Lawrence O'Donnell: Trump Actually Wants You to Watch CNN
*By Max Godnick*
One of MSNBC's most well known on-air personalities thinks the President of the United States would rather audiences watch CNN.
"He never says the letters MSNBC," said Lawrence O'Donnell in an interview with Cheddar on Monday. "We have a much bigger audience than CNN and he would prefer people to watch CNN."
The host of "The Last Word" said he thinks Trump's anti-CNN rhetoric is meant to increase the network's viewership so that audiences can hear from pundits who agree with him. Unlike MSNBC, CNN uses conservative commentators like Rick Santorum, S.E. Cupp and Jason Miller to diversify its panels with voices from both sides of the aisle.
"A good third of the show will be a spirited, and insane and lying, defense of Donald Trump," said O'Donnell about CNN.
O'Donnell's own network made headlines when [Rachel Maddow broke down in tears](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKuIjT-k-C8) last week while reading a breaking news report about the existence of "tender age" shelters for the babies and toddlers of illegal immigrants caught crossing the border. Maddow hosts the network's 9 o'clock hour and was handing over coverage to O'Donnell when the moment occurred.
O'Donnell told Cheddar that he was originally supposed to read the report, not Maddow.
"I was afraid of reading it because I didn't think I could get through it," he said. "I'm a real crybaby, Rachel is the hardest person in the world to crack."
The host said it was his colleague's tearful display that allowed him to stay composed on air.
"Rachel strengthened me," O'Donnell said. "I was able to be less emotional because Rachel was expressing my emotions for me."
Cable news networks devoted wall-to-wall coverage to the family separation crisis at the border. After a days-long standoff that saw some members of the president's own party rebuke his policy, Trump signed an executive order that ended the practice. O'Donnell said Trump's reversal does not mean networks like MSNBC will stop covering the aftermath.
"We're going to continue to get more secret recordings of children out of these jails," he said.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/lawrence-odonnell-sounds-off-on-the-cable-news-landscape)
As Russia unleashed war in the country of Ukraine, global leaders have started inflicting punishment on Vladimir Putin's regime via commercial and financial penalties. According to President Joe Biden Putin's aggression is "a flagrant violation of international law and it demands a firm response from the international community".However, the main question is will these sanctions actually work. Partner at Jenner & Block LLP, Rachel Alpert, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A Gallup poll finds that now 7.1% of American adults identify as LGBTQ, jumping from 3.5% in 2012. The increase is driven by Generation-Z – those born between 1997 and 2003 – of whom one out of five identify as LGBTQ. Cheddar News speaks with Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson about the significant shift.
As the Biden administration continues to see the potential for an imminent invasion of Ukraine after contradictory reports of a Russian troop pullback or buildup, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, joined Cheddar News to give his insight into the tense situation. "When I was in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and we were talking with the Ukrainian leadership with President Zelensky, they said we ought to approach Vladimir Putin as though he was a poker player," he said. "So this could be one of those head fakes where he's saying one thing and doing another thing."
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter for Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest in marijuana legalization in the United States.
The Biden administration is launching a new task force to promote the use of 'cleaner' construction materials with lower life cycle emissions. This comes as the White House works to speed up government purchases of greener products. Sweta Chakraborty, climate change expert and U.S. president of "We Don't Have Time," joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Due to the staffing shortages of teachers in New Mexico, the state has been encouraging its National Guard members to fill in as licensed substitutes to keep schools open. Kurt Steinhaus, New Mexico secretary of education, joined Cheddar News to explain the state's stopgap measure amid its lack of teaching professionals. "The first thing they have to go through a fingerprint background check, just like any other substitute new Mexico. The second thing they have to do is go through some online training, and then we provided some in-person professional development about classroom management," Steinhaus explained about the qualifications process.
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
