CNN Panel: ‘I Think We’ve Got Much Bigger Issues to Focus on Than Kathy Griffin’

Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” host Jake Tapper hosted a panel discussion that included The Atlantic’s Molly Ball, former White House communications director Jen Psaki and CNN contributor David Urban about comedienne Kathy Griffin posing with the severed head of President Donald Trump in a photo shoot.

All panelists were dismissive of the relevance of Griffin’s gesture.

Partial transcript as follows:

BALL: Who is saying it’s acceptable discourse?

TAPPER: Donald Trump, Jr.

BALL: Who is saying it’s even discourse? I mean have a hard time bringing myself to care about something like this. I think it just speaks to the need to see themselves as a victim that they have, that they are constantly being persecuted.

TAPPER: The Trumps you’re talking about.

BALL: The Trump people are constantly having to point to the elites who are looking down on them. Of course, comedians and celebrities say dumb stuff and do dumb stuff and violence is not appropriate, but I just don’t think that that’s the source of President Trump’s problems.

TAPPER: David?

URBAN: I think we’ve got much bigger issues to focus on than Kathy Griffin.

TAPPER: Jen, do you want to weigh in at all?

PSAKI: Agreed with David.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor