CNN Anchors Crack Themselves Up Joking About Trump’s Eric Endorsement
CNN anchors laughed along with their panel as they tried to decide if former President Donald Trump‘s “Eric” endorsement was a clever joke, a serious attempt to claim future credit, a memory lapse, or all of the above.
On Monday, Trump offered his “endorsement” in the Republican U.S. Senate primary for Missouri, whose two leading candidates are named Eric: Eric Schmitt, the current attorney general, and former Gov. Eric Greitens.
The punchline to Trump’s endorsement was “I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
On Tuesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, co-anchors John Avlon and Brianna Keilar were joined by commentators S.E. Cupp and Jonah Goldberg for what turned out to be a rather rollicking discussion of the endorsement that included Keilar endorsing her favorite co-worker John and Goldberg getting annoyed about something Trump will probably do, but hasn’t:
SE CUPP: This is the “Hey you” endorsement. You know, when you don’t remember who someone is. You say, “Hey, you!” And it covers all the bases, totally noncommittal. And that’s that was the point of this, right? Because he doesn’t want to have to choose.
On a serious note, you know, this really just lays bare yet again how unmotivated Trump is by ideas and principles and policy. It’s, really he just wants the allegiance. Whichever guy is going to fight over me the most is fine with me. He doesn’t care what ideas win. And so that’s, I, he accomplishes that with the hey you endorsement.
JOHN AVLON: The “Hey, you” endorsement. All right. Yeah.
SE CUPP: Hey, you!
JONAH GOLDBERG: I think that’s S.E.’s pretty much nailed it. The only thing I would sort of add is that. If it remained a joke, it’d be kind of funny, right? But who can doubt that when one of the Erics wins, he’s going to take credit for sure.
SE CUPP: Oh, they’re already fighting over what it means.
JONAH GOLDBERG: And so, like, if it. If it was purely like a troll, kind of, you know, him basically winking at people saying, I don’t know what to do here. It’d be one thing, but he’s going to, like, play it seriously afterwards or probably will. And that’s going to be pretty annoying.
SE CUPP: My favorite part, though, is the state, the Trump team said in a statement, “The endorsement speaks for itself.” Yes, it does.
BRIANNA KEILAR: Someone asks me who my favorite CNN coworker is. I’m going to say, John, half of my time and John Harwood, Vause, Avlon, Berman, King. Right. Okay. But in all seriousness, Eric Greitens, I mean it also this is it is, this endorsement’s funny, it makes you laugh. Eric Greitens is an accused abuser. The seriousness of the issues facing this guy are nuts.
Watch above via CNN.
