The broadcast network newscasts, having devoted the bare minimum amount of time to the Minneapolis church incursion that resulted in massive civil rights violations, now devoted the bare minimum to the arrests of three of the protesters. And in the case of ABC World News Tonight, the story was completely neglected. Watch ABC’s Minnesota roundup: heavy on the visit by Vice President JD Vance and on the 5-year-old boy that was ditched by his father and subsequently taken care of by ICE: ABC's 'World News Tonight' didn't have a single word Thursday on the arrests of three people in connection to the anti-ICE mob storming a church. CBS and NBC had partial segments on the arrests by @AGPamBondi and @HarmeetKDhillon's DOJ Instead, just over two and a half minutes… pic.twitter.com/Rv3S4OQIch — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 23, 2026 ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 1/22/26 6:37 PM DAVID MUIR: In the meantime, the growing outrage in Minneapolis. The images of a 5-year-old boy returning home from preschool detained by ICE. Agents taking the boy and his father into custody. Vice President JD Vance in Minneapolis today defending ICE agents, claiming they were protecting the child, saying: “what are they supposed to do?” Matt Rivers in Minneapolis again tonight. MATT RIVERS: Tonight, the haunting images sparking a firestorm. A preschool boy standing in the Minnesota cold, swept up in the ICE crackdown. School officials say 5-year-old Liam, wearing his blue hat and backpack and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, had just pulled into their suburban Minneapolis driveway Tuesday, when agents took that father into custody. The school then saying an agent essentially used the 5-year-old as bait, directing him to see if anyone else was home before taking the boy away. The district saying Liam is among four students recently detained. MARY GRANDLUND:The sense of safety in our community and around our schools is shaken. And our hearts are shattered. And honestly at the end of the day, children should be in school with their classmates. RIVERS: But DHS telling a different story, saying “ICE did not target a child”, claiming Liam's father is an undocumented immigrant and fled on foot, abandoning his son in the driveway. Tonight, during a visit here in Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance saying the agents were protecting the child. JD VANCE: What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?  RIVERS: But the district says multiple people on scene did offer to take the child, but were refused. Vance broadly praising the work of federal agents, saying the vast majority are doing excellent work. But for the first time tonight, the administration telling me they are willing to discipline ICE officers, quote, “when justified.” VANCE: Somebody did something wrong, yes, they're going to face disciplinary action, but we're not going to judge them in the court of public opinion. RIVERS: Vance saying he's trying to ease soaring tensions amid furious protests. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino tossing a smoke grenade into an unruly crowd. Agents pinning this person to the ground. This stunning image of the pepper spray at close range. And David, tonight, the chilling image of that little boy standing out in the cold striking a chord with so many here. The family's lawyer saying the boy's father did come to this country legally, and David tonight we’ve learned both father and son are being held together at a processing facility in San Antonio. David. MUIR: Matt Rivers in Minneapolis. Matt, thank you. It’s not like ABC didn’t have the TIME to talk about the arrests of the mob members, they just didn’t WANT to. Viewers may find comfort in the fact that David Muir did find time to cover the Harry Styles Madison Square Garden residency. CBS did better than ABC’s omission, but ever slightly so. Tony Doukopil took 20 seconds to introduce Nicole Sganga’s single sentence. Talk about reluctance: After Tony Dokoupil's introduction, a mere 6 seconds on the arrests of 3 of the individuals involved in Sunday's Minneapolis church incursion pic.twitter.com/ZmyW22HxjL — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 23, 2026 TONY DOKOUPIL: We’re going to turn now to the breaking news out of Minnesota today, federal agents arresting three people for allegedly storming a church Sunday, disrupting services as part of an anti-ICE protest. The U.S. Attorney General saying, quote, "We do not tolerate attacks on places of worship." At the same time, Vice President JD Vance was in the state today, and Nicole Sganga has late breaking details. NICOLE SGANGA: The protesters were all escorted in handcuffs to face charges that they disrupted a church service last Sunday.  