
CBS News host Margaret Brennan thought she'd use Memorial Day weekend to get two Medal of Honor recipients to trash their own country on live television. Captain William Swenson and Sergeant Matthew Williams — men who've actually bled for the flag — weren't having it, and the result was the most satisfying 90 seconds of television you'll see all week.
The look on Brennan's face when her little trap blew up in real time? Chef's kiss.
Here's the setup. Brennan asked Swenson and Williams, "What specifically makes you optimistic? Because this country, at times, can feel dark." Read that again. She's sitting across from two men who received the nation's highest military honor and her angle is "America feels dark." On Memorial Day weekend. While promoting the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas.
The absolute audacity of a teleprompter reader trying to coax despair out of men who've stared down actual darkness — the kind that shoots back.
Captain William Swenson earned his Medal of Honor on September 8, 2009, during a six-hour firefight in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Six hours. Most CBS segments don't last six minutes. Sergeant Matthew Williams earned his on April 6, 2008, during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. These aren't men who confuse a bad news cycle with actual darkness.
Swenson's response was perfect: "No other place in history, time or on this planet have ever gotten to where we are today." That's not a talking point. That's a man who's seen the worst of the world confirming that America is still the best of it.
Williams piled on: "There's so much to be positive about. And I think the opportunity to celebrate America's 250th birthday" — referencing the upcoming milestone — was clearly something that excited him far more than whatever doom narrative Brennan was peddling.
This is the thing the media class will never understand. You cannot gaslight men who've dodged real bullets into believing America is falling apart because their preferred candidate lost an election or because some policy they don't like passed committee. These guys have perspective that no journalism degree can provide.
As Townhall's Matt Vespa reported — with a clip originally flagged by Newsbusters' Jorge Bonilla — the exchange perfectly encapsulates the disconnect between the media's relentless negativity and how actual Americans, especially those who've sacrificed for the country, feel about the nation.
Brennan wanted a Memorial Day segment about how broken America is. She got a Memorial Day segment about how great America is. From two guys whose opinions on the subject carry just a little more weight than hers.
Happy Memorial Day. We're still the greatest country on earth, no matter how dark Margaret Brennan's producers want things to "feel."
Watch the clip for yourself here


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