The health of the president of the United States is always a vitally important issue, but especially when he is asking Americans to elect him to second term, and all the more so when he's been diagnosed with a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus. 

That's why the White House's lack of transparency regarding details of Trump's recovery, and specifically the timeline of when he has been tested and the results, is incredibly troubling. 

MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson wasn't having it Friday morning, relentlessly pressing White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern to reveal when Trump’s last negative coronavirus test was, asking him not once, not twice, but six times. 

Jackson didn't have any luck getting an answer from the filibustering Morgenstern, but her questions were fair and valid, and the pressure on the White House regarding this issue must continue until satisfactory answers are given. We're considering her the runner-up Media Winner today and encourage you to watch the interview yourself. 

What a hack

If Jackson is a runner-up Winner, Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller seems to compete on a daily basis to be the Media Loser. Miller's response to the foiled plot to kidnap and murder Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was to attack Whitmer for saying mean things about Trump, calling her a "complete phony" with "hatred in her heart" for the president. 

It was a contemptible and ridiculous response. 

Miller, of course, was just taking his cues from the president, who had his own bonkers response to Whitmer, posting his thoughts -- where else? on Twitter. 

Biden weighed in, slamming Trump for "encouraging" the would-be kidnappers and murderers.

Pelosi plots

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi unveiled a plan for new legislation related to the 25th Amendment, by creating an independent commission that would assess a president’s ability to carry out the duties of the office. Read all about it here.

Debate debacle

The presidential debates, like everything else associated with this election, have devolved into a chaos cesspool of wild rumormongering and partisan slap fights.

Trump's doctor boldly predicted that the president would be totally fine to resume public events as early as Saturday, but the debate commission was super skeptical and changed the second Trump-Biden debate on October 15 to a virtual contest. 

Trump sneered that a virtual debate was a "waste of time," and Biden was game until Trump refused, so he set up his own ABC town hall. 

Trump's campaign then demanded the debate proceed, in person and as originally scheduled. 

The president also complained about the moderators. Spoiler alert: he prefers his friends from Fox News and talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh. 

The planned moderator for the who-knows-if-it's-happening second debate, Steve Scully, found himself uncomfortably in the spotlight after a bizarre tweet to Anthony Scaramucci. Scully says he was hacked. Trump, again, is unhappy, and tweeting about it. 

Chris Wallace, the Fox News host who moderated the first debate and has been the subject of a pile of criticism from Trump supporters, says it's a mistake for Trump to reject a virtual debate. 

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany promised that Trump wouldn't leave the White House if he were still contagious. 

Bottom line: we have no freaking idea what's going to happen on October 15, or with the last debate planned for October 22. The only thing predictable about this election is that it will be unpredictable. 

Disturbing 

Two reporters from the Daily Caller were allegedly beaten by police in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, according to a video posted by one of their colleagues. The reporters can be heard on the short video clip repeatedly telling the officers that they are press and proffering their credentials, before being thrown to the ground. Watch the disturbing video here. 

VP debate flies over competition

The debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris was a ratings hit, drawing in more than 50 million viewers, up from the 35 million viewers who tuned in for the 2016 debate between Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine. 

That was enough to put the debate in the top three most-viewed vice presidential debates. The all-time winner is the 2008 contest between Biden and Sen. John McCain's running mate, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. 

Was it the presidential candidates' septuagenarian ages lending extra importance to the characteristics of their running mates, or perhaps the intrigue of the now-infamous fly? 

Read all the details, including which channel raked in the most viewers, on our premium Mediate+ service here. 

Not already a Mediaite+ subscriber? Learn more here and get your first month free. 

Morning Joe mayhem

The MSNBC morning show was a bit contentious Friday, with Joe Scarborough repeatedly interrupted co-host Mika Brzezinski, and then returned from an 8 a.m. top-of-the-hour break to mock his wife’s apparent obsession with the 25th Amendment. Watch here.

Editor's worst nightmare

Whoops. Deadline Hollywood had an embarrassing flub Thursday, mistakenly publishing a pre-written article saying that Pence had tested positive for the coronavirus. The story was incorrect and the editors profusely apologized. 

"Failed leadership"

Dr. Rick Bright was, until the spring, the director of the nation’s vaccine development agency.

He was a top member of the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, until he filed an alarming whistleblower complaint alleging his early warnings about the virus were ignored.

In a staggering and lengthy interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday, he spoke out against the U.S. response to the pandemic. 

When asked why the country is faring poorly compared to others, Bright replied: “Because of failed leadership. Because of a reluctance to admit there was a problem. Because of a reluctance to tell America the truth. Because of a reluctance to take critical actions upfront.”

Watch the full interview here.