In a recent CNN segment, the network’s reporter Isobel Yeung interviewed a masked member of the Sinaloa cartel, questioning him about how he felt about being labeled a terrorist by President Donald Trump. The interview sparked outrage among conservative commentators, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called the segment “despicable” for its sympathetic tone toward an illegal criminal.
On Monday, I covered the CNN segment that sparked a mountain of criticism for giving air time to a known cartel gangster, then asking how he feels about the president calling cartels what they are: terrorists. Leavitt called it another example of why Americans' trust in the mainstream media is at an all-time low.
“I was scrolling on Instagram when I came across this interview," Leavitt told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. "And it stopped me in my tracks, not just because they sat down with a member of a Mexican cartel that is now designated as a foreign terror organizations by the United States government, but because of the nature of the questions of this notorious foreign terrorist.”
Leavitt called it a “softball interview” that handed a public platform to a violent drug cartel responsible for the deaths of American citizens.
In a CNN segment filmed at a secret location in Mexico, Yeung asked a Sinaloa Cartel member, who was wearing a mask, latex gloves, and sunglasses, how he felt about Trump calling cartels terrorists. The question backfired when the gang member expressed respect for the president, saying he's just looking out for his people and blaming U.S. drug demand for the cartel's existence.
Yeung then asked the cartel member what he would say to Trump if given the chance, to which he said, "My respect. According to him, he’s looking out for his people, but the problem is that the consumers are in the United States.”
"If there aren’t any consumers, we would stop," the cartel member said.
The CNN segment triggered widespread backlash, as viewers slammed the network for giving a violent cartel member a national platform and criticized the decision as irresponsible and tone-deaf.
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