After those six seconds, the rest of the report centered on the 5-year-old, and on cleanup from yesterday’s report on ICE detainers. We questioned the lack of mention of county jails as a potential source of noncompliance, and sure enough. Finally, there was the NBC Nightly News, which covered the arrests but you can hear Maggie Vespa trying to diminish the criminality of it all: The arrest of the three participants in the Minneapolis church incursion was brief, featuring Maggie Vespa almost sighing her way through it and making extra sure to end with a quote from their defense attorney. pic.twitter.com/iip6eAevB5 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 23, 2026 TOM LLAMAS: Maggie joins us tonight. Maggie, the Justice Department also announcing new arrests tonight after anti-ICE protesters disrupted that Sunday church service. What do we know? MAGGIE VESPA: Yeah, Tom, that’s right. Remember those protesters said they thought a pastor at that church worked for ICE. Well, now the DoJ announcing arrests of three protesters with charges, including conspiracy to deprive rights. A lawyer for one of them telling NBC News they were arrested doing a peaceful, non-violent protest in a church. Tom. LLAMAS: All right, Maggie. Thank you. Vespa’s uptalk establishes a questioning of the arrest and underlying circumstances. Viewers are thus invited to also question the validity of those charges for themselves. Coverage of the arrests and underlying protests is sparse for now, so long as there isn’t anything that can push the media to Trumpwash the story. That could change if Don Lemon is charged.  Click “expand” to view the transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026: CBS EVENING NEWS 1/22/26 6:39 PM TONY DOKOUPIL: We’re going to turn now to the breaking news out of Minnesota today, federal agents arresting three people for allegedly storming a church Sunday, disrupting services as part of an anti-ICE protest. The U.S. Attorney General saying, quote, "We do not tolerate attacks on places of worship." At the same time, Vice President JD Vance was in the state today, and Nicole Sganga has late breaking details. NICOLE SGANGA: The protesters were all escorted in handcuffs to face charges that they disrupted a church service last Sunday. This comes after an Ecuadorian man was arrested this week, who DHS says was in the country illegally. The man's 5-year-old son, Liam, was also taken into custody. At least the fourth minor detained in Minneapolis this month. DHS says the boy was abandoned by his father after fleeing the scene. MARC PROKOSCH: Liam and his dad are in San Antonio, Texas, at the Dilley facility. SGANGA: Today, Vice President JD Vance visited Minnesota, imploring state leaders to de-escalate. JD VANCE: What I do think that we can do is working with state and local officials, we can make the worst moments of chaos much less common, and all they've got to do is meet us halfway. SGANGA: Top Homeland Security officials echoed the Vice President's appeal, asking local authorities to turn over dangerous criminals. MARCOS CHARLES: Please honor our immigration detainers that we have lodged against criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota, in the state's jails and prisons. SGANGA: But that's exactly what Minnesota's top corrections officer, Paul Schnell, says is already happening. PAUL SCHNELL: As they approach their release date, several weeks before, our staff coordinates directly with the local ICE office. Staff do this on a routine basis. They make arrangements for the transfer of custody of that individual. SGANGA: Pressed by CBS News, both the Vice President and ICE acknowledged that the Minnesota Department of Corrections, overseen by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, does cooperate with the federal government to notify ICE when undocumented criminals are released from state facilities, but argued county officials don't always.  