As a conservative who uses social media, I spend very little time worrying when strangers call me names on the internet, and I spend even less time myself against someone who can’t come up with anything other than insults.
So you’d think that when CNN’s Brian Stelter, who no doubt fields exponentially more negative comments than I ever do, discovered that Fox News had derided him as a “useless idiot,” he wouldn’t waste any mental energy trying to refute this lowbrow claim.
But no.
Stelter, a grown man with what I can only assume is a full-time job, actually felt it worth his time to respond to being called a name by a rival news network, and not just that, but to try to snarkily hit back.
This backfired disastrously, as, in his attempt to retort with a witty insult himself, he unwittingly admitted he was a “useful idiot.”
Tweeting a screen shot of a headline from Fox News about his attack on the concept of “parents’ rights” that was captioned “useless idiot,” Stelter wrote, “I’m a ‘useless idiot,’ Fox says, but I must be ‘useful’ for page views…”
I'm a "useless idiot," Fox says, but I must be "useful" for page views… pic.twitter.com/4zyG41SYqi
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 7, 2021
Oh, bless his dear little heart.
As journalist Ian Miles Cheong suggested, “You should put it in your bio.”
You should put it in your bio.
— Ian Miles Cheong @ stillgray.substack.com (@stillgray) November 8, 2021
The “Reliable Sources” anchor was recently on a panel of CNN pundits discussing Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Younkin’s surprise victory following an election that had centered on education, and more specifically, the controversy over critical race theory being taught in classrooms.
Stelter, for his part, framed the concept of “parents’ rights” as just a “slogan” and “catchall phrase” that really just means the advancement of white supremacy or some nonsense that liberals are currently telling themselves so they can do anything other than admit that their message has largely driven voters to vote for Republican candidates as was clearly seen in Virginia.
CNN's Brian Stelter and The Grio vice president Natasha Alford scoff at the idea of parental rights, suggesting it's just a political "slogan." They also warn viewers: "When the top issue is called 'education,' the top issue is race," Stelter declared with finger quotes. pic.twitter.com/sVs6ZCIDtT
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 7, 2021
This is exactly how wokeness works — to leftists, absolutely nothing can be taken at face value, and everything is somehow secretly racist.
Of course, in the case of the headline calling Stelter an “idiot” over this tone-deaf commentary on parents’ rights, he was trying to frame the insult against him as a cheap ploy on the part of Fox News to boost its ratings.
This was a self-own in more ways than one, as Fox News has long beaten out CNN when it comes to ratings, so one really has to wonder what on earth he was thinking when he voluntarily drew attention to Fox’s ratings and called himself a “useful idiot” in one fell swoop.
Many of Stelter’s tenderhearted viewers, however, were kind enough to soothe his bruised ego with the fierce loyalty of a mother whose child just got teased at school and rushed to insist that he most certainly was not an idiot and those bullies at Fox News were probably just jealous.
“You must scare them or they wouldn’t spend so much time attacking you. So you should feel honored!” one user commented.
You must scare them or they wouldn’t spend so much time attacking you. So you should feel honored!
— TheLadyInRead (@Up4Yes) November 8, 2021
“Your show today was very good,” a loyal viewer added.
Your show today was very good.
— Meidas Mighty Amanda 🇨🇦 (@HlasnyAmanda) November 7, 2021
See, this is exactly why useful idiots like Stelter over at CNN and everywhere else continue to double down on their claims that regular, everyday parents who think CRT is entirely inappropriate for public school classrooms continue to make the wildly absurd and tone-deaf comments they do.
They live in a left-wing echo chamber of their own making where everyone who agrees with them is enlightened and everyone who isn’t is, well, just racist.
And they wonder why their ratings are slipping while Democrats are losing in blue states?
This is why.
Stelter may have just admitted he’s a useful idiot, but this narrative probably won’t be useful to leftists for much longer if they don’t wake up from their wokeness.