Abby Phillip SHUTS DOWN Ben Ferguson in Explosive CNN Debate!

I'm not asking you about what what has changed. I'm asking you clearly. Was it wrong?

He's clearly changed. I think he's making changes. Was it wrong?

I don't think far-right MAGA figure Ben Ferguson appeared again on Abby Phillips show where he once more acted in his usual way, coming across as whiny and insincere while spreading misinformation and disinformation. We are going to look at another heated debate from Abby Phillips show featuring Ben Ferguson and others involved. I also share my own thoughts along the way.

So, let's dive in and watch it together. Tonight, Melania Trump is calling for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over the White House correspondents dinner themed skit on his show last week. Kimmel's monologue, which was made days before an alleged gunman attempted to assassinate President Trump, included him appearing at a mock version of the annual event with jokes directed at the president and his family.

In the unfortunate event that our president has a medical emergency tonight, do we have a doctor in the h? I mean, sorry. I mean, do we have a Jesus in the house?

I always confuse them, too. [laughter] I get why you think you're Jesus. This guy, every time he walks into a room, people say, "Christ, he's back.

" Of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Mel. So beautiful.

Mr. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow. In a social media post, the first lady called Kimmel a coward, saying enough is enough.

Donald Trump went further, saying that Kimmel's jokes were beyond the pale and a despicable call to violence. Representatives for ABC and Kimmel did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. And Sarah Ellison is now with us at the table.

Um Sarah, we're back again here with Jimmy Kimmel and the president and the first family. Um do you think that this time is different? Well, I think certainly Donald Trump hopes it's different because this is his opportunity to actually try to win this fight.

I mean, there's nothing that enrages him more um than being beaten. And that's exactly what happened last fall, which you're referring to, which is that after attempting after the FCC sort of jawboned um ABC into trying to get Kimmel off the air, they did so for a week and then he was after a mass, you know, a massive backlash, he was brought back on. And that was the first really I don't know if it was the first but it was one of the most important moments when Donald Trump was trying to go after not only the media but law firms and higher education when there was a real backlash and he was unsuccessful and I think that that I don't think I mean I talked to people around him that he is very eager to undo that defeat and he wants another he wants another shot at Kimmel and he you know he was obviously upset about what he said but that was such I mean, I don't think that it was an actual fear of that he was he was calling for violence.

So, yeah. I mean, look, I it's it's amazing that we sit at this table and everything is Donald Trump's fault. And when you call and put up a picture of the first lady and you laugh about her being a widow and her husband being killed who's already been shot, that somehow that is Donald Trump's fault and he's mean to Jimmy Kimmel.

And once Jimmy Kimmel gone, I don't know who you've talked to the White House. I'm around the White House, I promise you, a lot more than you are. The president has not talked about this at all.

Well, I at all like it's on the list of things he gives a you know what about it's down here. But when you go on TV the thing that he sent a truth social post about this after it was said you can respond. And by the way if this was a joke Jimmy Kimmel could have immediately been a comedian and said hey in light of what happened tonight that was a joke I apologize for and I'm sorry because a real comedian would say but he didn't and you wanted No, you would do it immediately at Twitter.

I can tweet right now on your show. But hold I think the question he knows he's not going to get fired, but he he wanted her to be a response. Do you think he was referring to Donald Trump being murdered or do you think that he was referring to a 56-y old woman who was married to an 80some year old?

I think when you've been shot at three times and now or this being the third and four different times he would try to kill you. Yeah, I'm going to go out there and say Jimmy is a smart guy and I think he's saying a widow and I think the audience laugh that way. They weren't laughing at an age joke.

They were not laughing clairvoyant about what it's a weak stretch. But I but I will say that we played the the we played the leadup to the joke so that you could hear the rest of the context. He look I'm not saying you need to like the joke but the rest of the joke was the president what if if something were to happen to the president tonight is there a doctor in the house or Jesus?

You've been here before several times though, Jimmy Kimmel. I mean, at the first I think the first question to cross the line on it doesn't matter. You think he likes Trump issues.

It's not I'm not argu ABC should fire him. The first lady that's not an FC. That is what ABC should be doing.

If I made that joke on my show joking, I would be fired as I should be. Especially if someone tried to kill that person. I didn't apologize immediately.

Charles, Donald Trump posts mock violence on his true social before that Twitter. So therefore, it so can you stop talking for just half a second? That would be great.

U all the time and we take it as a joke. He he posted a video of him beating up CNN in 2017. You retweeted that and said, "Isn't this funny?

" So it's a joke then when he is doing the violence but not we're going to go back to that. Let's go back to it. Was he doing it in response to something that CNN had said and it turned into a back and forth?

That's different than talking about someone who's been shot. It literally doesn't matter. If I made a joke about someone you being a widowerower tonight and then someone took a shot at you.

