CNN’s Erin Burnett decided to publicly scold Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for boldly warning Americans about the violent left-wing networks terrorizing our streets, and the resulting TV theater proved once again that the mainstream press will run interference for radical activists. Burnett’s on-air dismissal of Noem’s comparison between Antifa and internationally recognized terror organizations came across less like sober analysis and more like partisan damage control.
Secretary Noem didn’t invent this story — she plainly told Americans that Antifa operates with dangerous intent and compared its tactics to groups like MS-13, Hezbollah, Hamas and ISIS during a White House roundtable. That blunt reality-check is what drew the ire of left-leaning anchors who would rather lecture patriots than report the truth about an ideology that openly embraces chaos.
Erin Burnett leaned on academic-sounding talking points to minimize those warnings, reassuring viewers that Antifa supposedly lacks the sophisticated hierarchy of foreign terror groups and that its violence is somehow “rare and limited.” That framing absolves dangerous actors and comforts the very crowds who cheer on property destruction and assaults on innocent Americans — a pattern the press refuses to treat as the national security problem it is.
Meanwhile, the facts on the ground tell a different story: Portland and other cities have seen recurring outbreaks of organized, sustained unrest that have required federal intervention, arrests and legal action to restore order. When the administration is forced to federalize National Guard units and dozens are taken into custody during demonstrations, media platitudes about “decentralized” activism ring hollow to the victims left with broken windows and bruised bodies.
Conservative commentators like Dave Rubin have been right to call out the narrative police, sharing behind-the-scenes messages and conversations that expose how eager cable news is to protect and sanitize left-wing violence. Rubin’s show has been amplifying the very exchange where CNN’s on-air posture toward Noem was discussed, and that private-to-public pipeline has made clear how coordinated the media defense of Antifa often feels.
Of course, the same networks that lecture about “disinformation” were quick to mock Noem’s Portland visit for optics while refusing to grapple with the substance of what she said, proof that the media’s priority is shaping narratives rather than protecting citizens. When anchors scoff and columnists sneer at officials trying to secure our cities, ordinary Americans are left to pick up the pieces while the elites play politeness with chaos.
Enough. Patriots and local leaders must stop surrendering our streets to political theater and biased coverage. Hold officials and media figures accountable, demand straight reporting on violent actors regardless of their politics, and support leaders who put public safety ahead of soft-pedaling ideologies that threaten the American way of life.
