Last weekend’s bombings in New York and New Jersey were a total win for both presidential candidates, at least in CNN’s estimation.
During the weekly segment determining which presidential candidate “won the week in politics,” CNN political director David Chalian managed to shoehorn the bombings into the pre-fab conventional wisdom for each candidate: Donald Trump’s comments about the bombings helped cement his reputation as the “law and order” candidate, while Hillary Clinton’s response showed her “steady leadership.”
A reductive graphic provided by the network helpfully divided the candidate’s wins and losses into two columns, with “bombings” falling into both of their “wins” categories.
CNN has a narrative, and it ain’t afraid to use it. No matter what.
