One of the best parts of this dreadful campaign thus far is the emergence of real journalism where it's been sadly lacking. We've noted the most memorable examples from Joy Ann Reid who, like CNN's Brianna Keilar, have not allowed the guest to railroad the conversation with baseless lies. Keilar had Republican House Representative and reality show stand out, Sean Duffy on today and asked him about the incessant reference to a false concerns about Hillary Clinton's health and fitness to be POTUS.
DUFFY: Nothing on the Trump side leads you to leave he is not healthy.
KEILAR: Nothing would lead you to believe he is healthy. His letter from his doctor is borderline ridiculous.
DUFFY: Brianna, we use common sense and we look at both of them on the stump. If Donald Trump has health issues on the stump, I'm sure it would be played over and over again. That doesn't exist.
KEILAR: It sounds like you're trafficking in these conspiracy theories as well. You're saying because she is coughing she is not as healthy as Donald Trump.
The Republican guest insisted that a few moments from all the public appearances we've seen Hillary Clinton, moments where she may have been coughing or having trouble navigating slippery stairs, is enough to lend credence to the health rumors that a desperate Trump campaign is peddling. Keilar addressed this topic as it has been the primary focus of every surrogate for Trump. Duffy pretended this was all driven by the CNN host, not his fault.
DUFFY I didn't want to talk about this, you did. You're driving the topic.
KEILAR: You're right, I did bring it up, and you're peddling it. That is right, so let me ask you this, you're looking at certain things where she had a stumble or a coughing fit, I hope if you read her medical note from her doctor, that was far more detail, detailed than the one from Donald Trump's doctor.
Behaving like a desperate Republican struggling with the truth, Duffy changed the subject to highlight some other right wing talking point. TPM explains:
He also brought up another widely discredited theory that's been kicking around since 2012: that Clinton's longtime aide, Huma Abedin, has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
"She doesn't have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood," Keilar said when Duffy asked why CNN wasn't questioning him about the latest resurgence of right-wing reporting on Abedin.
"The information is out there that she does have these ties," Duffy insisted.
Keilar responded: "No—I don't know what else to tell you. I'm just telling you how it is."
This won't be the last time you see a GOP mouthpiece try to pass off fiction as fact, but maybe we will see more journalism from the folks who have been letting these people get away with telling lies for so long.
