24/2017 7:25:28 PM PST by Chode (You have all of the resources you are going to have. Abandon your illusions and plan accordingly.)
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To: Terry Mross

Really, do think ANYONE is watching CNN tonight?


18 posted on 12/24/2017 7:28:51 PM PST by jimjohn (2nd American Civil War: ongoing since January 20, 2017.)
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To: Sarah Barracuda

Is LA like Dallas? The city proper is liberal as hell, but the suburbs aren’t.


19 posted on 12/24/2017 7:29:06 PM PST by Rastus
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The MSN lies, deceives — it’s the Country’s greatest threat.


20 posted on 12/24/2017 7:31:00 PM PST by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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