Psychiatrist Allen Frances appeared on CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources,’ which is hosted by Brian Stelter, and made the following comparison and charge regarding President Donald Trump.
.@AllenFrancesMD, a psychiatrist, tells @Brianstelter: Trump "may be responsible for many more million deaths" than Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong.https://t.co/cBUZVQjhNU pic.twitter.com/RVARyeVnVh
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 25, 2019
The quote from Frances:
“Trump is as destructive a person in this century as Hitler, Stalin and Mao were in the last century. He may be responsible for many more million deaths than they were.”
How didn’t you fact-check him right then and there, @brianstelter?
“Trump may have killed more people than Hitler and Mao.”
20-45 million people were killed under the Mao regime, Hitler was responsible for the deaths of more than 20 million people.
This segment is shameful. https://t.co/zKrIFjwWCu
— The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) August 25, 2019
Stelter, who offered no pushback to Frances’ statement during the interview, says he was distracted by technical difficulties.
I agree that I should have interrupted after that line. I wish I had heard him say it, but I was distracted by tech difficulties (that's why the show open didn't look the way it normally does, I had two computers at the table, etc). Not hearing the comment is my fault.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 25, 2019
Frances said during the interview that Americans are “crazy” for electing Trump, a theme echoed from something he wrote for Salon in 2017 when he called our nation “delusional.”
I will be on CNN at 11 AM EST discussing whether Trump is crazy. https://t.co/HV9RgvINC1
— Allen Frances (@AllenFrancesMD) August 25, 2019
Technical difficulties aside, someone books the guests for the show, someone signs off on the guest list for each show and someone had to have known that Frances was capable of making such a a remark.
***
RELATED:
Pivot! Brian Stelter’s guest Sunday: Psychiatrist who wanted President Trump restrained and tested
Join the conversation as a VIP Member