Would you think that was a joke about protecting speech? Not popular speech. I'm not saying you have the right to say something stupid.

You get to say dumb things. It doesn't mean that a corporation has to employ you. Exactly.

and and they can choose to employ him or not and they can choose to keep him. Charles Blow is exactly right in what he is saying here. The main point for me is that Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian while Donald Trump is the president of the United States and there should clearly be a difference between how we judge the two.

I do not think there is anything wrong with what Jimmy Kimmel said, but many MAGA commentators and Ben Ferguson try to act like all the violent, extreme, and offensive things Donald Trump has said do not matter. There are too many to even list, but I made a video yesterday where I mentioned several examples, including calling people vermin, calling others enemies of the country and enemies of the people, and many other similar statements, not to mention remarks about destroying entire societies. If Donald Trump wants to leave the presidency and become a talk show host or a stand-up comedian and do insult comedy, that is one thing.

But if he is the president, then he should act like it and focus on the job. There should be a higher standard for the president of the United States compared to a comedian. I also think the president should not be spending so much time on social media like tweeting or posting on truth social or sharing memes because the job should be about improving infrastructure, creating jobs, lowering costs like gas prices and actually working to end wars instead of just claiming he did.

I understand Donald Trump is not focused on those goals and I understand his supporters like Ben Ferguson and others do not care about that either, but most people expect the president to act with more responsibility. In my view, Donald Trump has lowered the respect people have for the office of the president of the United States to a level we have never seen before. Donald Trump have the right to object to what he has said.

All of that is free speech. That is how it works. The idea that he wants to put pressure on the network to get rid of him because he doesn't like the speech.

That's that's I like people making jokes about his wife after people are trying to kill him. He's been enormously successful going after the media in a variety of different ways. Who's gotten fired because of him?

Give me a list. Are you who who big has he talked about that's been fired? Steven Coar.

Steven Coar hasn't been fired. We saw on the show and y'all said it was because of the economics of TV. That was the entire discussion.

I said he was he I No. I did not say that. I said I said that no one was watching it and half the country there was a full conversation enormous amount of pressure on on media organizations.

Was he being fetted by David Ellison at a private dinner just a few days before that? Barack Obama when he was president met with all those guys too [laughter] of almost every company don't do and also was there [laughter] go back and look at the do you think it was appropriate for him to be meeting with the CEO of a company that has an active merger that's going to go before his his administration where he's the CEO administrations meet with the leaders of companies when there's especially I have no idea what you're talking about [laughter] I'm Go back to the Obama here. How many CEOs are at the rescue?

We were talking [laughter] before the break about Trump's tone on Saturday night and I think he actually attempted to strike a measured tone in those moments after the shooting. Um, but it's a he came out of a First Amendment dinner where he was excited to roast the press, which is totally what he, you know, should have been doing. And then Monday morning, here we are and it's a question of whether the First Amendment extends to Jimmy Kimmel or does it not?

I don't think we're questioning that it should. I think we're saying that ABC should remove him. That's not a government enforce action.

That is ABC. I'm not that ABC ABC has the choice to do it, but I'm just saying they should. And I think advertis advertisers should take note of it, too.

Well, he also said he's going to address this tonight. I understand what you're saying that he could have tweeted something quickly, but he said he's going to address it tonight on his show, but look, I think that we are it is not right or fair to say that the left, Jimmy Kimmel, Democrats are the only ones who are attacking Donald Trump. That is simply he is he also has a divisive rhetoric, which is why it would be lovely to see the tone that we saw from Donald Trump after the White House correspondent center if he could set the tone for the country as the leader of this country.

Set the tone. I understand things have happened in the past, but there is the f He can't. Donald Trump is never going to do it.

We have seen 10 years of this lunatic and he just does not have it in him. He cannot be presidential and at this point 70% of the country understands that to look forward to that and he has the power as the president of United States to actually do a reset set the tone the right direction. Is there a responsibility that lies on anyone else but Donald Trump that after Donald Trump and the multiple assassination attempts?

Donald Trump holds the highest level of responsibility. Ben Ferguson in theory as president of the United States. His duty is far greater than that of Jimmy Kimmel or any podcaster who says something Ben Ferguson disagrees with.

Trump responsibility all night. Is there any responsibility for Jimmy Kimmel to read the room and realize that, hey, this guy's been shot at a couple of times. Maybe I shouldn't make a joke about the first that's this is this is a fair question for for a Jimmy Kimmel, not not about what can he do, but about taste, right?

The taste question is so to answer his question, I mean, is there a conversation to have that's like this this joke, you you have a right to say it, but it's in poor taste? Yes. Also, but here's the thing.

You can't Donald Trump can't give that lesson. This is the same person who said who pushed the conspiracy, first of all, made fun of Paul Pelosi for being attacked, who was almost killed, made fun of him for being attacked, and then pushed the conspiracy theory that the glass was broken from the outside, from the inside out and not from the outside in. And the basis of that conspiracy theory was that that was Paul Pelos's gay lover.