CHARLES: We pick individuals up from the state. It's the counties that do not honor our detainers. DOKOUPIL: Nicole, let's talk about that memo you reported on last night regarding ICE tactics, specifically the ability to enter people's homes without a warrant from a judge. How is that a break or different from how ICE agents operated before? SGANGA: Tony, this is a big departure from how ICE agents typically conduct their business. This memo authorizes federal agents to force entry into a home with only an administrative warrant signed by an ICE official, not a judge, raising all kinds of constitutional Fourth Amendment concerns. We heard the Vice President, JD Vance, defend this policy today, but he conceded, like some any policy changes under this administration, we’ll see how this one plays out in the courts. Tony. DOKOUPIL: Nicole, thank you very much.   NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 1/22/26 6:36 PM TOM LLAMAS: In Minneapolis today a high-profile visit by Vice President Vance in the middle of those chaotic protests against ICE. Vance blaming Democratic officials there for not helping federal law enforcement carry out arrests, while also acknowledging some mistakes. Here’s Maggie Vespa. PROTESTER: LOOK WHAT THEY DID! MAGGIE VESPA: Tonight, as anti-ICE protests here rage, Vice President Vance on the ground in Minneapolis saying he wants to turn down the temperature and support federal law enforcement officers. JD VANCE: Because of a few very far left agitators, a lot of these guys are unable to do their jobs without being harassed, without being doxed and sometimes without being assaulted. That's totally unacceptable. VESPA: Earlier today, acknowledging mistakes. VANCE: You’re always going to have mistakes made in law enforcement. (VIDEO SWIPE) 99% of our police officers, probably more than that, are doing everything right. VESPA: We pressed the Vice President.  What do you say to people here in Minnesota who say it's the overwhelming presence of ICE officers and federal officers and their tactics that are making them feel less safe? VANCE: Well, one thing I would say is: first of all, we saw in 2025 the biggest one-year drop in murders in the history of the United States of America.  VESPA: Are you are saying that they’re not perceiving it correctly? VANCE: If you understand this in context, this is the inevitable consequence of a state and local government that have decided that they are not going to cooperate with immigration enforcement at all. In fact, they are going to aggressively not cooperate. VESPA: Minneapolis's Democratic mayor responding. JACOB FREY: We have got this huge flux of what feels like an occupation. VESPA: Tonight critics pointing to this image of a 5-year-old boy with a federal officer on Tuesday. Columbia Heights Public Schools saying Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias were detained in their driveway, accusing ICE of using a 5-year-old as bait. TEACHER: All I want is for him to be safe and back here. VESPA: Tonight DHS responding saying officers “did not target a child” but were targeting his father, who in the U.S. illegally from Ecuador, saying the father fled on foot abandoning his child and, that quote, “one of our ICE Officers remained with the child after his mother refused to accept custody.” VANCE: When are this he supposed do? Let a 5-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America? VESPA: Meanwhile, this video showing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino tossing gas to disperse protesters who had followed officers to a convenience store, throwing food and objects at them. GREG BOVINO: We were set up on rioters who tried to stop us yesterday. Where was Minneapolis Police Department during that eight-hour stalking event? LLAMAS: Maggie joins us tonight. Maggie, the Justice Department also announcing new arrests tonight after anti-ICE protesters disrupted that Sunday church service. What do we know? VESPA: Yeah, Tom, that’s right. Remember those protesters said they thought a pastor at that church worked for ICE. Well, now the DoJ announcing arrests of three protesters with charges, including conspiracy to deprive rights. A lawyer for one of them telling NBC News they were arrested doing a peaceful, non-violent protest in a church. Tom. LLAMAS: All right, Maggie. Thank you.  

