Taking it to Crossfire

Taking it to Crossfire

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Nation readers don’t need to be told that what passes for TV punditry is far more degrading than uplifting for the national conversation.

With talking heads ranting at each other in soundbite form, it’s difficult for even the most dignified, articulate analyst to avoid being caught up in the calculated theater of debate shows like MSNBC’s Hardball, CNN’s Crossfire and Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes. To steal a good line from the man I’m about to praise, TV debate shows are as much about real debate as the World Wrestling Federation is about real athletic competition.

Jon Stewart dropped that line, among many other spot-on remarks, in an amazing confrontation with Crossfire hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala this past Friday on the CNN program. Invited on to plug his (hilarious) new book, Stewart instead took the opportunity to publicly confront his hosts about why he thinks Crossfire‘s programming and the mainstream media in general are “hurting America.” (He also told Carlson and Begala: “You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.”)

The result: perhaps the most direct, frank and truthful comments on the real role the media plays in shaping debate ever uttered on a major television news program. And, thanks to the internet, this remarkable moment in live TV, which clearly thrilled the in-studio audience, can live on well beyond the hundreds of thousands of people who saw it air last Friday.

Click here to watch the interview, click here to read the full transcript, and check out Stewart’s comedic interpretation of the news every Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central.

Take a stand against Trump and support The Nation!

In this moment of crisis, we need a unified, progressive opposition to Donald Trump. 

We’re starting to see one take shape in the streets and at ballot boxes across the country: from New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s campaign focused on affordability, to communities protecting their neighbors from ICE, to the senators opposing arms shipments to Israel. 

The Democratic Party has an urgent choice to make: Will it embrace a politics that is principled and popular, or will it continue to insist on losing elections with the out-of-touch elites and consultants that got us here? 

At The Nation, we know which side we’re on. Every day, we make the case for a more democratic and equal world by championing progressive leaders, lifting up movements fighting for justice, and exposing the oligarchs and corporations profiting at the expense of us all. Our independent journalism informs and empowers progressives across the country and helps bring this politics to new readers ready to join the fight.

We need your help to continue this work. Will you donate to support The Nation’s independent journalism? Every contribution goes to our award-winning reporting, analysis, and commentary. 

Thank you for helping us take on Trump and build the just society we know is possible. 

Sincerely, 

Bhaskar Sunkara 
President, The Nation

Ad Policy
x