Democrats wouldn’t mind one bit if someone found a way of the eliminating their “Farrakhan problem” for real. But the man who has openly declared his hatred for Jews and who in May called for “an end to white men” continues to occupy his place on the periphery of American politics, much to the consternation of party leaders.
In June Twitter solved its Farrakhan problem by removing the blue “verified” check mark from the hatemonger’s account. And now, two of the networks have found a way of dealing with the embarrassing photo above, which was taken at Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin’s funeral.
The solution? Careful cropping. Here’s MSNBC’s solution:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and fmr. President Bill Clinton attend Aretha Franklin’s funeral celebration. https://t.co/MTlJAs1ET2 pic.twitter.com/hI7Z4GtvnV
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 31, 2018
Notice that Farrakhan’s name isn’t even mentioned in the caption, though he is standing immediately to Al Sharpton’s left in the wider version of this photo.
ABC was just as circumspect in framing its photo:
Revs. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and former Pres. Bill Clinton seated next to one another at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit for Aretha Franklin's funeral service. All three are expected to deliver personal remarks on the iconic singer. https://t.co/GsAKjngPBB pic.twitter.com/Z4dnVb3iT4
— ABC News (@ABC) August 31, 2018
Speaking of the funeral, it is worth noting that the bored expression on Bill Clinton’s face vanished once Arianna Grande began to perform.
https://twitter.com/freedom_moates/status/1035569145503469569
His wife was also in attendance, though the two Clintons were unable to sit together because Bill Clinton needed to be in the front row since he was delivering a eulogy, as were Jesse Jackson and Sharpton. Sharpton, incidentally, was in rare form, using the occasion of Franklin’s death to slam Donald Trump.
As for Mrs. Clinton, it was probably just as well that she wasn’t seated next to her husband because, if she had been, the cameras might have picked up her ostensible inability to stay awake.
https://twitter.com/HLAurora63/status/1035851812543373313
(h/t Twitchy)