Politics

‘Confirmation Bias Is A Helluva Drug’: CNN’s John Avlon Criticizes Ron Johnson Over ‘Conspiracy Theories’ Aired At Capitol Riot Hearing

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Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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CNN political analyst John Avlon criticized Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, saying on Wednesday’s “New Day” that he had used the Capitol riot hearing to promote “conspiracy theories.”

Avlon spoke with anchors John Berman and Alisyn Camerota, accusing Johnson of “dereliction of duty” and suggesting that he had passed up the chance to ask substantive questions about what happened during the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. (RELATED: ‘They Are Making People Paranoid And Crazy’: Tucker Carlson Says The Democratic Party Could Drive People To Violent Extremism)

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Berman began the segment by mocking Johnson and referring to Tuesday’s hearing as “a finger-pointing mess.”

“I mean, if only the people who stormed the Capitol had some kind of insignia that let people know who they were,” Berman said. “Or maybe like a Confederate flag or something to suggest where their sympathies lie or t-shirts that promoted Holocaust stuff. What on earth — why is this man so desperate to rewrite the history here?”

“Ron Johnson seems to reach for conspiracy theories now when he’s confronted with uncomfortable facts,” Avlon replied, accusing Johnson of “carrying a lot of water” for former President Donald Trump.

Avlon went on to argue that Johnson had used his time during the hearing to promote conspiracy theories when he could have been asking questions.

“That is just frankly pathetic, a total dereliction of duty,” Avlon continued. “Absolutely no interest in following up with any of the questions that really need to be asked, when you had all of this information that fell through the cracks. And you can say incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy, but this just shows how deep the rot has gotten.”

“What’s the motivation?” Berman asked, calling Johnson’s comments “lunacy.”

“Maybe he’s fallen into a QAnon rabbit hole,” Camerota suggested. “He seems to really be clutching at this and believing it.”

“What does that tell you about his sympathies?” Berman pressed.

“Guys, confirmation bias is a helluva drug,” Avlon concluded, but Berman insisted that it was more than just partisanship.