Tipsheet

CNN Host Tries to Get David Hogg to Stop Demonizing Rubio

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  March 27, 2018 10:15 AM

CNN's Alisyn Camerota is apparently trying to make up for her mistake of mischaracterizing Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-FL) priorities. Last week, she suggested that the Republican cared more about daylight savings time than student safety. In reality, he has been hard at work on legislation that would improve school security and boost communication between schools and law enforcement. Not to mention, he willingly entered a hostile environment when he agreed to participate in a CNN town hall with Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school students, many of whom angrily confronted him about his NRA connections.

Considering all this, Camerota duly apologized to Rubio.

Not David Hogg. The Parkland survivor and gun control activist has taken his criticism of Rubio a step further by condemning him during his speech at the March for Our Lives rally Saturday in the nation's capital. In fact, it was the first thing he did.

Hogg continued to question Rubio's character in a new interview with Camerota on Monday. That's when she spoke up and mentioned what Rubio has been doing behind the scenes - including reaching out to many of the school shooting survivors, and championing the STOP School Violence and Fix NICS Acts.

"Should you be giving credit for even these incremental steps, David?" 

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Hogg didn't seem interested in giving credit, noting that, for example, despite the small step of raising the age to 21 to purchase a firearm in Florida, you can still buy at 18 if it's a private sale.

"These laws have more holes than Swiss cheese," he said.

Hogg has the right to have these complaints, but isn't his incendiary narrative about Rubio a bit unnecessarily provocative, Camerota offered.

"No, it's not provocative enough," Hogg said.

It's good that Rubio is working on bipartisan legislation, Hogg conceded, but as long as he continues to accept NRA money, "there are going to be loopholes in anything he does."

Rubio may appreciate Camerota's attempt to salvage his reputation in the eyes of Hogg and his classmates, yet it seems he is capable of defending himself.