On Tuesday, President Donald Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell held a press conference at the White House Rose Garden. McConnell, a polio survivor, locked hands with Trump because he needed help to get back up the stairs — and CNN reporter Daniella Diaz took to Twitter to mock the duo for holding hands.
Acknowledging McConnell’s struggle with polio, it only took 14 words for a CNN colleague to call out Diaz on mocking the Republican senator’s impediment.
“That hand-lock between Trump and McConnell, though,” Diaz wrote with video of the incident.
https://twitter.com/DaniellaMicaela/status/919993572283129856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fentertainment%2Fcnn-reporter-mocks-mitch-mcconnell-for-needing-help-with-stairs-not-realizing-he-survived-polio
After over 48 hours, Diaz still has not taken down the post, but hundreds of followers have slammed the liberal reporter for mocking a polio survivor.
One surprising slam came from Diaz’s own colleague, CNN correspondent Manu Raju.
In only 14 words, Raju responded to Diaz’s attack by saying, “McConnell is a polio survivor, a reason why stairs can be tricky at times.”
McConnell is a polio survivor, a reason why stairs can be tricky at times
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 16, 2017
He added, “McConnell often goes up a step at a time, sometimes needs railing for assistance. This time, used Trump for balance.”
McConnell often goes up a step at a time, sometimes needs railing for assistance. This time, used Trump for balance https://t.co/f4RVd9sBDM
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 16, 2017
Several Twitter users have called for Diaz to delete her disgusting tweet, or to apologize for her mockery.
One user even wrote, “You’re making fun of the President of the United States helping a polio survivor that stumbled. Stay classy CNN, stay classy.”
McConnell explained his battle with polio while campaigning for re-election in Kentucky in 1990.
He said, “When I was a child and my dad was in World War II, I got polio. I recovered, but my family almost went broke.”
Polio survivors can suffer from many life-changing affects, and several Twitter users recognized that.
In defending McConnell, one user wrote, “The lowest level of decency and human respect just supported by professional political agitators pretending to be journalist.”
It has been over two-days since Diaz posted that tweet, and was called out by her colleague.
Her response? Deafening silence.
Diaz is just giving Americans another example of why CNN is no longer “the most trusted name in news.”
–Kylie Handler is a news editor for The Horn News