New Media vs. Old Media

Some video clips of the Dave Smith and Chris Cuomo debate

In one of those glorious coincidences of the universe, two people I’ve recently written about sat down for a debate this evening on the PBD podcast. In one corner, former CNN analyst Chris Cuomo — in the other, libertarian Dave Smith.

Obviously I’m quite biased on this debate, and I tuned in hoping to watch Smith annihilate Cuomo on the finer details of covid. I was satisfied on this point (though Cuomo would never admit it), as well as “PBD” host Patrick Bet-David, who let the conversation flow while also keeping it on track.

I originally planned on having this event on in the background while I worked on a longform article about Trump, so I didn’t take notes — that was my bad. Half an hour in, I was giving the debate my full attention. And while I don’t have a full written review, I did clip some of the best parts of the debate.

(I had some complaints my sound was be a little low — I’ll look into that for the future!)

First up, Dave Smith calls the lockdowns totalitarian:

In perhaps the most satisfying moment of the night, Chris Cuomo demands that Smith show clips to prove his assertion — and instantly regrets it.

Here, Smith recounts how the government blamed the unvaccinated for lockdowns:

By this time, it was pretty clear who was telling the truth and who was trying to cover their ass. But then the topic shifted to immigration — and we got to see what Cuomo looks like when HE’S telling the truth:

Smith went on to talk about “Demographics is Destiny” and how Democratic politicians and the media were very open about it until Trump got elected — then it shifted into a conspiracy theory.

In the last clip of the night, Smith discusses how the media wants to keep up fighting amongst ourselves instead of uniting against the people in power:

It’s like Chris Cuomo can’t even fathom the idea that people would just be honest about what they think and let the chips fall where they may.

I highly recommend watching the three-hour entire debate if you have the time! (Live events don’t embed on Substack, so the link opens in a new window.) Lots of great points by both men (really all three!) in a discussion that got a little heated but never disrespectful. And we have to give Cuomo credit — Fauci would NEVER sit down for a debate like this.

Edit: Of course as soon as I publish, the non-live version becomes available. Here it is!