CNN reporter compares GOP senators to 'the Confederacy' after voting against additional witnesses

The "most trusted name in news"? Hmm....

A CNN reporter compared Republican senators who voted against more witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump to "the Confederacy."

In a now-deleted tweet, the network's newest White House correspondent, John Harwood, wrote "of 51 Republican senators who voted to block John Bolton's testimony in Trump impeachment trial, 25 represent states of the Confederacy during the Civil War."

The former CNBC reporter added "the old Confederacy represents the bulwark of the 21st century."

What the...?

According to Mediaite:

Harwood was underscoring a point made in his latest CNN analysis, which focuses on racial divides under the headline "Republicans prove they refuse to defy Trump under almost any circumstance." The "ongoing diversification of American society further unites an overwhelmingly white GOP around a shared fear of impending doom," he wrote.

In his article, Harwood cited the "old Confederacy" within the context of Nixon era politics. On Saturday, he took it a step further and drew a more immediate connection to the modern-day Republican Party.

Harwood deleted the tweet

deleted a tweet because I made a tabulation mistake. 23 of 51 Senate GOP votes to block Bolton testimony came from states of the old Confederacy, not 25. apologies for the error

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 2, 2020

The CNN White House correspondent has since deleted the controversial tweet, but not because of the association he tried to establish. No, Harwood said his original tweet contained "a tabulation mistake," and noted that just "23 of 51 Senate GOP votes" to block additional witnesses "came from states of the old Confederacy, not 25."

"[A]pologies for the error," he added.

Harwood also made no mention that of the 23 Senators from former Confederate states, three of them—Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rubio (Fla.), and Tim Scott (S.C.)—are minorities.

'CNN is not a news network'

Several leading conservatives took issue with Harwood's comparison of modern-day GOP senators to the "old Confederacy."

As National Review columnist Dan McLaughlin said, "Given that only 11 states seceded from the Union, it would be sort of astounding if they were currently represented by more than 22 Senators. How did you count 13?"

He added, "please tell me, @JohnJHarwood, that you don't think your native Kentucky was a Confederate state."

Given that only 11 states seceded from the Union, it would be sort of astounding if they were currently represented by more than 22 Senators. How did you count 13?

Please, please tell me, @JohnJHarwood, that you don't think your native Kentucky was a Confederate state. https://t.co/VYSsBa6UOS

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 1, 2020

Another National Review writer, online editor Charles C.W. Cooke, highlighted the historical and mathematical problems with Harwood's contention: "That 11x2 = 25, and that the number 25 represents more than half of the number 51 are just two of the interesting things I learned from this tweet."

Cooke previously criticized CNN's blatant partisanship, arguing in a December 2019 essay, aptly titled "CNN Is Not a News Network," that the network has been reduced to "a peculiar and unlovely hybrid of progressive propaganda outlet, oleaginous media apologist, sexless cultural scold, and frenzied Donald Trump stalkerblog."