It was déjà vu for those watching CNN’s “New Day” on Monday as the network’s chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward reported on the deteriorating situation in Kabul, Afghanistan.
While the scene and situation were entirely different from the “fiery but mostly peaceful” protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August, the network’s description of the events taking place were quite similar.
“As soon as we leave our compound, it’s clear who is now in charge,” Ward said in her report. “Taliban fighters have flooded the capital. Smiling and victorious, they took this city of 6 million people in a matter of hours — barely firing a shot. This is a sight I honestly thought I would never see: scores of Taliban fighters, and just behind us, the U.S. embassy compound. Some carry American weapons. They tell us they’re here to maintain law and order.”
She then translated an interview with a Taliban commander telling her “everything is under control” and “will be fine.”
“What’s your message to America right now?” she asked.
“‘America already spent enough time in Afghanistan,'” he told her. “‘They need to leave,’ he tells us. ‘They already lost lots of lives and lots of money.'”
As scenes of Taliban members holding up weapons and chanting appear on screen, Ward notes that they’re chanting “‘Death to America, but they seem friendly at the same time.”
“It’s utterly bizarre,” she added.
Haven't we heard this before? pic.twitter.com/1V6hAPZdom
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 16, 2021
Others on Twitter noted the difference one day made.
Yesterday vs today. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/WL47gRdqN5
— Alexi Kudej (@AKudej25) August 16, 2021
Still, many defended Ward for understanding the magnitude of the situation in Afghanistan and continuing to be there at all.
ward is getting a bad rap for saying "they're chanting 'death to america' but they seem friendly." her full report proves she's under no illusions about what the taliban takeover means. and she has balls of steel to be out on the street there at all https://t.co/H11zt1wn3U
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) August 16, 2021
Her previous reporting on the fall of Afghanistan also makes that clear.
Extremely brave and certainly quite sobering reporting from @clarissaward and her CNN crew..... https://t.co/BAo3aHhQlJ
— Marc Polymeropoulos (@Mpolymer) August 13, 2021
"The overwhelming feeling of people who are in areas still controlled by the government is fear," @clarissaward and @TimListerCNN report https://t.co/g8WylOWROu
— Jennifer Hansler (@jmhansler) August 12, 2021
Update: Ward clarified the difference in her appearance.
This meme is inaccurate. The top photo is inside a private compound. The bottom is on the streets of Taliban held Kabul. I always wore a head scarf on the street in Kabul previously, though not w/ hair fully covered and abbaya. So there is a difference but not quite this stark. pic.twitter.com/BmIRFFSdSE
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) August 16, 2021
Editor's note: This post has been updated to include additional reporting from Ward.