During his last live broadcast on CNN, outgoing White House correspondent John Harwood delivered a powerful message to Republicans, declaring that there is truth to the “threat to democracy” President Joe Biden outlined in his primetime speech on Thursday.
Harwood, who tweeted that Friday would be his last day, has been the White House correspondent with the network since February 2021.
He said that while the issues that Biden talked about are inherently political, it’s also important to say that “the core point he made in that political speech about a threat to democracy is true.”
“Now, that’s something that’s not easy for us – as journalists – to say. We’re brought up to believe there’s two different political parties with different points of view and we don’t take sides in honest disagreements between them,” Harwood said.
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“But that’s not what we’re talking about. These are not honest disagreements,” he said.
“The Republican Party right now is led by a dishonest demagogue, many, many Republicans are rallying behind his lies about the 2020 election and other things as well. And a significant portion or a sufficient portion of the constituency that they’re leading attack the Capitol on January 6 violently.”
He added that “by offering pardons or suggesting pardons for those people who violently attacked the Capitol, Trump makes Joe Biden’s point.”
A CNN spokesperson said in a statement that they wish Harwood the best and appreciate his work covering the White House.
Watch Harwood’s final live report from the White House on CNN:
Now updated with truth-telling from @JohnJHarwood, which was followed moments later by his departure from CNN. https://t.co/5UfghMdlXg pic.twitter.com/4F1XHisPS9
— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) September 2, 2022