On Thursday morning, the broadcast networks trudged out into the bone-chilling, snowy cold of Minneapolis to stir up trouble and smear Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents with their preferred narratives of the day from their allies in the deep-pocked, far-left thuggery hunting the Twin Cities for ICE agents to harass. This time, one narrative showed liberal journalists play amateur attorney and the other pulling on the heartstrings. NBC’s Today shared a lie that spread throughout the day Thursday — which led to our friend and MRC Bulldog Award winner Drew Holden naming and shaming a slew of offenders — that ICE had engaged in a mind-boggling kidnapping of a five-year-old boy. Correspondent Maggie Vespa warned “a local school district...is sounding alarms, they say, about four of their students taken into ICE custody including a five-year-old boy, who they say was detained with his father in the family’s driveway.” NBC's 'Today' on Thursday was part of the elite liberal media's disinformation campaign claiming ICE "detained" a five-year-old in Minneapolis Fact-check: The boy's father ran.@DrewHolden360, I've found another network for you to own pic.twitter.com/LAen2gDj2q — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 22, 2026 “The district alleges that another adult in the home begged agents to leave the child with them but that the agents refused. NBC News reached out to DHS about this overnight. They didn’t respond to us, but the agency did tell The Washington Post that their policy is to ask parents if they want to be removed with their children or be placed with a person designated by the parent,” she added. Fact check: Pants on fire. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided a comprehensive explanation of this situation. The main takeaway? The boy’s father fled on foot upon seeing ICE and thus left his child. As any sane person would, ICE’s focus shifted to the welfare of the boy: On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias. As agents approached the driver Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, fled on foot—abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other… https://t.co/yJVf5B66lQ — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 22, 2026 Vice President Vance also addressed this story’s virality as disproportionate to its factual basis: Reporter: “A local school district here is alleging ICE agents detained a five-year-old after preschool on Tuesday. We've also seen multiple American citizens detained by ICE in the last six weeks. Are you proud of how your administration is conducting this immigration crackdown… pic.twitter.com/yY4dvgL05G — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 22, 2026 Earlier in the piece, NBC huffed about a scene outside a gas station of a mob harassing federal law enforcement. Fourth hour co-host Sheinelle Jones said there were “more tenses clashes between protesters and federal agents in Minneapolis” as “demonstrators confront[ed] officers” while “the nation’s Border Patrol commander...[threw] a gas cannister” at them. Vespa also painted law enforcement as the aggressors (click “expand”): And [the Vice President’s visit] comes, as you point out, as tensions soar here on the ground. one of the latest clashes involving one of the most prominent figures in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, that is Border Patrol commander — right there — Gregory Bovino throwing a canister into an angry crowd of protesters yesterday after warning those protesters multiple times that it was gas. Now, DHS says this started because officers, including Bovino were going gas station to gas station in the area trying to use a bathroom that they kept getting turned away, the agency said, and a group of protesters, in their words, started to stalk them. They say clash happened and the situation devolved to that.  CBS Mornings continued to show that, when it comes to the AM program, the Bari Weiss-led network has a long way to go. Co-host Nate Burleson began the Minneapolis coverage by stating there was “important new information this morning on the immigration crackdown in Minnesota” as “a memo obtained by CBS News shows that ICE agents have been told that they can force their way into suspect’s homes without a judge’s search warrant.” This led into what was largely a re-racking of correspondent Nicole Sganga’s piece from Wednesday’s CBS Evening News claiming ICE is not at all banned from cooperating with or operating in Minnesota jails: Thursday's 'CBS Mornings' peddled the doomsday lie about ICE being allowed to barge into any "suspect's home without a judge's earch warrant" and insist ICE is "flat wrong" to claim they're banned from going into Minnesota jails to take illegal immigrants for deportation Tell me… pic.twitter.com/5soPqTatJT — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 22, 2026 Meanwhile, ABC’s Good Morning America had less than two minutes on the unrest their friends eagerly foment. Correspondent Matt Rivers focused on the warrant nonsense: ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ was rather upset Thursday at the idea ICE can obtain “warrant of removal/deportation” without going through a full, drawn-out trial like someone would if they had committed any other crime “Experts say it could mean less accountability and more… pic.twitter.com/M3eYZj6Pmu — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 22, 2026 What are the facts here? Leave it to Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin to explain: They have an Administrative warrant. Administrative warrants have been used for decades and recognized by the Supreme Court and lower courts. In every case that DHS uses an Administrative warrant to enter a residence, an illegal alien has already had their full due process… https://t.co/i9jxFJFgne — Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) January 22, 2026 Former Trump Justice Department chief of staff Chad Mizelle quote-tweeted a reality these liberal journalists aren’t acknowledging as they’d rather play attorney because perhaps they’ve watched some episodes of Law & Order or listened to true crime podcasts: “Final order of removal = due process complete. At that point, evading ICE isn’t activism—it’s being a fugitive.” In response to a “civil rights litigator,” Mizelle explained on the legal rationale: “They are not entering American’s houses; they are entering the houses of illegal alien fugitives. Fugitives who have been given every chance to present their claims and who received due process. So yes, it is the Govt’s position that illegal alien fugitives can’t avoid deportation by hiding in their houses.” To see the relevant transcripts from January 22, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).

