© Colton Haab/Facebook
Colton Haab, a student who survived last week's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, refused to participate in a CNN Town Hall on Wednesday night after he was told to ask a "scripted" question.
Haab, a junior at the high school,
told Fort Lauderdale ABC affiliate WPLG that CNN invited him to speak at the televised town hall in nearby Sunrise, Florida, and that he and his parents had dressed up for the occasion.
But CNN then told Haab he would have to read a question that CNN had prepared for him:
Haab: I expected to be able to ask my questions and give my opinion on my questions.
Reporter Janine Stanwood: But Colton Haab, a member of the Junior ROTC, who shielded classmates in the midst of terror, says he did not get to share his experience.
Haab: CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions, and it ended up being all scripted.
Stanwood: Colton wrote questions about school safety, suggested using veterans as armed school security guards, but claims CNN wanted him to ask a scripted question instead. So he decided not to go.
Haab: I don't think that it's going to get anything accomplished. It's not going to ask the true questions that all the parents and teachers and students have.
The town hall was overwhelmingly stacked in favor of gun control. Two students whom CNN chose to ask questions
attacked National Rifle Association spokesperson Dana Loesch as a bad mother. CNN's Jake Tapper, who moderated the event, did not defend Loesch.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward's
50 "most influential" Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Comment: CNN's attempts at spin are getting more and more blatant.
Update: CNN in a
panic
CNN issued a statement Thursday morning denying that it had asked a shooting survivor to ask a "scripted question" at the CNN Town Hall on guns on Wednesday evening in Sunrise, Florida.
On Wednesday evening, junior Colton Haab, a survivor of last week's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, told local Fort Lauderdale ABC affiliate WPLG that CNN had invited him to appear at the town hall, but he had withdrawn after being asked to recite a "scripted" question.
On Thursday morning, CNN public relations issued a statement denying that anyone had been given a "scripted" question, and inviting Colton Haab to appear on air:
There is absolutely no truth to this. CNN did not provide or script questions for anyone in last night's town hall, nor have we ever.
After seeing an interview with Colton Haab, we invited him to participate in our town hall along with other students and administrators from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Colton's father withdrew his name from participation before the forum began, which we regretted but respected. We welcome Colton to join us on CNN today to discuss his views on school safety.
The CNN Town Hall was stacked heavily in favor of gun control, and speakers were carefully selected. CNN chose, for example, to highlight Emma Gonzalez, a student who has spoken at rallies since the shooting and who has blasted President Donald Trump. Gonzalez was seen clutching a piece of paper as she asked a question of National Rifle Association spokesperson Dana Loesch.
Gonzalez attacked Loesch as a mother, telling her, "We will support your two children in a way that you will not."
February 23 Update:Colton Haab was
interviewed on the
Tucker Carlson Tonight show adding that he believed the the town hall was also scripted.
Haab said watched some of the CNN town hall but turned it off because he "knew" it was going to be "scripted."
"I watched a little bit of it. I kind of felt like I didn't really need to because I knew as soon as what had happened with me that it was going to be more scripted and wasn't actually going to be actual questions. Then I didn't feel the need to fully watch it," he told Carlson.
"So if CNN was willing to re-word your question, put their own words in your mouth, and as you said you didn't want to go along with that, do you think they did that to other people last night?" Carlson asked.
"Absolutely, from what I did see, I seen a couple people that had asked questions before I did leave my house. And it was a little piece of paper cut out. And I know for a fact that nobody cut their own paper out and wrote their own question. Especially when they were all based off the same topic. So, to me, it from right there it showed this isn't correct. Why do they all have the same size piece of paper with a short little question on it? So, to me it was a total waste of my time, honestly," Haab said.
Update:
Tim Pool points out in this short video that CNN, in their statement denying providing scripted questions to town hall participants, are lying by claiming they have
never provided scripted questions. He points out that in information leaked about Donna Brazile's firing from CNN exposed the network of having provided scripted questions to the Clinton campaign. This makes Colton Haab's position even more likely to be true and, at the very least, exposes CNN as liars.
In that case an armed non-coward might come in handy. In past I have occasionally manifested either courage or a lack of common sense, stepping up to do what others could or would not. So more often for me gun ownership is starting to look like something an honest, hard working, patriotic, moral, sober person is duty bound to do.
The authorities most often seem their most violent when dealing with weak innocents, real villains step up and they fondle their weapons and mumble about strategy. As a divorced father of two I got just enough suicidal angst to be the first one in. It begs the question.
If our authorities are so fucking competent how is it that no one got fired for what happened on 9-11-2001? Obvious answer, the crucial ones maybe just followed orders, so good job boys, keep up the fascist empire building.