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Jim Acosta
He's one of the most polarizing figures in all of media, without question. But on Monday, CNN's chief White House correspondent deserves praise for keeping his composure during a live shot in front of a truly hostile crowd — while landing a perfect quip to boot.
Jim Acosta made the trip down to Sanford, FL ahead of President Donald Trump's first official rally since being diagnosed with the coronavirus on Oct. 1. MAGA fans are, generally speaking, not big admirers of the CNN correspondent. And so, as the reporter wrapped his standup on The Situation Room, the crowd struck up a chant in the background.
"CNN sucks! CNN sucks!" They yelled.
Acosta shrugged off the chants like a seasoned pro, and wrapped his hit with a devastating shot at the rally attendees — as well as the man for whom they gathered.
"And as this crowd is chanting that there are members of the press here who suck, I should also point out what also sucks — getting the coronavirus," Acosta said.
Trump rallies feature lots of people in close proximity who consider mask-wearing to be strictly optional. They are prime candidates to become super-spreader events — something the coronavirus-plagued White House introductory bash for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett makes clear.
Acosta has spoken of the dangerous work conditions he faces when he goes to Trump events. No one should have to do their job in such a threatening environment.
Love him or hate him, Acosta must be given credit for doing his job in the face of such hostility. |
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Mark Cuban
The NBA's relationship with China has been a lightning rod issue for conservatives. On Monday, one of its most prominent executives appeared on a forum where he knew the topic would be broached, and failed to have a good answer ready.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban visited Megyn Kelly's new podcast — where the host pushed Cuban to condemn human rights violations in China.
"One million or more are being held against their will right now, men, women, and children, facing torture, forced labor, physical and sex abuse, coercive population control, forced abortions, forced sterilizations," Kelly said. "And the question remains, why won't you and the NBA explicitly condemn that?"
Cuban, who also stars in ABC's Shark Tank, tried to wriggle off the hook by issuing a blanket condemnation of human rights abuses everywhere. But Kelly refused to let him pivot — eventually prompting the Mavs owner to defend the NBA's business relationship with China.
"They are a customer of ours," Cuban said. "And guess what, Megyn? I'm OK with doing business with China."
It is unfair for the NBA to be singled out when many other American corporations do business with China. Still, the NBA has cowed to China in ways other organizations haven't — which, in the eyes of many conservatives at least, undermines the league's social justice initiatives on the domestic front.
Cuban, one of the most media savvy executives in all of sports, had to know that Kelly was going to press him on this topic. Yet he showed up with an answer that was sorely lacking. A rare media misstep from the head Maverick. |
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| CONFIRMATION HEARING - DAY TWO After an opening day featuring mostly bland initial statements, the confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett began in earnest Tuesday, as senators confronted the prospective justice directly in their first round of questioning.
The highlights from the morning session all resulted from Coney Barrett's clashes with Democratic senators. Ranking committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) lit off the first fireworks with an intense grilling of the judge on Roe v. Wade. Barrett, though, refused to state her position on the landmark case.
She also punted on the question of whether she would recuse should a case come up relating to the 2020 election — telling Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that making such a statement would be a "gross violation of judicial independence."
The judge grew emotional recounting the grief she shared with her 17-year-old daughter Vivian, adopted from Haiti, after the killing of George Floyd. But then, under questioning from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Barrett declined to say that systemic racism exists in America.
Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is among those on tap to ask questions later today and tomorrow. All eyes will surely be on former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate as she takes on the prospective Supreme Court justice.
Stay with Mediaite throughout the day for more, and follow all of our hearing coverage here.
'Covidpalooza' The president's rally in Florida, just 11 days after testing positive for the coronavirus, drew a ton of scorn and mockery.
Over at The View, where Cindy McCain sat in for her daughter as guest co-host, Sunny Hostin billed the crowded event "Covidpalooza."
Meanwhile on CNN, New Day host John Berman bashed the president for not encouraging his supporters to wear masks at the rally and elsewhere.
“At this point, it’s just so clear he doesn’t want people to wear masks,” Berman said.
Also on CNN, Anderson Cooper could hardly keep it together as "Macho Man" was being played at the rally.
For real. He was on the verge of cracking up.
Swing and a miss
The feud between President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci kicked up a notch Tuesday. In an early morning tweet, the president fired back at Fauci, who has slammed the Trump campaign for quoting him out of context in an ad.
"Tony’s pitching arm is far more accurate than his prognostications,” Trump wrote.
Ouch. If you recall the doc's first pitch before a Washington Nationals game in July, you'll know that the president wasn't exactly giving him a compliment.
Read all about it
Former Vice President Joe Biden racked up 19 newspaper endorsements last week — with many of those coming in key battleground states. Also among the news organizations backing Biden is The New York Times — extending their streak to 16 consecutive presidential elections in which they have endorsed the Democratic candidate.
Fox News Has Successfully Undermined Its Viewers’ Trust in Mail Voting, According to New Poll
by Mediaite's Colby Hall More than half of Fox News viewers believe that voter fraud has been a “major problem” when it comes to voting by mail in U.S. presidential elections, according to a new Pew Research poll.
In all, 52% of Fox News viewers see voter fraud by mail-in ballot as a major problem, while only 16% of CNN viewers and 6% of MSNBC viewers see it as such. 6.5.0 |
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| Bro, Just Drop the Camera Hiker Kyle Burgess, traversing Utah's Slate Canyon, somehow thought it was a good idea to stalk a cougar he encountered on his route.
It wasn't.
The cougar quickly turned the tables, and Burgess soon found himself on a dead run.
“Oh f*ck, oh f*ck, oh f*ck — f*ck you!” Burgess yelled, as he made his frantic getaway.
All the while, fortunately for the internet content gods, he kept the video rolling. |
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