CNN anchor Kate Bolduan has been praised by affluent liberals for wearing a cashmere sweater embroidered with the network’s “Facts first” slogan. And the network encouraged viewers to buy their own, at the princely sum of $380.
Bolduan’s choice of apparel on her Thursday morning slot left CNN’s most committed liberal viewers squealing with delight. The Huffington Post described the sweater as a “bold fashion statement,” while viewers celebrated the garment and its message on Twitter.
I am here for @KateBolduan sweater today.. pic.twitter.com/cuVrj3RmVn
Such, indeed, was the interest in Bolduan’s sweater that CNN communication chief Matt Dornic directed viewers to purchase their own from Lingua Franca, a New York-based design house that puts out fine cashmere clothing, often with political messages attached (check out their “I’m speaking” sweater, inspired by Kamala Harris’s riposte to Mike Pence at the recent vice presidential debate, or the “Kamala for the people” shirt, each also retailing at $380).
“We stand with our friends at CNN, who start with the facts first,” reads a description on Lingua Franca’s site, evidently written by someone who never got the memo that the whole two-year-long ‘Russiagate’ scandal was thoroughly debunked.
Commentators ripped into CNN online. $380 is “a small price to pay to remind everyone what an insufferable asshole you are,” one wrote, while others blasted the network for pushing its slogan just a day after it emerged Hunter Biden, son of presumptive President-elect Joe Biden, was under investigation long before the election, which CNN and many other mainstream outlets had failed to report.
It’s only $380. A small price to pay to remind everyone what an insufferable asshole you are. https://t.co/lfVoOLzZXI
Get the limited edition Facts First Bentley for just $275,000 pic.twitter.com/vQEU9Rq2YZ
If CNN cared about “facts first,” they might want to apologize for misleading their viewers on every major story over the last ~4 years https://t.co/VDVaTXpte5
CNN: People are suffering . People are dying. Congress isn’t helping people with relief. More casualties than WWII. Also CNN: Buy our $380.00 Mongolian cashmere sweater #FactsFirsthttps://t.co/95SFP0DXy6
It should be said that Lingua Franca does donate $100 of each $380 price tag to the Committee to Protect Journalists – a global press-freedom advocacy group.
Limousine liberalism is so in this season, and Lingua Franca has some competition from hotshot New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC’s own line of clothing comes plastered in slogans promoting her signature policies. From “The Green New Deal,” and “Abolish ICE,” to a fetching “Tax the Rich” sweatshirt, they’re yours for only $58 (plus more than $5 in sales taxes if ordered from AOC’s home state of New York).
Liberals aren’t the only political faction milking a fortune in merchandise sales from their supporters, however. A “Keep America Great” hoodie from President Donald Trump’s online store comes in at a slightly more affordable $55, while an iconic red “Make America Great Again” hat can be had for the relatively bargain-basement price of $30.
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