This is the same person who when Melissa Hortman was actually assassinated in Minnesota pushed the conspiracy theory by reposting a video on his true social that Governor Tim Walsh was involved and it had and the question mark was whether or not he had had her assassin. I understand is there any accountability for anybody you cannot and no one tell anything about the building. Hold on a second Ben.

Charles I asked Charles to respond to your question. Let me ask you to respond to his when when President Trump does the things that he described. He shared a video of supporters saying the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.

He's posted a video showing President Biden hog tied, etc. , etc. You could go on and on.

Is there accountability, responsibility for him to not do those things? I I I go back to what I said at the beginning of the show. If I had just been shot at again, had someone trying to kill me again, I think the president's rhetoric from the White House and saying, "We're going to do this dinner.

It is important to have this dinner. We're going to do this quickly. We're going to come together.

" I saw people coming together. That was an incredible moment of unity, but he gets no credit for it. I understand that.

But I go back to my question was answer the question. I did not clearly unlike you guys are like all Donald Trump. My question was is there a responsibility for President Trump to not behave the way that he has behaved in the past?

And can you say can you just say it was it was wrong. He shouldn't have done it. I go back is responsibility for networks to police themselves.

I'm I'm talking to Ben about the reciprocal. I I just asked [laughter] I just asked Charles, but I just asked Charles a reciprocal side has changed. You can just I'm not asking you about what what has changed.

I'm asking was it wrong? He's clearly changed. I think he's making changes.

I don't think every tweet he would have put out what I put out. I've said that the president celebrated the death of Robert Mueller. It still is amazing.

Every interaction Abby Phillip has with Ben Ferguson really shows her patience because she has to deal with what many see as constant interruptions and over-the-top behavior from him. I have said it before that while Scott Ferguson is bad, Ben Ferguson often comes across as even worse. And in my opinion, he is one of the most whiny and difficult pundits who appears on these shows.

The way Abby Phillip responds to him sometimes feels like a teacher dealing with a student who is always trying to justify his actions instead of taking responsibility. It's like [snorts] a situation where the question is simple like why did you do something wrong and instead of answering directly there is always an excuse or a deflection about what someone else did first. That pattern of behavior makes the conversations go in circles because the focus shifts away from accountability and toward justification, which is exactly the kind of dynamic that can make these debates feel so frustrating to watch.

It's all Trump's fault that he keeps getting shot at because [laughter] it's no longer about Trump. This is every every conversation has been somehow this is Trump's fault and therefore he deserves It's actually not about Trump anymore. It's about you.

It's about whether or not you are willing to say that wrong is wrong. It's wrong when Jimmy Kimmel does it. It's wrong.

Donald Trump. I go back to what I said. I go back to what I said a moment ago.

I think clearly Donald Trump has changed his rhetoric and is moving in a direction that you guys should say that's encouraging. [laughter] All right, guys. Let me have to go, but I'll let Mark relativism here.

There is. Abby, let me let me ask you. It's been getting a lot of attention on social media that James Carville was saying, "I don't want him just die.

I want to see him tortured and die. I want to see him suffer. How long till he's back on CNN?

" I I have no idea. James Co James Carville has not been on the show. So, I mean, look, I I did not hear those comments.

Those are not things that he should have said. I don't have any problem. We can agree.

We can agree that it's a Democrat Republic. Hold on, guys. Hold on.

No, Mark. Seriously, I have no problem saying that something like that is beyond the pale and shouldn't be in the public dialogue. That's that is not my issue.

I don't have a problem saying that. I don't have a problem saying that Jimmy Kimmel's joke was a bad joke. The question is, can we can we all say that?

Can we say that about Jimmy Kimmel and about the president of the United States? President of the United States. He's not a president.

Isn't there also responsibility? They're a private corporation. They get to decide first lady.

Okay. Not the FCC chairman. And Ben Ferguson over and over again keeps saying things like, "Can you not just give the president credit?

" Like he is suddenly a good boy now. And because he hasn't said something extreme in a short moment, he deserves praise. The way it is framed is almost like it's been a few seconds and he hasn't called anyone the enemy of the people or made extreme threats.

So, shouldn't he get credit for that? But the point is that the standard should not be that low in the first place because he is the president of the United States and should be held to a much higher level of responsibility than Jimmy Kimmel or any other comedian or commentator that Ben Ferguson disagrees with. The idea is not to give someone a reward just for temporarily avoiding extreme statements, but to expect consistent presidential behavior.

This reflects what many describe as a broader MAGA mindset where responsibility is often shifted away and blame is placed elsewhere and where every discussion somehow circles back to the left rather than direct accountability. I've said this before about Scott Jennings as well where it often feels like the same pattern repeats itself in these debates. Let me know your thoughts about in the comments.