CNN’s Wolf Blitzer returned to his hometown of Buffalo for a segment in the network’s “My Happy Place” series, which is a nostalgic tribute to his roots and the city that raised him. But instead of giving viewers an authentic glimpse of Buffalo’s working-class charm, Blitzer managed to deliver something else entirely: a cringeworthy display of elitism that I have no doubt has locals shaking their heads and social media buzzing.
Why does this matter to me? Because I live in Buffalo. I may not be born and bred here, but I’ve lived and worked here for closing in on twenty years now. While I don’t pretend to be a Buffalo purist, and I’m hardly in a position to have the same nostalgia for the region and its history, I nevertheless have to say something.
The pre-packaged segment was everything one might expect for a puff piece about Buffalo. A shout out to the chicken wings, the Buffalo Bills, a visit to the Bills stadium, local businesses, his former high school, yada, yada, yada.
“Buffalo clearly holds a special place in my heart, and I love to come back to visit. Buffalo has been called the City of Good Neighbors, and it certainly is,” he said, though it depends on which side of the tracks you find yourself on. “I love my fellow Buffalonians. It's my happy place.”
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“My Polish-Jewish parents, both Holocaust survivors, moved to Buffalo from Germany as immigrants after World War II,” he said in the voice-over. “The people of Buffalo welcomed them and helped them. I grew up here.”
There was even a visit to the Buffalo Bills’ stadium and a touching moment outside his old high school. But the tone took a bizarre and unintentionally hilarious turn when the topic shifted to Buffalo’s most iconic culinary contribution: the chicken wing.
While filming at the Anchor Bar — the birthplace of the Buffalo wing — Blitzer confessed, “It’s been a while, but I love Buffalo chicken wings. It makes me happy.”
This was the moment that absolutely floored me: footage of Blitzer eating his wings with a knife and fork.
In what was supposed to be a touching segment plucking at all the strings of Buffalo nostalgia, Blitzer ate wings with a knife and fork.
CNN is down bad. pic.twitter.com/Stg6TNMgIC
— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) May 29, 2025
I may not be a true Buffalonian, but even I found this offensive.
I felt like Elaine Benes watching Mr. Pitt eat a Snickers bar with a knife and fork.
The moment didn’t go unnoticed by CNN anchor Pamela Brown, who confronted Blitzer on-air after the segment aired about this absurd faux pas.
“I’m sure our viewers — you were eating a Buffalo wing with a fork,” she said, trying to hold back laughter.
“I know,” Blitzer admitted.
“I don’t know that I have ever seen that, Wolf Blitzer,” Brown pressed.
“Well, my fingers were a little dirty, so I wanted to have a fork to eat the Buffalo wings,” Blitzer explained, doubling down. “But, normally, I do eat the Buffalo chicken wings with a knife and a fork.”
Yeah, right. The whole thing was staged, and he couldn’t be bothered to wash his hands to eat his wings the correct way? Wouldn’t you do that before eating anyway? When you know this is going to be broadcast to the dozens of people who still watch CNN, you eat wings the right way.
He probably likes his wings with ranch dressing, too. Freak.
Blitzer’s attempt to play the role of the hometown kid fell flat, transforming what could’ve been a warm, nostalgic tribute into a cringeworthy display of media elitism. This wasn’t about Buffalo pride. It was about keeping up appearances on CNN, too squeamish to get his hands dirty with the very wings that put the city on the map.
Now I’m hungry for some wings.
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