CNN host uses 3,001 gumballs to represent Trump’s ‘false or misleading statements’

CNN on Saturday used glass jars to show 3,001 gumballs a host said represented the total number of false or misleading claims President Trump has made since entering the Oval Office. 

Victor Blackwell, the weekend host of “New Day,” added another jar-and-a-half of gumballs to four already-full jars counting the president’s mistruths, saying it demonstrated the 1,051 new false claims Trump has uttered in the first four months of 2018. 

“There are really so many claims that are false or misleading statements and just downright lies, it’s hard to keep track. But we are,” the host said. 

{mosads}

The Washington Post reported in an analysis this week that Trump has averaged 6.5 false or misleading claims per day in his 466 days in office as of May 1, an increase from the 4.9 times per day measured in his first 100 days. 

“Think of that,” Blackwell said. “That’s more than some people wash their hands in a day.” 

He added, “That’s two before most people get to work in the morning.” 

CNN and Trump tend to have an adversarial relationship. Trump has often targeted CNN as a purveyor of “fake news” on stories covering his administration and the ongoing probe into possible Russian collusion with members of his campaign team. And the network last year rolled out a “fact first” campaign, saying there is “no alternative to a fact” in response to Trump officials using the term “alternative facts.”