Fox News and CNN take sides after House floor debate on… Nickelback?

Kyle Moss

Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., were discussing a criminal justice amendment on the House floor Thursday when a debate about Canadian rock band Nickelback broke out.

“Only four wanted to keep this provision. Everyone else wanted to change this, out of 77,000,” Pocan said of the amendment. “That’s probably about the percent of people who think Nickelback is their favorite band in this country. It’s pretty low.”

After Davis reacted and asked Pocan why he would criticize “one of the greatest bands of the ’90s,” Pocan responded swiftly.

“Wow, all right. One more reason why there’s a difference between Democrats and Republicans, clearly found on the floor of congress today,” he said.

Both CNN’s New Day and the Fox News show Fox & Friends covered the story, with hosts on each network providing differing opinions of the band.

“They are not the worst, they’re good,” co-host Ainsley Earhardt said on Fox & Friends. “How do you hate Nickelback? I understand hating heavy metal.”

Her fellow hosts also chimed in, with Steve Doocey proudly proclaiming his love for the band and Brian Kilmeade showing indifference toward the group.

“I never hear it on the radio and think, ‘Make it louder,’” Kilmeade said.

On New Day, co-host Alisyn Camerota brought jokes.

“It’s been said if you play a Nickelback song backwards you hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you hear Nickelback,” she said, with co-host John Berman later adding: “They’re empirically not good, right?”

Along with being quick to point out that Nickelback didn’t make a splash until the early 2000s, some Twitter commenters were quick to pile on the Nickelback hate.

Others came to the defense of the six-time Grammy-nominated group.

So while the debate rages on, Rep. Davis had the final say against Rep. Pocan.

“I stand here to say that my colleague from Wisconsin, I know he did not mean to offend the many thousands upon thousands of Nickelback fans in his district of Wisconsin,” Davis said of Pocan. “I’ll stand here to save you from doing that, and have to face the political consequences at the ballot box.”

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