THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2021

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Margaret Brennan

Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan took Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to task over his support of the Big Lie in a tense interview that aired on CBS Sunday morning

During a contentious exchange, Brennan confronted Cruz over revelations from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's new book Peril about conversations Cruz had with former President Donald Trump. According to the book, Cruz knew full well that Congress did not have the power to overturn the 2020 election and he made that known to Trump ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — despite challenging the certification of the vote in the Senate that day. 

Brennan asked Cruz about the damage caused by "indulging" the election doubters, and the senator tried to wriggle off the hook by claiming to be unfamiliar with that excerpt of the book. The interview continued with Cruz repeatedly attempting to deflect and Brennan relentlessly pressing him on his past statements and actions. At one point, Brennan bluntly reminded Cruz there was "no evidence of fraud that would have really drawn the outcome of the election into doubt."

MEDIA LOSER:
Will Cain

Details are still emerging from a deadly incident in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Sunday afternoon, when a speeding SUV plowed through a Christmas parade, killing five people so far and injuring dozens.

Fox & Friends host Will Cain interviewed British populist politician Nigel Farage Monday morning as the two irresponsibly speculated about the motivations behind the tragic incident.

“I don’t want to make connections where they might not yet exist,” opened Cain, before he did that exact thing, mentioning similar events that were terrorist attacks. Farage responded by railing about a "radical Islamist terrorist" who had illegally entered the UK before attempting an attack and other crimes by illegal immigrants.

Cain and Farage turned out to be wrong -- the driver of the SUV was reportedly fleeing the scene of another crime and has lengthy prior criminal history, but no known connection to terrorism -- but regardless, they definitely didn't know the facts at the time they were indulging in their conspiracy mongering. Cain could have been a voice of reason to counter Farage but instead only amplified him.

The A-Block

Goldberg and Hayes quit Fox over Carlson's Jan. 6 special

Two Fox News contributors, Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes, have resigned from the network in protest over Tucker Carlson’s Patriot Purge special about the events of Jan. 6, calling it “dangerous” and “revisionist history.”

Carlson’s three-part special aired on Fox Nation and was loudly criticized by a variety of media commentators and fact checkers, including Mediaite’s Colby Hall, who wrote that it would be an “understatement” to label the series “a fever pitch of deranged conspiracy theories.”

Goldberg, formerly at National Review, and Hayes, formerly at The Weekly Standard, were part of a group of Never-Trumpers and Trump-skeptics who founded The Dispatch in 2019. They have carved out a unique niche for themselves in a conservative media world still rocking from the seismic impact of former President Donald Trump's bombastic entry into the 2016 presidential race and continued influence over the GOP voter base. 

Goldberg and Hayes spoke with New York Times media columnist Ben Smith about their decision to leave Fox, citing Carlson's special as the end of their hopes that the network would "right the ship" after Trump's 2020 defeat. 

The news of the duo's exit broke on Sunday evening, with Smith's article and an email sent to Dispatch subscribers. Subsequent reporting noted that Goldberg and Hayes had called out Mollie Hemingway's pro-Trump propaganda during their last year of Fox appearances, and their concerns about Carlson's Jan. 6 special were echoed by longtime anchors Chris Wallace and Bret Baier, who reportedly protested to Fox leadership about the series' claims. 

Carlson, as always, remained unrepentant and history indicates that his juggernaut ratings will bolster him in continuing to do so. He posted a tweet mocking Goldberg for his "impotent rage" over his series. 


In Other News...

Kyle Rittenhouse Tells Tucker Carlson He’s ‘Not a Racist Person’ and Supports BLM: ‘This Case Has Nothing To Do With Race’

Rep. Rashida Tlaib Mocks Claim Her Prison Bill Will 'Release Everybody' -- Until Jonathan Swan Reminds Her Bill Says Release Everyone

CNN Reporter on Nov. 9: Biden 'Can't Do Much' About Rising Gas Prices, Same CNN Reporter on Nov. 19: 'Thank' Biden for Falling Oil Prices

Acosta Jokes About CPAC Banning Sesame Street Characters For Promoting Covid Vaccine: 'Very Oscar the Grouch of Them to Ban Big Bird'

Must See Clip

'You really did change my life'

Adele broke down in tears after she was surprised on stage by a childhood teacher during a recent concert.

The Easy on Me singer was surprised by one of her past English teachers during her ITV concert special, An Audience with Adele, which aired in the United Kingdom on Sunday night.

The star stopped to take questions from the audience at one point, answering one from actress Emma Thompson, who asked if there was someone who “supported you or inspired you” to go on despite any “trials and tribulations.”

Adele spoke warmly about the influence her English teacher had on her life, and how she writes lyrics, and then was surprised by that very teacher being in the audience. 

Watch the heartwarming moment here.

Links We Like

Two confusing questions about Covid-19 boosters, answered
- Kelsey Piper, Vox
Science Has Strengthened the Pro-Life Case
- Tara Sander Lee, National Review
Work From Home Works Until You Need Time Off
-  Ed Zintron, The Atlantic
Will Massachusetts Make Life Sweeter for Home-Cook Entrepreneurs?
- Baylen Linnekin, Reason
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