A list of a dozen “essential facts about former Special Counsel Jack Smith” was published by House Judiciary Republicans Thursday, prior to Smith’s testimony before the committee regarding his efforts to convict President Donald Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election. “There are 12 essential facts about former Special Counsel Jack Smith, his investigation, and what he has testified to,” House Judiciary Republicans wrote in a social media post warning that Americans need to know that, regarding his charges against Trump claiming he tried to overturn the 2020 election, Smith: Defied precedent and presumption of innocence. Determined Trump was guilty by association. Claimed he was deeply involved in details of the investigation, but could not recall basic steps taken during the investigation. Conceded that he approved of several actions and procedural moves that were highly irregular. Approved toll record subpoenas for members of Congress without regard for whether the private communications were constitutionally protected. Sought the private toll records of Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was speaker of the House at the time, to corroborate evidence his office already possessed. Confirmed that his prosecutors did not tell judges signing gag orders for the subpoenas that the Special Counsel's Office was seeking records from members of Congress. Singled out President Trump, and only President Trump, in his electors case, setting aside other targets and focusing his efforts on seeking an indictment of President Trump in advance of the election. Wanted to prevent President Trump from commenting on the case, despite being unable to articulate a specific harm concretely traceable to anything President Trump said about the case. Testified that partisan January 6th Select Committee star witness Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony was unreliable and contradicted by other witnesses with better knowledge. Declined to initiate an independent investigation into serious allegations that his top aide, Jay Bratt, threatened a defense counsel to coerce his cooperation with the prosecution. Testified that he directed his team to obtain the partisan January 6th Select Committee's evidence gathered during its politically-motivated inquiry. “It was always about politics. And, in order to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything,” Chairman Jordan said in his opening statement at Thursday’s hearing, in which he recalled the legacy of efforts to get Trump leading up to, and including, illegitimately-appointed Special Counsel Smith’s extraordinary, irregular and dubious maneuvers. From the timing of his appointment (three days after Trump announced his candidacy in 2022) and recruitment of anti-Trump cohorts to his desire to cloak his deeds and failure to be confirmed by the Senate (as required by law), Jack Smith’s legacy as special counsel should be reprehensible to all Americans, Chairman Jordan said. pic.twitter.com/SZ0qop2dyr — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 22, 2026

In just three months to the day, ABC News co-host Sunny Hostin went from spewing conspiracy theories about President Trump plotting to never leave office to conspiracy theories about him constructing a globe-spanning shadow government he was going to use to bring about a “new world order.” The only thing missing from the set of The View during Thursday’s episode was a roll of foil for Hostin to build her tinfoil hat from, since no one wanted to push back against her. Despite Trump being very public with the fact that his proposed Board of Peace would be focused on the reconstruction of Gaza after the war, Hostin ignored that stated goal to proclaim: “[W]e don't really know what's happening but what we do know he started this strange Board of Peace at Davos testing the global order and I think it's something that not enough people are talking about.” Her phrasing was out straight out of the too-online conspiracy theorist playbook. Notice how Hostin never mentioned that the stated point of the Board of Peace was to rebuild Gaza, as she called it “strange” and claimed it was somehow “testing the global order.” Moreover, despite every major news organization reporting on it, she thought “not enough people are talking about it.” Thus, she put herself in a position to manipulate The View’s gullible audience of sycophants as she spoon-fed them her version of reality: He said he wants this new Board of Peace - okay? - to work with the United Nations and that once the board is completely formed, 'we can do pretty much whatever we want to do.’ You know, he is apparently -- it's a global scope, but only one person in charge. Trump will serve as the indefinite chairman of the board, possibly holding the post beyond his second term as president according to the charter. And one man has the power to veto decisions, approve the agenda, invite member, dissolve the board entirely, designate his own successor. His name is spelled out in Article 3.2. And guess who is on the Board of Peace. He's the executive founder. It includes his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.   "New World Order" ABC News's Sunny Hostin claims Trump is trying to take over the world through a global shadow government via the Board of Peace: "We don't really know what's happening but what we do know is he started this strange Board of Peace at Davos testing the global… pic.twitter.com/FVvug22rgn — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 22, 2026   “And so, we're talking about a new world order here and I think we need to be very [concerned],” she declared. Of course, co-host Joy Behar had to put her mark on the fear mongering too. “Name the countries! The countries! Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the UAE. Not exactly a bastion of democracy. I mean, is there a democracy?” she demanded to know. Well, Joy, there were democracies involved. In addition to the United States, (according to NewsNation) there was Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Kosovo, Mongolia, and Paraguay. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel had accepted the invitation as well. Hostin’s pearl clutching over how much influence the Board of Peace would have was rooted in how her generally inclination was to hand over too much authority/sovereignty to international institutions, like the United Nations (see her hyperventilation over international law after the arrest of dictator Nicolas Maduro). Moreover, she had previously put the U.N. above even the United States. In reality, the Board of Peace would likely face the same collective action problem all international governmental institutions faced: the only authority and legitimacy they could exercise was that which was bestowed to it by its members and recognized by other nations. It was the root of all the United Nations’ myriad of problems and hypocrisies. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View January 22, 2026 11:07:37 a.m. Eastern (…) SUNNY HOSTIN: He met with the head of NATO. The head of NATO is not the sovereign of Denmark. So, if you're trying to get Greenland which the sovereign is Denmark - and it's semi-autonomous – then you have to meet with Denmark. And so, I don't think anything happened. But what's so distressing to me, it’s like ‘who's your daddy’ and all this stuff. He's so deeply unserious! He's so deeply unserious and he's so deeply unpresidential! JOY BEHAR: It’s sad. HOSTIN: It’s sad and an embarrassment to our country! It’s an embarrassment to Americans! [Applause] [Crosstalk] HOSTIN: I'm so disgusted by that. But the other thing is, I don't really think he did anything. He told CNBC, ‘we have a concept of a deal.’ We've heard that before, right, like concepts of healthcare. On CNN, he said the U.S. got everything we wanted. Well, that's not true. And then he said just this morning he told ABC's Rachel Scott that the U.S. would have control of Greenland. And so, we don't really know what's happening but what we do know he started this strange Board of Peace at Davos testing the global order and I think it's something that not enough people are talking about. He said he wants this new Board of Peace - okay? - to work with the United Nations and that once the board is completely formed, 'we can do pretty much whatever we want to do.’ You know, he is apparently -- it's a global scope, but only one person in charge. Trump will serve as the indefinite chairman of the board, possibly holding the post beyond his second term as president according to the charter. And one man has the power to veto decisions, approve the agenda, invite member, dissolve the board entirely, designate his own successor. His name is spelled out in Article 3.2. And guess who is on the Board of Peace. He's the executive founder. It includes his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. And so, we're talking about a new world order here and I think we need to be very [concerned]. BEHAR: Name the countries! The countries! Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the UAE. Not exactly a bastion of democracy. I mean, is there a democracy? [Crosstalk] (…)

