Hosts Brianna Keilar and Jeff Zeleny were just a few of the people upset when the commander in chief used Marines to support him during his speech — sparking calls for their axing and an immediate boycott of the left-wing network. “You are clearly ridiculous to the RNC,” a person whose Twitter bio includes a hashtag #BidenHarris2020, tweeted Zeleny simply because he said the use of the Marine Band was “a break with White House traditions.” “Your leaves show.” “New Day” host Keiler was the first to spark the meltdown, writing, “Whatever you think of this speech, the military is supposed to be apolitical. “Putting Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech is counterintuitive. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when the Republicans do it.” CNN’s Brianna Keilar simply said that a president’s use of the military during a political speech is “wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.” Twitter/Brianna Keilar A minute later, the network’s chief national affairs correspondent was even more measured, stressing that “there’s nothing unusual or wrong with a president giving a political speech — it’s inherent in the job description.” However, Zeleny claimed, “doing it with two Marines standing in the foreground and the Marine Band is a break with White House tradition.” CNN’s Jeff Zeleny was attacked simply for saying that the use of the Marine Band was “a break with White House traditions.” Bloomberg via Getty Images Both were soon inundated with people saying they had been unfollowed, as well as calls to boycott CNN over the simple statements. “Brianna Keilar sold her soul,” one person told her more than 90,000 followers, while others said the tweet proved she’s now “pure MAGA.” “You know CNN’s transformation into Baby Fox News is officially complete when Brianna Keilar goes to MAGA,” said one “vote blue” supporter. “Uncovering the Truth” podcaster Dash Dobrofsky also told his 109,000 followers that Keilar’s criticism proved that “CNN stands against Biden and supports fascism.” Others suggested that because Keilar and Zeleny were of the same mind, it must be proof that they were under the control of the right-wing forces now supposedly in charge of the network. Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann told his 1 million followers that CNN staffers “live in fear of being Steltered” — referring to the recent axing of host Brian Stelter — “by the new right-wing administration.” “Having said that,” he wrote, Keilar and Zeleny “should be fired tonight. Sorry.” Olbermann also added Poppy Harlow to the list, while sharing a message condemning CNN’s “disgraceful coverage” of Biden’s speech. Rodney Grim told his 7,000 followers that “Brianna Keilar is quietly resigning” in anger that “CNN is turning into Fox News.” “Complaining that the president has military behind him is like complaining that he wears a suit and tie,” he argued. Random House vice president Benjamin Dreyer had such a meltdown, he made a glaring mistake despite being a best-selling guru. He accused Keilar of making an “embarrassing” mistake and “cheating” by copying Zeleny’s tweet — even though the timestamps of the messages he shared clearly showed Keilar’s tweet was posted first. Keillor later said that “it’s possible to agree with everything Biden said and disagree with using the Marines as a backdrop for a political speech,” Joshua Blanchard Keillor quickly responded to the backlash, writing on Twitter: “It’s possible to agree with everything Biden said and disagree with using the Marines as a backdrop for a political speech.”
