Some Questions For S.E. Cupp To Ask Glenn Beck On CNN

Written by Ben Dimiero

Published

Tomorrow night, CNN will feature the odd spectacle of its employee S.E. Cupp interviewing Glenn Beck, her boss at The Blaze, where she also serves as a contributor. 

According to an article on The Blaze promoting the interview, “It is likely the two will discuss Beck's latest book, 'Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America,' the creation of TheBlaze and current events.”

Considering Cupp's relationship with Beck, it's unlikely he's due for a primetime grilling on CNN. In the event she wants the interview to be more than an exercise in self-promotion, Media Matters came up with a handful of questions for Cupp to ask Beck:

  • So my bosses here at CNN are allowing me to interview you about your media company, which I also work for and which is actively competing with CNN. How is this interview even happening?
  • You bristle at being labeled a “conspiracy theorist” and have tried to distance yourself from people like Alex Jones while positioning The Blaze as a serious news outlet devoted to finding truth. Yet this year you have claimed there's a “very good chance” a May shooting at a Houston airport could have been a “setup” like “the burning of the Reichstag.” You also spun a convoluted theory about how the government was covering up Saudi Arabia's supposed involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings. Do you see any conflict between positioning The Blaze as a serious news venture and your tendency to run with stories that would get a reporter laughed out of a traditional news outlet like, say, CNN? 
  • In recent years you've mostly moved away from the radio shock jock shtick that first made you famous towards your current incarnation as a self-fashioned media mogul/self-help guru/world-important historical figure. Do you regret any of the things you did during your time as a relatively obscure radio host -- like the time you reportedly called the wife of a rival to ridicule her on-air for her recent miscarriage?
  • Since you've softened your position on gay marriage, why do you still surround yourself with and promote a variety of vociferous anti-gay bigots like Pastor Ken Hutcherson -- who hosts a Blaze show -- and Pastor David Barton, a man you recently petitioned to run for Senate?
  • Do you worry that your own history of sexist comments -- often towards progressive women -- undercuts your ability to express outrage when conservative women are unfairly targeted? Like the time you called Hillary Clinton a “stereotypical bitch” on your radio show, which you later clarified, saying “probably a better word was nag.” Or when you mock-vomited into a trash can after discussing Meghan McCain's involvement in a skin cancer PSA in which she bared her shoulders?
  • Do you worry that your constant warnings of impending catastrophic global disaster -- "Hindenburg omens," “perfect storms,” "Archduke Ferdinand moments," and the End Times, to name a few -- could cause you to lose credibility with your followers when your predictions don't pan out? Do you ever worry about over-promising your audience about the historical importance of your yearly events, which you have labeled “planet course-altering” historical turning points that could represent fulfillments of biblical prophecy? 
  • What's the status of “Independence, USA,” the self-sufficient libertarian city/theme park hybrid you unveiled in January? 

UPDATE:

According to a tweet from Cupp, her CNN interview with Beck has been rescheduled due to the ice storm in Texas.