THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Tooning Out The News

Humor can be one of the most powerful political weapons, as the creators behind the animated Tooning Out The News proved this week. The latest episode of the Stephen Colbert-produced CBS All Access series brutally eviscerated former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and it's a must-watch.

Arpaio's 24-year tenure as the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona included operating an outdoors jail housing non-violent inmates that reached brutal temperatures in both summer and winter, contributing in part to the total deaths of 157 inmates while in custody (39 of whom hanged themselves) -- plus lawsuits for inhumane jail conditions, wrongful deaths, racial profiling, and other violations of constitutional rights. And, oh yeah, Arpaio was a birther.

In 2017, Arpaio was convicted for disobeying a federal judge’s order to stop racially profiling while detaining individuals that he suspected were in the United States illegally. President Donald Trump pardoned the former sheriff, but even he couldn't protect Arpaio from the vicious wit of the cartoon hosts. 

From accusing Arpaio from "stealing ideas from Abu Ghraib" to joking about "look[ing] forward to a day where people will take the biggest sh*ts imaginable on your grave”, Arpaio was shown zero mercy. 

Since its founding, America has stood for the idea that you are innocent until proven guilty, and even criminals deserve due process and to be treated with fairness and mercy. Law enforcement officials like Arpaio are an abomination to the very foundation upon which our nation was built, and watching him get his atrocities shoved in his face -- even if it was just by some animated pixels -- was a satisfying serving of karma.

MEDIA LOSER:
Dan Bongino

Dan Bongino on a Fox News show whining that the media is unfair to Trump? Must be a day ending in Y.

His latest complaint came Thursday night on Hannitylobbing potshots at CNN for what he billed as an “in-kind contribution” to Joe Biden's campaign for its town hall with the Democratic presidential nominee.

“Sean, listen, this town hall for Biden should be an in-kind contribution to the Biden campaign,” Bongino said to host Sean Hannity. “I mean, is this serious?”

Bongino's gripe was that the questions posed to Biden were not as tough as the ones posed to Trump at his own town hall hosted by ABC earlier this week. Never mind that the questions most people viewed as "tough" on Trump generally followed the theme of asking the president to explain his own on-the-record words, but ok, sure, Dan.

The three-time failed congressional candidate also slammed host Anderson Cooper for "[giving] him an out" by not calling Biden out on his "biggest lies" -- and then listed several examples of, not Biden lies, but Biden somehow refusing to adopt exaggerations of his policy positions.

“Again, it’s an in-kind contribution, they are a part of the campaign effectively” Bongino concluded.

It's an ironic argument coming from a guy whose own schtick as a Fox News contributor is to portray Trump as if he walks on water while screaming about "owning the libs."

The argument doesn't hold much water coming from someone who is basically a member of the Trump campaign themselves.

Just In

FiveThirtyEight Now Forecasts Democrats Will Win Control of Senate

The A-Block

Did I mention I'm from Scranton?

Biden participated in a CNN-hosted town hall in Pennsylvania moderated by Anderson Cooper Thursday night. 

Some of the highlights: Biden saying Trump should "step down," slamming Attorney General Bill Barr's comments saying pandemic lockdowns were an intrusion on liberty as "sick," and condemning riots while saying Trump needed to denounce far right militias.

Atlas attacks

Really instills confidence in the Trump administration's ability to handle this pandemic when members of the White House coronavirus task force are running around undermining each other, but here we are. The latest intra-administrative kerfuffle was Dr. Scott Atlas, Trump's coronavirus adviser, taking aim at CDC Director Robert Redfield, expressing doubt in statements that Redfield made under oath about masks and a realistic timeline for a vaccine.   

Wait, what?

The View derailed on Friday after GOP House candidate Kim Klacik accused host Joy Behar of parading “around in Blackface,” prompting the hosts to swiftly cut Klacik’s interview short. Watch the whole scene here.

And learn more about Klacik, who's becoming a new media darling for the right, here

Rock dinosaur

Musician Van Morrison -- who our own Colby Hall not-so-affectionately has dubbed a "rock dinosaur" -- is releasing a new set of protest songs. Is he protesting against racial injustice or war? Maybe environmental devastation? Nope, he doesn't want to wear a face mask and is unhappy with government restrictions enacted during the pandemic. 

Unsurprisingly, Twitter had a Wild Night mocking Morrison's aggrieved lyrics

Save the Sunshine

Florida Men want Florida time -- Florida's two Senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, have filed a bill to allow the Sunshine State to keep daylight saving time year round. They put out a press release noting all the potential benefits, including reduced car accidents, less seasonal depression, and energy savings. If they fail, Floridians will join the rest of America in turning clocks back an hour on November 1. 

Time's up for TikTok

Social media app TikTok has been deemed a national security "threat" and banned for Americans to download, starting on Sunday. Read why here.

Woodward a Win for Morning Joe

Morning Joe scored its third-highest ratings in show history on Wednesday, thanks to its interview during the 7:00 a.m. hour with Bob Woodward, who discussed his new White House insider book, Rage. The MSNBC morning show edged out its Fox News competition in total viewers, although Fox & Friends did win the morning in the coveted 25 – 54 age demographic.

Check out the latest numbers across the cable news media world here.

Not a + reader? Get all the information and sign up for Mediaite+ here.

Troye trounces Trump

The list of former Trump White House staffers who are now publicly criticizing the president is long, but the most recent former member of the administration to spill the tea is noteworthy for two reasons: she's only 43 years old and is risking years of a political career still ahead of her, and her job put her in the room for coronavirus task force meetings. 

Her name is Olivia Troye, and she was Vice President Mike Pence’s former top advisor on Homeland Security. Troye left the White House last month and says she will be voting for Biden. She's had some very sharp criticisms of the White House's handling of the pandemic and specifically called out Trump for expressing relief that he would no longer "have to shake hands with these disgusting people" and for caring more about Fox News than Americans dying from Covid-19. 

Of course, the White House is trashing her as just another disgruntled ex-staffer, but Dr. Anthony Fauci praised her as a “good person” who was “an important part” of the team.

Must See Clip

Brad and Jen Reunited

With the vast majority of Hollywood production shut down due to the pandemic, celebrities are doing table reads of beloved movie scripts over Zoom to keep us entertained (and often to promote some charitable or political activist cause).

An A-list cast assembled online for a reading of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, featuring Julia Roberts, Jimmy Kimmel, John Legend, Matthew McConnaughey, Ray Liotta, original cast member Sean Penn, and Morgan Freeman as the narrator (because, let's be honest, Freeman will always do a wonderful job narrating anything and everything).

And former couple Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt stole the show -- especially when they reenacted the famous red bikini scene. None of the cast could keep it together, and even Freeman broke character, interjecting a "Lord have mercy" into the script.

Also, don't miss Shia LeBeouf's very...shall we say, realistic...take on stoner Jeff Spicoli. 

Watch and enjoy the clip of Jen and Brad, and the entire table read here.

Links We Like

‘But What about Sweden?’ Well, Let’s Take a Look over There . . .
- via National Review
I Am Not a Brave Person. I Am Also Patient 1133.
- Molly Jong-Fast, via New York Times
In 2020, We Have Forgotten How To Leave People Alone
- via Reason
What a Post-Trump Conservative Coalition Should Look Like
- via The Bulwark
Trump blows it again with idiotic ‘blue states’ talking point
- via Washington Examiner
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