This is the day when those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, are remembered and honored. Which means that it is the perfect time for Brian Stelter, the potato of CNN, to make a fool of himself.

You see, Brian Stelter believes that the real “leaders” of September 11th were… wait for it… you’ll never guess… the NEWS ANCHORS.

Network TV anchors were "the closest thing that America had to national leaders on 9/11. They were the moral authority for the country on that first day," especially with political leaders in bunkers or otherwise out of sight… https://t.co/j12NRPr2BM

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 11, 2021

Yes, the guys sitting in studios were the REAL HEROES OF THE DAY. Now, Brian Stelter is “quote tweeting” from the AP article he is linking in his tweet. The article, written by David Bauder, quotes an author, Garrett Graff, who makes this claim.

Most Americans were guided through the unimaginable by one of three anchors: Tom Brokaw of NBC News, Peter Jennings of ABC and Dan Rather of CBS.”

“They were the closest thing that America had to national leaders on 9/11,” says Garrett Graff, author of “The Only Plane in the Sky,” an oral history of the attack. “They were the moral authority for the country on that first day, fulfilling a very historical role of basically counseling the country through this tragedy at a moment its political leadership was largely silent and largely absent from the conversation.”

The news media has changed in the ensuing 20 years, and some experts believe the same story would feel even more chaotic and terrifying if it broke today.”

But on that day, when America faced the worst of humanity, it had three newsmen at the peak of their powers.”

Okay, let’s pick this apart. First, Graff’s assertion that “political leadership was largely silent and largely absent from the conversation” is just plain wrong. President George W. Bush spoke three separate times on September 11, 2001, to the public – first, while in Florida; second, while on the ground in Louisiana when Air Force One landed at Barksdale Air Force Base, unable to fly into Washington DC at the time; and finally, from the Oval Office that evening.

Yes, a lot of people were watching the news. But the “Big 3” networks were hardly the only game in town anymore. I remember quite vividly how neither Fox News or CNN had any commercial breaks for days and days after 9/11. That wasn’t something the networks were doing for nearly as long. Also, there is just a small flaw in Graff’s premise, which Brian Stelter tweeted out.

No, we had the president & the mayor. In NYC, we couldn't even get two of the three networks because their broadcast antennae were atop Tower One. https://t.co/LHP9lF5mJK

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) September 11, 2021

Whoops. Okay then.

But Brian Stelter is the one who tweeted this story out, TODAY, on the 20th anniversary of the attacks. But don’t criticize poor lil’ Tater – he’s only QUOTING, you see. Oh, dear little Tater Tot. YOU’RE the one who sent out the tweet into the void of the internets and thought you were being smart.

"I was just sharing a story" defense to @BecketAdams is just amazing.

— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) September 11, 2021

Ohhhhh, Tater got roasted and then he got salty. (Great, now I want waffle fries.)

You have to admire the attempt by Brian Stelter here to completely dodge any responsibility for his decision to a) choose that particular article, b) choose that particular quote, and c) tweet it out into the vastness of the internet where it could be rightfully mocked and judged as hot and horrible take for the day. But as is par for the course with Stelter the derp potato (anyone else remember his blind worship of one Michael “Extortion” Avenatti??), he likes to make claims and then weasel his way back out of defending them. It’s what really makes him a worthless commentator (pun intended) – he never asserts or fights for his opinions when the facts prove him wrong, or he gets challenged. He, like Brave Sir Robin, bravely runs away. Only a network echo chamber like CNN can support having Brian Stelter on staff, where he never has to bring up pesky opinions or guests that might roast, toast, boil, or fry him.

I think I’ve exhausted my potato metaphors for the day. But the bottom line is that Brian Stelter is a vainglorious fool who imagines himself as some kind of heroic figure. His arrogance in trying to prop up what he thinks is a good argument for his “profession,” just proves that he really is the dumb one at CNN. And that is a real contest.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click