CNN looked around the late-night landscape and came to a startling conclusion.
We need another far-left comedy showcase.
“Have I Got News for You,” the U.S. adaptation of the long-running British show, asks a panel of comedians each Saturday night to weigh in on the latest headlines. The flailing network hired Michael Ian Black, Amber Ruffin and Roy Wood to anchor the weekly series.
All three lean aggressively to the Left.
The show’s Sept. 14 debut attempted to mock President Donald Trump, not unlike the network’s other programming. Except things didn’t go exactly as planned.
The panel slammed Trump for referring to a Taliban official as “Abdul” during the recent presidential debate. They suggested it was a generic, and perhaps racist, way to label an Afghanistan official.
President Mime’s country is beautiful this time of year. pic.twitter.com/wxpRHf338B
— Have I Got News For You US (@hignfyus) September 16, 2024
Host Wood, passed over for “The Daily Show’s” hosting gig earlier this year, asked the panel, “What was the fake name of the head of the Taliban that Donald Trump cited during the debate.”
The answer? Abdul.
“He picked the most obvious name to make up for the head of the Taliban,” Black cracked as his fellow panelists cackled in glee. The show’s official X account pushed the clip out, secure in its comedy mileage and accuracy.
Except they got it wrong.
Trump actually negotiated with Taliban official Abdul Ghani Baradar during his presidency. Black, to his credit, admitted to the mistake. He even posted a mildly snarky apology for getting the story wrong.
“On behalf of the entire Have I Got News for You team I offer my sincere apologies,” the comedian said.
And then he deleted it.
Author and former Department of Justice reporter Jerry Dunleavy caught both the admission and the deletion.
.@MichaelIanBlack why did you delete your apology to the American people? pic.twitter.com/2pNlcpLwrX
— Jerry Dunleavy IV (@JerryDunleavy) September 17, 2024
Turns out “News” is as factually wobbly as CNN in toto. Another sour note for the new series?
The ratings.
“Have I Got News for You” averaged 737,000 viewers, according to recent Nielsen numbers shared by Fox News publicity. That number slightly improved on previous CNN content in that time frame but shrank its audiences in the critical 25-54 demo by 34 percent.
“Fox News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla” airs an hour later, which should mean a smaller audience in general.
Not quite.
“Failla” beat CNN’s comedy lineup by 26 percent in the overall ratings. Plus, the former’s show outdrew “News” by 42 percent in the 25-54 demographic.
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