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Margaret Brennan
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett was everywhere on TV over the last few days. Including a notably scary appearance with Fox's Maria Bartiromo last week, and newsworthy spots on Sunday with CNN’s Jake Tapper for Face the Nation and CBS’ Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation.
But it was Brennan who really got the most out of her interview,
Hassett told Brennan that it is "scary" to go to work at the White House during the pandemic, as they discussed the positive tests among staffers and quarantines among task force members.
She pressed him on unemployment, which he said could climb "north of 20%" before it begins to turn around. And that unemployment has disproportionately impacted both African American and Hispanic communities.
Hassett even called uncertainly about when things will get better "unsettling." She didn't get a definitive answer on whether any phase 4 rescue package will be direct monies or broad stimulus, but the lack of specificity is itself of note.
The interview was notable not just for the sound bites or the video clips, but for its reception. Brennan's interview clips showed up on multiple right wing blogs and outlets, not as a complaint but source.
It's hard to break into a political closed loop simply by doing a good job and sticking to facts. To be unrelenting and aggressive without coming off belligerent or partisan.
But Brennan does so routinely. It's a good example that a lot of folks in the media could benefit from. 6.5.0 |
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 | MEDIA LOSER:
Chuck Todd
On Sunday, a DOJ spokesperson scolded Meet the Press host Chuck Todd over the “deceptive editing” he presented of Bill Barr’s recent interview defending the department dropping the case against Michael Flynn.
President Donald Trump kicked off Mother’s Day with a tweetstorm, featuring copious retweets regarding the Flynn case and shots at the media, including CNN’s Brian Stelter.
On Meet the Press, Todd covered the tweetstorm and the Flynn news in general, at one point referencing the Barr interview, playing the snippet that got so much Twitter attention. In it, Herridge asked Barr, “When history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be written?”
“Well, history is written by the winner. So it largely depends on who’s writing the history,” Barr answered in part. Todd played the clip and said he was "struck" by the "cynicism" and that Barr didn't "make the case that he was upholding the rule of law."
But the clip was only part of his answer, and a DOJ spox called out Todd and NBC over the clipping.
"Very disappointed by the deceptive editing/commentary," wrote Kerri Kupec.
The story exploded, then, and NBC was raked over the coals on social media. Eventually, the show officially apologized in a reply to DOJ's Kupec.
That didn't stop Trump from calling for Todd's firing, of course, and that presidential outburst will mitigate some of the pain, at least among his colleagues. But they did botch the segment, which they admit, and it was a media losing moment for sure. 6.5.0 |
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| The Ahmaud Arbery Case The horrific story of the killing of a 25-year-old black man in Georgia by a pair of armed white civilians in the middle of a neighborhood street has captured a great deal of attention over the last 4 or 5 days.
Presidential candidate Joe Biden has weighed in on the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, and so has President Donald Trump.
Marcus Arbery, father of the victim, spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo on Friday, in a heart-wrenching interview where he described this as a lynching by a racial mob. CNN's Don Lemon reacted Friday night, saying, "Is it any wonder that African-American communities, my communities, my people, that we are exhausted, that we are full of dread and sadness, wondering how much more can we take?"
On Sunday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms drew a connection between the killing and "rhetoric that we hear coming out of the White House."
Despite a vile push on the far right of social media to smear the victim, the owner of the home under construction said it was never, in fact, robbed. Nor was there any "string of burglaries" in the neighborhood.
The Georgia Attorney General has called for an investigation into the handling of the case by the local police. The two men seen on video shooting Arbery were only arrested and charged last week, months after it happened.
Relatedly, charges have been filed in North Carolina in another apparent vigilante incident, where an armed all-white mob terrorized a black family. Whereas Arbery's case involved an ex-cop, the NC one involved an off-duty one.
Quarantine updates
Tomorrow there’s a Senate Health Committee hearing to discuss reopening American schools and businesses. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who chairs the committee, just went into self-quarantine after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19.
Three task force members, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, are also in varying degrees of quarantine after several positive tests at the White House.
Not Vice President Mike Pence, though, apparently.
Re-opening debates
Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade pushed hard on Monday for the economy to quickly re-open throughout the country, and knocked governors and local officials for extending lockdowns.
"They gotta get out of their state houses and do the hard work," he said.
On Sunday, however, Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert and head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, warned that the United States cannot just go back to normal right away.
"We can’t stay locked down for 18 months," Osterholm said on Meet the Press, "but at the same time, when you have cases increasing, deaths increasing, health care workers without adequate protective equipment, and we’re suddenly going back to what once was our normal lives, that’s not a safe place to be."
Recovery reality
Chris Wallace pressed Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin Sunday morning on his predictions of economic recovery in the second half of 2020.
"Question: are your rosy predictions based on economic reality or the November election?” Wallace asked.
On Monday morning, economist Gary Shilling told Bloomberg TV that the idea of a quick economic recovery is simply "not realistic."
“It could take years to fully recover," said Shilling. "This is the most traumatic event in the world, in my opinion, since World War II, and equally disruptive.”
Contact tracing
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett made the case for surveillance testing and aggressive contact tracing on Sunday, saying “there is no downside” to implementing those measures on a national level to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
NBC and harassment
Former NBC staffer Emily Miller joined Fox News’ Howard Kurtz on Sunday to discuss Andy Lack's step-down as NBC News and MSNBC chairman. She told Kurtz about her own experience at NBC.
"When you worked at NBC News in the 1990s… did you have any experience with sexual harassment?” asked Kurtz. “I did,” she answered. “I did suffer from sexual harassment and from older men and men in power.
Endorsement update
California Gov. Gavin Newsom officially endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Friday during a virtual fundraiser for the campaign.
‘He’s Never Used Protection’
Last Week Tonight host John Oliver called out Attorney General William Barr over the dropping of charges against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and ripped President Donald Trump for refusing to wear a coronavirus mask. It's a great clip.
'Grocery store bouncer'
Saturday Night Live went big on the season finale, pulling it off despite being shot remotely. This was the third SNL at Home episode. It featured Alec Baldwin’s legendary Trump as the keynote speaker for a high school Zoom graduation.
A cold shower
CNN’s John Berman was somewhat alarmed after New Day wrapped up a segment with a fiction writer who based the sex symbol of her romance novel off of Dr. Fauci. "I feel like I need a cold shower," Berman said. 6.5.0 |
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| Late Night Quarantine Highlights, Week Eight The clips and skits that make the shows, here in week eight of all of late night stopping normal production during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bill Murray goes to Flavortown, Tiger King to... Broadway? Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley , Bee Lives Matter....
And DO NOT MISS Trevor Noah on the Covid Mask Wars |
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