CNN hosts and anchors on Monday called out GOP lawmakers for declining to appear on the network in the wake of two mass shootings that rocked the nation over the weekend, leading to a number of conservative commentators arguing that Republicans would not appear on the network because they would not get a fair shake.
The cable news network pointed to nearly 50 Republicans who declined interview requests following the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left more than 30 people dead and dozens of others injured.
{mosads}“I want to give credit where credit is due here,” anchor Jim Sciutto said Monday morning. “This broadcast, we reached out to 50 Republican lawmakers to speak about this issue today. Forty-nine of them said no. [Rep.] Ted Yoho [R-Fla.], a member of the House Freedom Caucus, he said yes.”
GOP lawmakers representing areas near the shootings, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), all reportedly declined to appear.
CNN also announced on Monday afternoon it will host a town hall event moderated by anchor Chris Cuomo called “America Under Assault” on Wednesday evening.
Commentators and reporters from conservative brands fired back at the network on social media, with many referring to a CNN town hall event that was held just days after a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in January 2018. A number of conservative critics argued that event was unfair to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and then-NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.
Since the shootings over the weekend, Democrats have renewed the call for House-passed gun control legislation to be picked up and voted on in the Senate, even going so far as to ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to call the Senate back from the August recess that began this week.