“Sarah Huckabee Sanders, one of the more controversial holders of the office of White House Press Secretary in recent memory, will join Fox News Channel as a contributor,” Variety reports.
‘Chopper Talk’ Lets Trump Deal with Press on His Terms
Politico: “As reporters shouted dozens of questions above the din of the helicopter’s churning blades, Trump picked the ones he wanted — on Greenland, Russia, the Fed and background checks for gun sales — and brushed past those he didn’t.”
“Wednesday’s careening, impromptu 35-minute news conference may have looked bizarre to veteran observers of the White House, not to mention maddening to television pros accustomed to high-quality audio and video production values. But there’s a method to the seeming madness.”
“The ‘Chopper Talk’ sessions, as comedian Stephen Colbert has dubbed them, serve multiple goals for Trump, reporters and White House insiders say. They allow him to speak more often in front of the cameras than his predecessors, yet firmly on his own terms. He scans the pack of reporters, seizing on questions he wants, while ignoring others. He makes headline-ready pronouncements and airs grievances for anywhere from a few minutes to a half-hour — and then walks away when he’s had enough.”
Advertisers Continue to Flee Tucker Carlson’s Show
New York Times: “Over the last year, dozens of advertisers, including Pacific Life, Farmers Insurance and SodaStream, have distanced themselves from Mr. Carlson, the host who caused an uproar with his recent on-air comments on white supremacy days after the mass shooting in El Paso. In the past two weeks, smaller companies, like the meditation app Calm and the online lending start-up SoFi, joined them.”
“The Monday episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, the host’s first since he left the airwaves for what Fox News said was a planned vacation two days after making the remarks on white supremacy, had fewer commercials than usual.”
Trump Hits Fox News Over Bad Polls
President Trump slammed his preferred news network over recent unfavorable poll results, Politico reports, saying: “There’s something going on at Fox, I’ll tell you right now. And I’m not happy with it.”
He added: “And I think Fox is making a big mistake. Because, you know, I’m the one that calls the shots on that — on the really big debates.”
Reporter Says Intimidation Effort Made on Russia Story
“CNN’s Clarissa Ward says her story this week about Russian involvement in the Central African Republic came with a price: she was trailed during her reporting and made the subject of a 15-minute propaganda video denigrating her work,” the AP reports.
“Ward said she was shaken by the experience but it confirmed for her that the story made powerful people uncomfortable.”
Said Ward: “This was very clearly an attempt to discredit and intimidate us.”
Americans Split on Coverage of Trump
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds 37% of respondents believe the media is “too tough” on President Trump, while the same percentage believe the media is “not tough enough.” Another 15% think the media’s treatment of Trump is “just right.”
‘The Hunt’ Is Canceled By Studio
Universal Pictures has canceled the release of its upcoming thriller “The Hunt,” Variety reports.
The film was previously set to hit theaters Sept. 27.
“Previously, Universal put a temporary halt on marketing for the film following a series of mass shootings. In the film’s few marketing materials that did air, stars such as Betty Gilpin and Ike Barinholtz could be seen brandishing assault rifles and pistols while taking on a group of would-be hunters.”
Tucker Carlson Suddenly Takes a Vacation
Facing mounting controversy for declaring the very real problem of white supremacy in America to be a “hoax,” Tucker Carlson announced at the end of his Wednesday night Fox News show that he will be taking a vacation, CNN reports.
Trump Rages at Cable News Pundits
President Trump lashed out at MSNBC and CNN, saying the networks invite guests to appear “as experts on ‘Trump’ ” that “have no idea what I am all about,” The Hill reports.
Tweeted Trump: “Just watched a world class loser, Tim O’Brien, who I haven’t seen or spoken to in many years, & knows NOTHING about me except that he wrote a failed hit piece book about me 15 years ago. Fired like a dog from other jobs? Saw him on Lyin’ Brian Williams Trump Slam Show. Bad TV.”
He added: “I am so amazed that MSNBC & CNN can keep putting on, over and over again, people that have no idea what I am all about, and yet they speak as experts on “Trump.'”
Ads Pulled for New Thriller After Mass Shootings
Hollywood Reporter: “In the aftermath of mass shootings within days of one another that shocked and traumatized the nation, Universal is re-evaluating its strategy for the certain-to-be-controversial satire. The violent, R-rated film from producer Jason Blum’s Blumhouse follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals.”
Palin Can Pursue Defamation Case Against New York Times
A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, over an editorial that she said maliciously linked her to the 2011 mass shooting that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Reuters reports.
Trump Blames Fake News for Mass Violence
In a morning tweet, President Trump blamed “Fake News” for having “contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years.”
Michael Calderone notes Trump was echoing a line from the El Paso shooter’s manifesto: “The media is infamous for fake news.”
Trump Directs Government to Punish Newspaper Owner
Jonathan Chait: “When he was running for president, Donald Trump threatened to single out Amazon for retribution. He is carrying out that threat. The White House has ordered the Defense Department to reexamine a $10 billion cloud-computing contract ‘because of concerns that the deal would go to Amazon,’ the Washington Post reports.”
“It’s not yet possible to prove that Trump is directing this decision as punishment for Jeff Bezos’s ownership of the Post. And proof may never be found. Trump’s Mafia style of management, which the Mueller report chronicles, is designed to avoid leaving a paper trail that would incriminate the boss. (The report shows Trump, among other things, using buffers to carry out his illegal orders and chiding his lawyer for taking notes.)”
“But Trump is also not smart or subtle enough to leave any doubt about his intentions. He has made it abundantly clear both that the Post is the source of his hatred of Amazon, and that his policy grounds for punishing Amazon are pretexts.”
The Presidential Campaign Is Now a Reality TV Show
New York Times: “That Survivor state of things — a desperate contest among a crowded field to avoid elimination — was not wholly of CNN’s making. It was created in part by the party’s decision to set the bar for the early debates at ankle height, and by the ability of a couple dozen Democrats to imagine themselves in the Oval Office, or at least imagine themselves imagining it.”
“And now, they were facing a mass group culling, since the tighter rules for the September debates will likely leave half or more of them out. Inevitably, people would act out to stand out.”
“That’s reality TV, but it’s also the hard reality of the race.”
Trump Defends Himself By Insulting Black Journalist
President Trump defended himself on Twitter against accusations of racism by calling himself the “least racist person in the world” and by insulting the intelligence of CNN’s Don Lemon, who is black, referring to him as “the dumbest man on television.”
CNN Won’t Air Any Live Rallies
CNN chief Jeff Zucker told the Washington Post that the cable news network won’t air any presidential candidate rallies live and unedited, as it did repeatedly for Donald Trump in 2016.
CNN Chief Once Backed Kamala Harris
“CNN’s president, a media titan at the helm of a global news organization intensely covering the 2020 presidential election, has a longstanding personal rule against supporting politicians,” McClatchy reports.
“He’s broken it once — for Kamala Harris when she ran to become the first woman of color to hold the office of California attorney general a decade ago.”
Keeping Up with the Threat
Here’s a timely and relevant site: Election Security Daily.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 55
- Next Page »
