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CNN’s ‘News’ Mocks Trumps, Joke Implodes on Cast

Far-Left comic Michael Ian Black apologizes, then does something odd

CNN looked around the late-night landscape and came to a startling conclusion.

We need another far-left comedy showcase.

“Have I Got News for You,” the U.S. adaptation of the long-running British show, asks a panel of comedians each Saturday night to weigh in on the latest headlines. The flailing network hired Michael Ian Black, Amber Ruffin and Roy Wood to anchor the weekly series.

All three lean aggressively to the Left.

The show’s Sept. 14 debut attempted to mock President Donald Trump, not unlike the network’s other programming. Except things didn’t go exactly as planned.

The panel slammed Trump for referring to a Taliban official as “Abdul” during the recent presidential debate. They suggested it was a generic, and perhaps racist, way to label an Afghanistan official.

Host Wood, passed over for “The Daily Show’s” hosting gig earlier this year, asked the panel, “What was the fake name of the head of the Taliban that Donald Trump cited during the debate.”

The answer? Abdul.

“He picked the most obvious name to make up for the head of the Taliban,” Black cracked as his fellow panelists cackled in glee. The show’s official X account pushed the clip out, secure in its comedy mileage and accuracy. 

Except they got it wrong.

Trump actually negotiated with Taliban official Abdul Ghani Baradar during his presidency. Black, to his credit, admitted to the mistake. He even posted a mildly snarky apology for getting the story wrong.

“On behalf of the entire Have I Got News for You team I offer my sincere apologies,” the comedian said.

And then he deleted it.

Author and former Department of Justice reporter Jerry Dunleavy caught both the admission and the deletion.

Turns out “News” is as factually wobbly as CNN in toto. Another sour note for the new series?

The ratings.

“Have I Got News for You” averaged 737,000 viewers, according to recent Nielsen numbers. That number slightly improved on previous CNN content in that time frame but shrank its audiences in the critical 25-54 demo by 34 percent.

“Fox News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla” airs an hour later, which should mean a smaller audience in general.

Not quite.

“Failla” beat CNN’s comedy lineup by 26 percent in the overall ratings. Plus, the former’s show outdrew “News” by 42 percent in the 25-54 demographic.

10 Comments

  1. I find it interesting that the only comment that is blocked from replies is the one of the poor victim of drowning by kool aid, gozo.

  2. Never heard of the ‘show’. Looks like one would need a few beverages to tolerate it.
    (Red Eye was much funnier and off the cuff)

  3. Michael Ian Black has never been anywhere near funny, therefore not a comedian. Just because he once hung out with funny people doesn’t qualify. Comedic skills are not a communicable disease. Correction requested.

    1. Michael Scwartz. He went to high school with my brother and sister. He was awkward but funny back then. Now he’s just awkward.

      1. This is a fascinating take! I don’t know that I’ve ever heard Sec. Clinton say that someone on the Other Side ought to be jailed. But for years and years now, we’ve heard Mr. Trump and a good number of supporters speak of jailing Sec. Clinton. I must assume you are not a Russian/Iranian troll, just spreading falsehoods. But if not, how can you be so deliberately partisan as to ignore and distort the facts in this way? We on the Democratic side try to believe that those on the Trump side truly care about our country as much as we do. But evidence like your post here truly makes us shake our heads in wonder. (And then we can’t help pointing it out: you’re just Weird.)

    1. What happens when they rebroadcast in California Tina Fey imitating Sarah Palin and saying ‘I can see Russia from my house’, something she never said, implied or got with a stone’s throw of? Does Tina Fey go to jail or just the writers?

      JK, Cali is pre-fascist and if you play for the regime you will be taken care of. But if I were a conservative comic, I’d cut the state from my appearances. You want to be the first one to try a Kamala joke in Cali?

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