'Volunteer your child!' Conservative challenged after he praises Trump's 'hunger games'

CNN's Audie Cornish challenged a conservative panelist after he praised an athletic competition announced by President Donald Trump that has sparked comparisons to the dystopian "Hunger Games" novels and films.

The 79-year-old president announced the White House will host the “Patriot Games,” where one teenage boy and girl from each state and territory will compete, as part of the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary next year, and "CNN This Morning" producers rolled a clip of Trump's comments interspersed with similar dialogue from the "Hunger Games" films.

"Hold on, we need to play this so people can hear it," Cornish said. "I don't want because the way you're about to describe it will give us pop culture vibes."

"It's wild, I got to give itto him," said podcaster Noel King.

"May the odds be everin their favor," added New York Times podcaster Lulu Garcia-Navarro, quoting from the film. "Yes, if hewanted to be the ruler of Panem,he's really coded thatperfectly."

Cornish asked Daily Signal politics editor Bradley Devlin whether he would volunteer to participate.

"No," he said, "because I'd lose. Thankfully,I wouldn't die in these games, but I would lose."

Garcia-Navarro asked whether Devlin thought the president was trolling by setting up something so similar to the sci-fi series.

"Do you think this is a trollin the way that we've seen thisadministration troll things thatthey want just to break throughand they think it's funny?" she asked. "Or doyou think this is like a massivemisstep? That's the debate thatI saw sort of among politicos. What is this for?"

Devlin wasn't sure, either, but he was generally supportive.

"Do they wantto pick a fight with the mediaover this or something likethat, potentially?" Devlin said. "I mean, Ithink it's just they're going totry to make the pomp andcircumstance as pomp and ascircumstantial as possible.Like, this is America 250 – Ilike it. Go big or go home, Ilike it."

"Okay, volunteer your child," Cornish noted.

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