THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Kayleigh McEnany

Former Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday asked air travelers to “show a little grace” and wear masks to avoid incidents with other passengers.

"Grace" is not a disposition that the Trump administration was known for. But as insane incidents on flights reach a fever pitch during the pandemic, McEnany's message is a worthy one — no matter where it comes from.

On Outnumbered, Fox News panelists reacted to a series of viral videos showing airline passengers having it out over mask noncompliance. More specifically, the panelists collectively reacted to a video that purported to show former Playboy model and Baywatch actress Patricia Cornwall striking an 80-year-old man on a Delta flight during a holiday scuffle over a mask.

“Show a little grace,” McEnany said. “If you have to wear a mask, wear the mask, make the job easier for the flight attendant. And don’t put a flight attendant in this situation. They are doing their best.”

The press secretary turned Fox News host argued that flight attendants are already dealing with stressful jobs, and do not need to be refereeing onboard fights and arguments.

“They’re working hard, we are all stressed because of Covid,” she said. “Show a little grace to the flight attendants, to your fellow passengers, it will go a long way and have calm airways. We already can’t take the delays. We can’t take brawls in the sky on top of that.”

Good advice that serves the public good? Good!

MEDIA LOSER:
Dan Bongino

Dan Bongino has finally achieved remarkable success in the media, after a long road toiling away as an afterthought (not to mention, running for Congress and losing three times). That success has not made him any more agreeable.

Two instances of Bongino-rage stuck out this week: Washington Post media reporter Jeremy Barr tweeted out an email Bongino sent him fuming about a report, in which he called Barr a “dipshit" (amongst other insults).

The Post report detailed Bongino's ongoing spat with Cumulus Media, which syndicates The Dan Bongino Show, over vaccine mandates.

"Are you a dipshit all the time, or just on weekdays?" Bongino wrote in the email. "Do you even listen to my show where I explained what’s going on? Or is your oddly shaped head so far up your ass that you can’t hear?"

Bongino continued the rant, calling the reporter "a chump, and a coward," and saying Barr "lose" his email before adding "have a Merry Christmas." 

It wasn't Bongino's only meltdown to be revealed this week: The New Yorker's Evan Osnos reported in a massive profile of Bongino that the radio host lashed out at his reporting on air, before the piece was even published.

“Maybe have a little bit of personal dignity,” Bongino said, “you ass-kissing-Biden, surgically-attaching-your-lips-to-the-ass-of-the-Administration piece of garbage.”

Both embarrassing outbursts that really made it obvious Barr and Osnos had the goods.
 

The A-Block

‘A Dear Friend and a Giant of Our History’

President Joe Biden and other politicians reacted to the death on Tuesday of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the age of 82.

“A son of Searchlight, Nevada, Harry never forgot his humble roots. A boxer, he never gave up a fight—whether in politics or even against cancer,” said Biden in a statement. “A great American, Harry looked at the challenges of the world and believed it was within our capacity to do good, to do right, and to do our part of perfecting the Union we all love.”

“May God bless Harry Reid, a dear friend and a giant of our history,” he added.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also shared their thoughts.

Barack Obama shared the last letter he sent to Harry Reid. He'd written it at the request of the late Senator's wife, who had asked friends to send correspondence she could read aloud to her ailing husband. 

Also, read Donald Trump’s letter to Harry Reid that hung in the former senator’s office.


In Other News...

Kaitlan Collins Questions CDC Director: It Sounds Like Shortened Isolation Has 'As Much to Do With Business' as Science

Amazon Hastily Reprograms Alexa After Device Tries to Electrocute 10-Year-Old Girl

Matt Schlapp Echoes Joe Rogan, Suggests Michelle Obama Might Have a Shot in 2024: 'Got Good Poll Numbers'

'A Golden Era Ends': Sports World Heartbroken Over Sudden Death of NFL Legend John Madden

Must See Clip

Alarming

MSNBC aired a shockingly real deepfake of Tom Cruise leaping desks in NBC News’ Los Angeles bureau on Tuesday/

The guy who jumped over those desks was not the same guy that jumped on Oprah Winfrey’s couch in 2005.

“It is an alarming technology trend that could be a serious threat,” said Yasmin Vossoughian, who was filling in for anchor José Díaz-Balart. “We are talking about deepfakes, those digitally daily manipulated videos that are so hard to believe are not real.”

It's unbelievably believable.

Links We Like

The New Normal Is Already Here. Get Used To It
- The Economist
There’s Absolutely No Reason We Shouldn’t Be Cutting Child Poverty
- Matt Bruenig, Jacobin
It's Time to Revive the Principles of Operation Warp Speed
- Paul Mango, RealClearPolitics
Ten Reasons America is The Best Place
Amjad Masad, Twitter
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