‘And that’s why more people are watching the Cartoon Network, ‘Spongebob’ reruns right now,’ Burchett says
Rep. Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.) skewered CNN’s poor ratings Wednesday, joking to anchor Jim Acosta that SpongeBob SquarePants reruns and Cartoon Network get more viewers.
“I was at the White House covering the first Trump administration when they had rioting outside of the White House. I mean, that was covered on CNN. This is not Fox [News],” Acosta said. “Congressman, you can‘t just spin a tale and pull the wool over people‘s eyes. This is CNN. This is the news. We are asking you to come on and tell the truth.”
“And that’s why more people are watching the Cartoon Network, SpongeBob reruns right now, Jim,” Burchett retorted.
CNN, which was found liable for defamation on Friday, has hemorrhaged viewers since the November election, suffering a nearly 50 percent drop. It finished the year “with its smallest audience in network history” with the coveted 25-54 demographic, according to Fox News.
The exchange came as Acosta grilled Burchett over whether President Donald Trump should be held responsible if any of the pardoned January 6 rioters reoffend after they’re released from prison. Burchett said that anyone who commits a crime would go to jail unless the judge was appointed by former President Joe Biden or if the prosecutor was backed by George Soros.
Burchett accused CNN of covering the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot far more aggressively than the Black Lives Matter unrest the previous summer. A CNN reporter famously called a Black Lives Matter riot “mostly peaceful” as he stood in front of burned out cars, flames, and a wall of black smoke.
”Look, I left the White House during a riot. My life was threatened. My life has been threatened within the last few weeks, yet there‘s no coverage of that,” Burchett said. “And you all continue this, this narrative of attacking Trump. You just can‘t stand the fact that he won and that America spoke.”
