(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) CNN anchor Dana Bash issued a clarification on Tuesday after accusing Rep. Rashida Tlaib of spreading anti-Semitism and Sen. Tom Cotton of condoning it.
On Monday’s edition of Inside Politics, Bash reported that Tlaib had claimed in remarks to the Detroit Metro Times that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel might be biased against Palestinians because she is Jewish.
These remarks were widely interpreted as anti-Semitic, Bash correctly noted. However, Bash undermined her reporting the following day, clarifying that Tlaib “did not reference Nessel’s Jewish identity.”
Contrary to Bash’s clarification, Nessel affirmed on X that Tlaib’s comments were “anti-Semitic and wrong.”
Rashida’s religion should not be used in a cartoon to imply that she’s a terrorist. It’s Islamophobic and wrong.
Just as Rashida should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as Attorney General. It’s anti-Semitic and wrong.
— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) September 20, 2024
Bash’s correction did not address the line of attacks against Cotton, who on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s assertions that Jewish Americans would bear some blame if Republicans do not win the White House in 2024.
Bash cited this line of defense to claim that anti-Semitism is present in the Republican Party. “A sad reality – antisemitism is everywhere and it comes from both ends of the political spectrum,” Bash wrote on X.
However, Cotton did not condemn Trump’s remarks because there were no anti-Semitic tropes in it, according to Republicans.
Cotton had specifically appeared on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday where he countered anchor Jake Tapper’s line of questioning that suggested Trump was spreading anti-Semitic remarks.
“I think the only reason the Democrats latched onto it this week is that they see the polling that reflects Donald Trump winning record high amounts of Jewish voters for Republicans,” Cotton said.
He also pointed out that Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to condemn anti-Semitism. When Tapper noted that Harris is married to a Jewish man, Cotton quickly replied that Trump has Jewish grandchildren.
