During CNN’s election-night coverage, anchor Kasie Hunt appeared to say, “And it took us years to get there, too,” immediately after commentator David Axelrod described the midterm results as “a repudiation” of former President Donald Trump. That’s according to The Western Journal, which highlighted a clip of the exchange shared on X by Jorge Bonilla of the Media Research Center.
What Hunt and Axelrod said on-air
The Western Journal quoted Hunt earlier in the segment as saying sources in both parties saw the night “shaping up to be a blue tsunami,” calling it “the greatest fear for Republicans” and “something that Democrats didn’t dare to hope for.”
Axelrod then said the election was “a repudiation” of Trump, adding, “He begged to be on the ballot and he is on the ballot, and the verdict is very, very negative and it’s very broad across this big, diverse country,” per the same report. Hunt followed with, “And it took us years to get there, too,” in the clip Bonilla posted. NewsBusters, a conservative media-watch site, characterized the remark as a “mask-off moment.”
Critics cite past incidents
The Western Journal pointed to several prior episodes flagged by media critics:
- In 2019 at MSNBC, Hunt referred to segregationist senators James Eastland and Herman Talmadge as “two former Republican colleagues” while teeing up a segment on Joe Biden’s remarks about working with them. Journalist Justin Baragona posted the clip on X, noting both men were Democrats.
- In 2024, Hunt introduced three abortion-related testimonials while reporting on the post–Roe v. Wade landscape. NewsBusters described the spots as Democratic campaign ads and quoted Hunt’s line afterward: “These are just three stories of countless stories like them, no doubt, unfolding across the country because of the fall of Roe vs. Wade.”
- Also in 2024, Hunt cut short an interview with Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt after Leavitt criticized Hunt’s colleagues. A clip shared on X by the account Radical Left Exposed shows Hunt saying, “Ma’am, I’m going to stop this interview if you continue to attack my colleagues,” before ending the segment.
Another CNN voice drew attention
The New York Post reported that CNN contributor Van Jones said he was “happy and Donald Trump is miserable” during election-night coverage.
What’s not verified here
This article relies on third-party clips and reports for the wording and context of the CNN broadcast. The Patriot United has not independently reviewed the full segment.
