THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Harris Faulkner

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner relentlesslypressed Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on a myriad of hot topics Tuesday.

Faulkner asked Manchin questions about the energy, health care, and climate spending deal he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

She also questioned him over the numerous interviews he recently gave where he refused to say if he wants Democrats to win the 2022 midterms, nor if he would support President Joe Biden for 2024.

As Manchin rejected the charge of dodging questions, he returned to the bill as he said “this is not a political piece of legislation! This is an American legislation.”

Faulkner defended her questioning by saying “the elections are gonna need some help,” noting Biden’s cratering poll numbers.

“Can’t we all do something right?” Manchin said. “Are you scared that we’re going to do something good that will help our country?”

Faulkner seemed indignant in her retort.

“Of course not! My father served! Are you kidding?!" she said.

"Service is in the Bible! That’s what we do, we serve our fellow man and woman! Of course! Don’t make this personal, cus its not!”

At another point during the testy interview, the two sparred on whether or not the Inflation Reduction Act will actually reduce inflation, with Faulkner citing the Penn Wharton budget model.

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell also deserves an honorable mention, as the anchor pressed an increasingly exasperated Manchin about whether or not he would support a Biden bid in 2024.

MEDIA LOSER:
Alex Jones

Whoever decided that Alex Jones should take the stand in the Sandy Hook defamation trial should be 1. fired as his defense attorney and 2. hired as a cable news producer.

The testimony from the InfoWars host and infamous conspiracy theorist was equal parts bonkers, dramatic, hilarious and grim. He apologized to the parents of children massacred at the elementary school, who are suing him for lying to his audience that the shooting was staged. 

Wednesday highlights — or lowlights — include: Lawyers confronting Jones with clips from his Infowars show in which he attacked the judge and jury in the trial; the revelation that Jones' lawyers sent the opposition all of his texts by mistake, revealing he lied; Jones getting called out for apparently faking a cough; a rant about transhumanists; Jones admitting he lied about Sandy Hook being a hoax.

At one point, the judge scolded Jones for lying under oath.

Jones testified the day after Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of murdered 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, took the witness stand.

Jones had claimed that Jesse was a child actor and that his death was a hoax.

“I wanted to tell you to your face because I wanted you to know that I am a mother first and foremost," Lewis said, speaking directly to Jones while on the stand. "And I know that you are a father and my son existed."

After closing statements on Wednesday, the jury — the very jury Jones insulted on his show — will determine how much in damages he'll have to pay Lewis and Heslin. Ouch.. 

The A-Block

Pelosi in Taiwan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday, making her the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit the island nation in the last 25 years.

China has mounted several objections Pelosi’s visit as its government maintains its claim that Taiwan — an independently-governed democracy — is part of its sovereign territory.

The U.S. Department of Defense expressed its own concerns with Pelosi’s trip, though the expedition drew bipartisan praise, even as National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisted the nation does not support Taiwan’s independence.

Amid the international tensions of Pelosi’s visit, China has reportedly mobilized its forces near the coast of Taiwan, and Taiwan’s presidential office reportedly came under a cyberattack earlier in the day.

Nonetheless, Pelosi’s visit has drawn fanfare from the country, and Taiwan’s tallest building, Taipei 101, was illuminated with welcome messages upon her arrival.

Shortly after her arrival, Pelosi’s office released a statement pledging “America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.”

Pelosi additionally marked her arrival with an op-ed for the Washington Post.

In the column, Pelosi called on the U.S. to stand by Taiwan while brutally condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s "brutal crackdown against Hong Kong’s political freedoms and human rights."


In Other News...

Tucker Carlson Blames Liberals for Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Started by George W. Bush

Donald Trump Repeats False Claim He Ordered ’10-20,000 Troops’ on Jan. 6, Despite His Own Defense Secretary Debunking

Cable News More Polarized Today Than Ten Years Ago, Bias Accelerated After Trump Election: Study Finds

WATCH: AG Garland Says Deleted Secret Service Texts Are Within DoJ Investigative Scope When Pressed About Scandal

RATINGS: CNN’s John King Doubles MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell in Demo

Must See Clip

Fair Question

While grilling Biden national security spokesman John Kirby on the strike that killed the leader of al Qaeda, CNN anchor Brianna Keilar asked a question on the lips of prominent conservatives in the country.

“What does it say about the future of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan that one of the most wanted terrorists in the world is comfortable on a balcony in downtown Kabul?” she asked.

"If I’m an al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan right now, I bet you I’m thinking that it’s not quite the safe haven I once thought it was, and I’m sure that this is putting them on their back heels," Kirby responded.

Keilar's question is the same one posed by Donald Trump Jr. and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) regarding the airstrike that killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri — and it's a fair question.

Watch the interview here.

Links We Like

- Katie Bernard and Lisa Gutierrez, The Kansas City Star
Fraud allegations complicate what we know about Alzheimer’s
- Benjamin Hart, Intelligencer 
Why endorse one Eric when they're all winners? Politico investigates Trump's wild 'Eric' endorsement
- Alex Isenstadt, Politico
Who is Scott Galloway? The Times investigates
- Christopher Beam, New York Times
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