CNN’s Rick Santorum is going on a Caribbean cruise to help a group that attacks CNN as “fake news”

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

MRC Santorum

From a February 12 Media Research Center email. 

CNN senior political commentator Rick Santorum is set to be part of a Caribbean cruise benefiting the Media Research Center, a right-wing group which refers to CNN as “fake news” and ran a campaign demanding that the network’s press access be restricted. 

The Media Research Center is a nonprofit organization which claims that its mission is to “expose and neutralize the propaganda arm of the Left: the national news media.” It’s led by Brent Bozell, a one-time “Never Trump” Republican who has now heavily embraced the president. Politico Magazine reported in 2018 that “Bozell has monetized fights big and small in a way that raises questions about the sincerity of MRC’s mission of holding the media accountable” and added: 

Several well-known journalists who once dealt often with MRC told me they no longer do because the group operates in bad faith—preferring to leverage allegations of bias rather than discuss them honestly. It isn’t just members of the fourth estate who feel this way: Numerous conservatives expressed concern to me that Republicans have turned media-blasting into a fundraising niche, with profound and troubling implications for the democratic process.

Cruises have been a popular money-making vehicle for right-wing organizations such as MRC and National Review. MRC cruises feature the organization’s staff and various right-wing personalities such as Saturday Night Live alum Joe Piscopo, Duck Dynasty’s Alan Robertson, and conservative columnist Cal Thomas. 

Santorum is set to join the latest MRC cruise, this time to the Caribbean in February 2021. An MRC email touting his appearance suggested that guests could potentially hear Santorum trashing his employer, with an MRC marketing officer writing that the former Republican senator works “at CNN, so I’m sure he’ll have some stories to tell about what it’s like working in the belly of the beast!” 

Santorum is helping fill the coffers of an organization that echoes President Donald Trump in frequently referring to CNN as “fake news.” MRC has also supported restrictions on CNN’s reporting. When the White House revoked CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass for a period in 2018, MRC ran a campaign demanding that he be kept “out of the White House” and asked followers to sign a petition “and stand up to the entitled bullies at CNN.”

Discussing CNN, Bozell recently stated on Fox Business: “If they are not going to report the news, if they are not going to investigate any story, if they are not going to tell the truth, I hope it does collapse.” 

Santorum is one of several pro-Trump commentators that CNN has on its payroll. Two others, David Urban and Sean Duffy, acted as Trump surrogates at campaign events in the past few weeks (Urban also regularly advises his campaign).