Good Stephanopoulos interview, bad Weijia Jiang question, Fauci's warning, and virus testimony. Plus a bizarre Cuomo-ment.

THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
George Stephanopoulos

George Stephanopoulos scored the latest interview with former Vice President and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, airing Tuesday morning on GMA.

Despite critics who might suggest Stephanopoulos goes too easy on Democrats, the ABC News anchor put Biden’s feat to the fire on the allegation from Tara Reade, who called on the candidate to drop out last week in an interview with Megyn Kelly.

Biden’s response might not satisfy those who see a discrepancy between the “believe women” slogan and his denial of the allegations.

“I think women should be believed. They should have an opportunity to have their case and state it forthrightly what their case is,” he said. “At the end of the day, the truth is the truth. That’s what should prevail and the truth is this never happened. This never happened. That’s the truth."

Stephanopoulos also caught Biden slipping up while explaining how much he knew about the investigation of Michael Flynn.

“I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn,” Biden said first, but after being pressed by Stephanopoulos, he conceded “I was aware that they had asked for an investigation, but that’s all I know about it and I don’t think anything else."

It was a solid interview by Stephanopoulos, and one that earned plaudits from Fox & Friends, an unlikely source.

MEDIA LOSER:
Weijia Jiang

Weijia Jiang of CBS News drew headlines for her question to President Donald Trump — and his response, labelled by critics as racist — on his comparing U.S. coronavirus testing to other countries.

“Why does that matter?” Jiang asked. “Why is this a global competition to you if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we're still seeing more cases every day?”

Jiang’s question was inane, and in bad faith. Of course the quantity of U.S. testing in comparison with other countries is relevant. That’s why the media covers statistics like testing, case tally and death toll between countries obsessively.

The White House is comparing testing to other countries because for weeks the press has been welding such comparisons as a criticism of the administration.

Granted, this is not a defense of Trump’s odd response to Jiang, nor his inconsistent and confounding rhetoric on testing. The goal of White House reporters should be to glean newsworthy information on the pandemic. Not goad the president with a fatuous complaint masquerading as a question to earn some headlines.

Why Trump is comparing U.S. testing to China is obvious, as obvious as why the media compares the case tally between those countries. Testing should be a competition. The better question is, why is the U.S. still not doing enough testing to safely re-open the country? We humbly propose Jiang ask that.

The A-Block

Coronavirus Hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci and other key leaders of the White House coronavirus task force are testifying at a Senate hearing Tuesday morning. In an early exchange in that hearing, Fauci told Sen. Bernie Sanders that the number of deaths from the coronavirus is “almost certainly higher” than is currently being reported.

Watch live or in full here.

Dr. Fauci warned that reopening the country too soon will result in “needless suffering and death” just hours ahead of the hearing.

The Apogee Feud

Future historians may very well point to this morning’s insult-fest between President Donald Trump and Joe Scarborough and see it as the nadir of American public discourse. The apogee of asinine feuds.

While the commander in chief was ostensibly hate watching Morning Joe, Trump rage-tweeted baseless conspiracy theory insults directed at the host over the death of an intern. At that precise moment, Scarborough was calling the sitting U.S. president as a “libtard.”

What timing!

Soviet California

CNBC’s Jim Cramer praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk and defended his right to defy California by reopening a Tesla manufacturing plant in Alameda County.

"This to me is right on the firing line of what's wrong with America," said Cramer, of the county commissioner's power to shut down a major corporation. "I don't get it at all. I just don't get it."

"It's not the Soviety Union in 1935," he said.

Flynn

Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt tore into former Vice President Joe Biden for his latest remarks on what he knew about the investigation into former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.

"When you read these transcripts and figure out how it all happened it is just so insane that this went on! It is an abuse of power," she said.

Brazenness

CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins spoke with Anderson Cooper Monday night after her own terse exchange with President Trump at Monday’s press briefing.

Cooper called Trump a "charlatan" whose strategy depends brazen lies.

Royale Roast

A former spokesperson for Pete Buttigieg was roasted on Twitter for suggesting a giant hologram and/or in-game Fortnite appearance for Joe Biden, to excite voters. No, seriously.

Bizarre interview

Chris Cuomo scored a key interview with William “Roddie” Bryan, the witness who taped the viral video of unarmed jogger Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, but it soon turned into a surreal experience as Bryan’s lawyer barely let him talk at all.

Links We Like

Is America’s coronavirus crisis getting better? It depends on where you live.
- via Vox
Michael Flynn, William Barr and the rise of the shallow state
- via San Francisco Chronicle
Ahmaud Arbery could have been me
- via The Atlantic
The Indefensible Cult of Cuomo
- via Commentary

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