WATCH: CNN Host Catches Breitbart Editor In Cringe-Inducing Mic-Drop Lie

Joel Pollak, a Breitbart senior editor-at-large and author of the new book, How Trump Won, appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter to talk journalistic shop. He got a bit more than he bargained for.

In what was a surprisingly civil yet tense exchange, Stelter took issue with Breitbart’s divisive nature, saying:

“Folks on Twitter are already telling me that I’m normalizing ‘Breitbart’ by having you on this program. You don’t see ‘Breitbart’ editors on CNN very often. So, what I want know from you is what you learned in your reporting for your book about how Trump won. How much of it was about sowing divisions, by attacking the media, by creating an ‘us versus them’ narrative?”

Brian Stelter vs. Breitbart's Joel Pollak
Image via YouTube screengrab

Pollak deflected by saying that the “divisions had already been sown,” but then shockingly went on to admit that the media’s portrayal of President Donald Trump as some kind of a Nazi, actually bolstered his support. He said:

“I think that certainly describing him early on as a kind of Nazi leader, which some outlets did, not just blogs and left wing sites, but mainstream network sites, some of the alphabet sites did as well, some of the major networks. And that just reinforced the relationship Trump had with his supporters.”

Pollak continued to take issue with Stelter’s charge that Breitbart peddles racism to the lowest common denominator. He said:

“There’s no black crime section of the website. And I think that is something that has been completely overblown by critics of ‘Breitbart’ who don’t read ‘Breitbart’ and don’t understand what we do. There’s probably more diversity in ‘Breitbart’…”

At which point Stelter can be seen typing in to his laptop, then he lifted it up to the camera and said, “but it’s there.” Obviously more alternative facts from Breitbart, but it did make for a nice mic drop moment.

Pollak finished his gripe session by complaining about Stelter’s characterization of the white nationalist website as a white nationalist website, saying:

“You said, in very moving segment on this show, you said, the media needs to do some soul-searching, and yet, that afternoon you were calling us a white nationalist website which I thought was not only unfair but also defamatory. I mean, I think you need to take a step back. I think the media collectively needs to look at what it relationship is with the public and is it providing the right information for people to make their own decisions.”

Watch the entire interview here:

Featured image via YouTube screengrab

R.L. Paine is a writer, activist, and science lover. We all need to find a bit more Hitch in ourselves. “Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself...Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence...” - Christopher Hitchens