The American people have, once again, disappointed former First Lady Michelle Obama. Recently, Obama told podcaster Alex Cooper that the country is “not ready” for a female president, but based on CNN’s reaction on Wednesday’s Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN is ready for Obama herself to be president. Burnett reacted to Obama’s comments with Harry Enten, who is usually CNN’s energetic polling data nerd. However, for this particular segment, Burnett asked, “So, Harry. Okay. Can you prove her wrong? I mean, what are the numbers say to Michelle Obama?”   CNN appears to jump onboard the Michelle Obama 2028 train with polling guru Harry Enten claiming, "Historians top first lady rankings Eleanor Roosevelt number one, Abigail Adams. We couldn't get a picture of her. So, we went with the painting at number two. Michelle Obama at… pic.twitter.com/mpOWsjLyIb — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) January 22, 2026   Enten declared that he couldn’t, “Well, I don't know if I could prove her wrong, because why don't we just look at the heads of government in the United States compared to the rest of the world, right? Since 1946, we look in the United States, there have been zero. That's zero, less than one, rest of the world has had 136, which is 136 more than zero. So, no, I can't prove her wrong. I don't know if the country is ready yet or not, but I do know we haven't done it yet.” The duo then tied two individual Democrats to all of female America with Burnett beginning, “No, and there has been the opportunity to do it, right? So as” and Enten interrupting to add, “Yes. We've had Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, there you go.” Burnett wondered about Obama, “All right. So, Michelle Obama, obviously, was extremely popular when she was first lady. And we all remember, you know, her fans wanted her to run herself for president. So, what about now as she has taken on, she was very quiet along with her husband for a while now, taking a different role. Podcasts, things like that.” Enten agreed, “Yeah. I would tell you in terms of popular figures in this country, she's the most popular.” That’s because most people do not view her as a partisan politician, but that would change if she ever decided to run for office. Still, Enten then moved on to a survey from Sienna University, “But taking the long historic arc, right? Look at first ladies and historians have ranked the first ladies over time. Look at this. Historians top first lady rankings Eleanor Roosevelt number one, Abigail Adams. We couldn't get a picture of her. So, we went with the painting at number two. Michelle Obama at number three, and then Jackie Kennedy number four. If you're beating Jackie Kennedy on the first lady rankings, you know you're doing something right. In terms of the first ladies.” Or you just have a sympathetic judge. According to these historians, liberal heroes make up three of the top four first ladies ever. If you were to expand the survey, Sienna put six Democrats in the top ten including Hillary Clinton, three from the founding era, and only one Republican: liberal Betty Ford. Nancy Reagan placed 15th and Melania Trump placed dead last. The most recent survey occurred before Jill Biden became first lady, but it is impossible to imagine this group ranking her beneath Melania. Even if Obama wants to run for president, she probably wouldn’t get very far. Starting your campaign by attacking the voters’ character is usually a guaranteed way to fail and no amount of CNN spin can change that. Here is a transcript for the January 21 show: CNN Erin Burnett OutFront 1/21/2026 7:57 PM ET ERIN BURNETT: So, Harry. Okay. Can you prove her wrong? I mean, what are the numbers say to Michelle Obama? HARRY ENTEN: Well, I don't know if I could prove her wrong, because why don't we just look at the heads of government in the United States compared to the rest of the world, right? Since 1946, we look in the United States, there have been zero. That's zero, less than one, rest of the world has had 136, which is 136 more than zero. So, no, I can't prove her wrong. I don't know if the country is ready yet or not, but I do know we haven't done it yet. BURNETT: No, and there has been the opportunity to do it, right? So as – ENTEN: Yes. We've had Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, there you go. BURNETT: All right. So, Michelle Obama, obviously, was extremely popular when she was first lady. ENTEN: Yes. BURNETT: And we all remember, you know, her fans wanted her to run herself for president. So, what about now as she has taken on, she was very quiet along with her husband for a while now, taking a different role. Podcasts, things like that. ENTEN: Yeah. I would tell you in terms of popular figures in this country, she's the most popular. But taking the long historic arc, right? Look at first ladies and historians have ranked the first ladies over time. Look at this. Historians top first lady rankings: Eleanor Roosevelt, number one. Abigail Adams. We couldn't get a picture of her. So, we went with the painting at number two. Michelle Obama at number three, and then Jackie Kennedy number four. If you're beating Jackie Kennedy on the first lady rankings, you know you're doing something right. In terms of the first ladies.” If you're beating Jackie Kennedy on the first lady rankings, you know you're doing something right. In terms of the first ladies.”