CNN’s Don Lemon Asks ‘Why Does Jen Psaki Continue Even to Call On Fox in the Briefing Room?’

CNN host Don Lemon questioned on Monday why Fox News is a part of the White House press corps.

Earlier in the evening, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol revealed that Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Brian Kilmeade were texting then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as the attack was unfolding.

All three hosts would later condemn the riot on air.

“Why does [White House Press Secretary] Jen Psaki even continue to call on Fox in the briefing room? They’ve been very courteous and, I should say, kind,” said Lemon. “Because if your network is promoting B.S. and lies about what is actually happen in the country and helping to inspire and incite an insurrection, why should they even be able to take part in a legitimate press briefing in legitimate journalism?”

CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp remarked that “there are reporters still at Fox,” though “very few” and “very few getting airtime and the last [ole] good one [Chris Wallace] left the building and the problem with any good reporters left at Fox is that the primetime people contradict everything they say. So you can report something like Covid is real or the election wasn’t stolen but it’s just going to be contradicted in primetime.”

Lemon asked CNN media critic Brian Stelter the same question he asked Cupp.

“I think we’d say historically, you got to keep as broad an opening of the press corps as possible and let in as many voices as possible, you know, even letting in cranks,” said Stelter. “And there’s been a lot of cranks in the briefing room in the past. Not Fox but just randos that are able to come in the briefing. I think historically that’s been the approach: Let in as many people in as you can fit in the room.”

“Fox has changed dramatically and these text messages tonight are more evidence that this media ecosystem has changed dramatically and we can’t view it the way we did 10 years ago, where ‘Oh yeah, there’s a bunch of channels and one leans left and one leans right.’ No, one now leans so far from reality that it’s imperiled the country,” he added.

Watch above, via CNN.