THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Brian Kilmeade

The economic devastation from the coronavirus pandemic has has hurt millions of Americans who have lost their jobs or found themselves facing pay cuts and furloughs as companies scramble to survive.

The last stimulus bill was all the way back in March, and for families struggling to cover rent, food, and other personal expenses, those checks ran out long ago.

Negotiations between the House and Senate regarding a second stimulus bill have stalled, but many political observers still believed that they would pass something before the election, if for no other reason than to make sure their own candidates didn't have to face voters without at least some sort of bill.

President Donald Trump stomped all over this idea with a tweet saying he had told GOP congressional leaders to shut down talks about a stimulus bill until after the election. His tweet, posted before the markets closed for the day, sent stocks crashing and sparked outrage.

Fox & Friends discussed Trump's tweet, with hosts Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt offering a partial defense of the president, noting other tweets where he had pledged to sign "clean bills" on certain topics. 

Their colleague Brian Kilmeade, was less impressed with Trump's negotiations-by-tweet, calling him out for the timing of his tweet, crashing the market and "cost[ing] people a lot of money," and for conceding political leverage to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who "clearly could turn around and say it’s not my fault. I was having talks.” 

It was a fair and well-reasoned critique

MEDIA LOSER:
Whoever Was Supposed to Vet
"Undecided Voters" at NBC

When you spend your days in the political media bubble, it's easy to scoff at the idea that there are still undecided voters out there, but they do exist and they are likely to be a significant factor in the results of the election in a few weeks. 

That's why what happened at a recent NBC town hall with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is so stunning.

Three of the "undecided Florida voters" featured during the October 5th program had previously appeared on MSNBC, expressing opinions that make it unlikely that they are truly undecided. 

One man's MSNBC appearance in August included him praising Biden's positive messaging. Another was on the cable news network less than one week before the NBC town hall, saying that he would "probably"  vote for Biden because of “just how unpresidential the whole, entire debate was.”

The third man appeared on MSNBC August 21, openly identifying as a “Republican for Biden.” He was quoted as saying, “If we get four more years of Trump, good luck, and good luck with the future attracting younger voters.”

One slip-up like this would be bad enough, but three is just plain ridiculous -- especially since the clips revealing these voters' preferences were on NBC's own sister network. Did no one even try to, oh, hey, Google these people? 

Representing someone who publicly identifies as a "Republican for Biden" as an "undecided voter" is misleading. NBC should publicly apologize and institute stronger vetting protocols for any similar upcoming events.

Just In

JUST IN: Derek Chauvin Released From Jail After Posting $1 Million Bail

The A-Block

Poll-a-palooza

With November 3rd looming, we're spoiled with fresh polling. 

Here's one saying Vice President Mike Pence would be a more formidable opponent for Biden if Covid forced Trump to drop out of the race.

The latest Rasmussen survey has Biden with a double-digit lead

What do voters think about the idea of packing the Supreme Court? Find out here.

Troubling results from this Yahoo! News/YouGov poll regarding Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis, with a majority of Republicans chalking it up to just plain bad luck and saying he should keep having rallies

The White House is a hot zone, and the reactions are even hotter

The list of people around the president who have tested positive for the coronavirus continues to grow, including adviser Stephen Miller

White House staffers are (understandably!) worried and talking to reporters, mostly anonymously, to voice their concerns and frustrations

Meanwhile, Trump was tweeting thanks to a supporter who vowed she'd "wade though a sea of COVID infested water to vote" for Trump.

Ari Fleischer thinks Trump shouldn't go to the next debate if he still has Covid. 

A doctor told CNN's Brianna Keilar that Trump still has a "more than 1 in 10" chance of dying from Covid.

S.E. Cupp slammed the "Trump Addicts" defending him as "insane" and "cultish." 

The White House Correspondents Association is issuing new warnings to its members and Buzzfeed pulled their White House reporter

Heck no, I won't go

Pelosi was on The View Wednesday and was blunt in her assessment of the White House as coronavirus spreads within its halls, calling it "one of the most dangerous places in the country."

Fauci begs

Dr. Anthony Fauci knows you might hate him but still hopes you'll take his advice. Saying that it's "not rocket science" and the country didn't need to go into "lockdown," he begged Americans to follow "simple public health measures."

Brer Rabbit would approve

If you're unfamiliar with the Southern folk tale, Brer Rabbit taunts his adversary Brer Fox, "Please don't throw me in that briar patch!" goading the gullible fox into doing exactly what he hoped he would do.

Former GOP consultant and Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt took inspiration from the wily rabbit Wednesday, getting Trump and several allies to attack him on Twitter and then launching his own savage tweet threads in response, plus a few MSNBC appearances just to drive the point home. 

The verbally pugnacious Schmidt appeared quite at home in the briar patch of Trumpian tweets, firing back at Trump, "save your breath," and mocking Trump's "blustering buffoonery," as well as making a reference to the frequently-memed Hitler biopic about the end of WWII, Downfall

Turn Texas Blue?

Meanwhile, Schmidt and his fellow Lincoln Project Never Trumpers are forging into new territory, dropping $1 million into an initial digital ad buy seeking to persuade Republican voters in Texas to vote for Biden. 

Could the Lone Star State really turn blue? Some ongoing conflicts and chaos among the state's GOP leadership might help, but there are plenty of reasons for skepticism. Read all about it here.

Is it still newsworthy when Rudy says something wacky?

Well, maybe. This Bloomberg TV interview with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had several eyebrow-raising moments, including him baselessly accusing Biden of being "impaired" and attacking the show's hosts as "phony" pawns for the Democratic Party.

Ewwww 

It's quite the accomplishment to make "naked celebrities" unsexy, but Mark Ruffalo, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Josh Gad, and Sarah Silverman and several others managed to do just that in a very cringeworthy PSA about how to properly complete and return your absentee ballot. See the hot mess in all its glory here.

Vote or die

Voters are so fired up about the election, that some are making an effort to get an absentee ballot and return it from their deathbeds, a macabre trend reported by the New York Times

"Maybe I'm immune"

James Corden delivered a brilliantly satirical performance on Tuesday’s The Late Late Show, mocking Trump’s coronavirus response with a parody of Paul McCartney’s ’70s hit Maybe I’m Amazed. Watch and sing along here.

Debate Night!

Tonight's the night for the debate between Pence and the woman who wants to take his job, Sen. Kamala Harris. Read all the details and follow Mediaite's coverage here.

Must See Clip

"Just another day in the nutty news cycle.”

Live television hits sometimes come with a little bit of adventure, as CNN's Joe Johns experienced Wednesday, having to fend off an aggressive raccoon mere seconds before going on the air with New Day

Anchor Alisyn Camerota tweeted the video, praising Johns as a "consummate professional."

Fortunately, Johns survived the critter encounter unscathed, although at one point he did have to defend himself with an apple box. 

Watch the video here
 

Links We Like

Eddie Van Halen, Melting-Pot Virtuoso
- Matt Welch, via Reason
Art of the Crazy: Trump’s Insane Twitter Negotiations
- Tim Miller, via The Bulwark

What happens if a presidential candidate dies?
- via Vox

Joe Biden’s campaign, summed up in one simple gesture
- via Washington Post
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