CNN Situation Room anchor Wolf Blitzer closed his Friday night show with a “very personal” commentary, in which he invoked his own Holocaust survivor parents to defend and praise the patriotism of the immigrants who testified in President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Blitzer rarely steps outside of his anchor role, so his decision to offer his opinion on the courage of the impeachment witnesses was a notable, implicit rebuke of the character assassination efforts and questions of loyalty pushed by the president’s defenders.
“Finally tonight, during two historic weeks of impeachment hearings, the nation witnessed the courage of American diplomats and the public servants,” Blitzer began. “Some of them faced awful accusations that they may not be sufficiently loyal to this country because of their immigrant background. But they pushed back defending their love and commitment to the United States of America.”
Blitzer then played clips of Fiona Hill, Marie Yovanovitch, Gordon Sondland, and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman discussing their own personal journeys to this country during their Congressional testimony and offering their gratitude for the
“This is all very personal for me,” Blitzer added. “I’m the son of Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States. This country welcomed my parents who established a wonderful life in Buffalo, New York. They were so grateful to this country and went on to become American patriots. Let us never forget that the history of America is filled with examples of immigrants excelling because of the amazing opportunities that this country provides.”