You may not have thought it was possible, but Fox News seemingly hit a new low Wednesday night, when host Laura Ingraham and contributor Raymond Arroyo openly attacked CNN anchors who’ve contracted COVID-19.
At least three CNN anchors — Chris Cuomo, Brooke Baldwin, and Richard Quest — have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with Cuomo and Baldwin chronicling their illnesses extensively on the air in recent weeks.
“Throughout the lockdown, CNN anchors seem to have increasingly become the story,” Ingraham said during a segment of her show, The Ingraham Angle, called “Seen and Unseen.”
“Laura, the first rule of journalism is don’t inject yourself into the story,” Arroyo responded. “But there seems to be a deliberate attempt to graft a slew of CNN anchors onto this COVID crisis. A number of them have contracted the virus and emoted their personal experiences. It almost appears they’ve launched a series of new reality shows. You could call this one ‘Are You Sicker Than a CNN Anchor?’”
After several clips played of the CNN anchors discussing their experiences, Arroyo added: “Laura, the self-referential emoting is I guest what’s so galling. Look, people are dying, people are losing their livelihoods. Chances are, young and healthy anchors are not going to succumb to this disease, and to keep this narrative going every night that’s so personal, it is disturbing, because you lose all perspective. It’s great to have perspective, but to become the story is a big problem here, and CNN really should tamp down their personal stories. It’s too much.”
Ingraham commented that she was glad the CNN anchors are recovering, to which Arroyo responded, “I agree.”
“But I don’t really get it,” Ingraham added. “Is that the news?”
Arroyo then took aim at CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who has not tested positive for COVID-19, for taking a “lifestyle tact” in his coverage of the pandemic, by discussing his attempt to cut his own hair.
“I saw that. It was all about his quarantine grooming. You might call the show, ‘Vanderbilt Rules,'” Ingraham said, in a reference to Cooper’s late mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. “This is like Big Brother or something.”
Finally, Arroyo turned his attention to Cuomo, who has repeatedly interviewed his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, during his primetime show.
“He became the star of a multi-week, cross-platform show, including his governor brother, that could have been called ‘The Real House Husbands of the Hamptons,'” Arroyo said of Cuomo. “If this were real Laura, it would be fine, but it’s not. This was feigned. This was a feigned recovery.
“He was out bicycling while he pretended to be in the basement,” Arroyo added, referring to reports that Cuomo at one point broke his quarantine. “Don’t advertise your quarantine and moralize about it with your brother every night, saying you’re going to kill people [by going out], when you’re doing it. It’s outrageous.”
Watch the segment below.
