NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck made his latest appearance early Saturday/late Friday on the Fox News Channel’s Fox News @ Night and, as usual, sounded off with his picks for highs and lows of the week in the liberal media. His picks this time included a surprising take from a rabid MSNBC partisan and then another example of how PBS uses American tax dollars to peddle far-left propaganda.
Appearing on the show’s final midnight Eastern show before it moves back Monday to its original time slot (11:00 p.m. Eastern), Houck picked for his high a segment flagged by our Kevin Tober in which MSNBC legal analyst and former Trump-Russia probe official Andrew Weissmann lambasted the so-called probe by the Secret Service into cocaine found in the West Wing.
Weissmann told 11th Hour host Stephanie Ruhle that “the Secret Service here looks like they can’t find a dead cow in a closet” and it clearly was “really just not a sufficient investigation” as evidenced by the lack of any clues or interviews.
Houck deemed it “[a] rare moment of sanity on MSNBC” from someone who’s “never going to be confused with being a straight shooter” as a favorite of hosts such as Ruhle and Deadline: White House’s Nicolle Wallace.
“So, when even he’s like, they didn’t interview anybody, there’s no cameras. This — this is totally ridiculous. The cow in the dead closet has to be the quote of the week, quote of the month, early running for one of the funniest quotes of the year on cable news,” he added.
Also alongside Houck was District Media Group’s Beverly Hallberg, who picked as her high CNN host Fareed Zakaria asking President Biden about his age.
“[T]he liberal media is finally starting to call out President Biden...Fareed Zakaria threw him a softball question first...before saying or asking whether or not he should let...someone in the younger generation of Democrats take over,” Hallberg explained.
Pivoting to lows, Hallberg picked The View praising Meta’s Threads app (a Twitter competitor) as not “toxic” like Twitter and instead “a happy place.”
Hallberg blasted the ladies for “their lack of self-awareness...talking about the toxicity of Twitter” while “they do that on their show on a daily basis.”
Houck’s low was highlighted by our Alex Christy in which a PBS special with billionaire and former Carter official David Rubenstein brought in a guest to say the Statue of Liberty is “entangled with whiteness.”
Houck noted the Statue of Liberty had been held in such high regard by Jim Acosta and the like during the Trump years, so it was an interesting pivot.
Houck used the occasion to cite Rich Noyes’s PBS study from May:
[W]e did study back in May and found that 85 percent of their coverage this year has been negative towards Republicans and 54 percent positive towards Democrats. And they’ve applied no progressives or far-left labels to anything Democrats have done, but have done it nearly two dozen times to Republicans. So, American people will have to fund this and put up with this. It’s about time this charade ends.
Hallberg and Houck returned later in the show for the final segment called “The Nightcap” in which a series of correspondents and guests returned to discuss a watercooler-like topic. On the docket this time? Whether you’re comfortable sharing food when going out to eat with friends and family.
Watch the video below to see how they answered (along with Emanuel and fellow Fox correspondents Kevin Corke, Emanuel, Bill Melugin, and Ashley Strohmier.
To see the relevant transcript from July 15, click “expand.”
FNC’s Fox News @ Night
July 15, 2023
12:26 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Highs & Lows; Grading How the Media Covered the Week’s Top Stories]
MIKE EMANUEL: Time to shine, our Friday night Media Spotlight on the highs and lows of media coverage over the past week. With us now, District Media Group President, Beverly Hallberg; and News Busters Managing Editor, Curtis Houck. Welcome to both of you.
CURTIS HOUCK,: Good evening, Mike.
BEVERLY HALLBERG: Good evening.
EMANUEL: Beverly, your high is the liberal media challenging President Biden. From Maureen Dowd, "It’s seven grandkids," Mr. President, to Fareed Zakaria asking the President about his age. Let’s play it.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Liberal Media Outlets Challenge President Biden]
FAREED ZAKARIA [TO BIDEN]: And I think a lot of people do watch you and are impressed and they think you’ve been a great president. You’ve brought the economy back. You’ve restored relations with the world. But many of these people do say, and these are ardent supporters of yours, the next thing he should do is step aside and let another generation of Democrats take the baton.
EMANUEL: Beverly, tell us about your highs.
HALLBERG: Yes, so this is definitely a high this week because the liberal media is finally starting to call out President Biden. Now, I will say Fareed Zakaria threw him a softball question first, saying how great of a president he was, before saying or asking whether or not he should let somebody else, someone in the younger generation of Democrats, take over. And, of course, also Maureen Dowd as well, who is rightly calling out President Biden for not acknowledging his seventh grandchild. He refers to six, talks about talking to these grandchildren every day, but has not acknowledged his seventh grandchild. So, what I see from this is, this is pointing to two areas that are really bad for the president, relationship with Hunter and all the issues there, and his age, which is on full display on a daily basis so they’re finally getting to it the question is, are they doing it because they’re hoping another Democrat contender will sneak in? We’ll have to wait and see.
EMANUEL: Curtis your high is even MSNBC liberal ex-Mueller deputy thinks the White House cocaine probe was a joke. Let’s play it.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Weissmann Criticizes White House Cocaine Probe]
ANDREW WEISSMANN: To me the Secret Service here looks like they can’t find a dead cow in a closet. I mean this is really just not a sufficient investigation.
EMANUEL: Curtis, your thoughts?
HOUCK: A rare moment of sanity on MSNBC, Mike. Andrew Weissman’s never going to be confused with being a straight shooter, per se. He’s always been, again, a pit bull on all sorts of MSNBC shows, whether it’s Stephanie Ruhle or Nicole Wallace’s show. So, when even he’s like, they didn’t interview anybody, there’s no cameras. This — this is totally ridiculous. The cow in the dead closet has to be the quote of the week, quote of the month, early running for one of the funniest quotes of the year on cable news.
EMANUEL: Beverly, your low is the ladies of the view saying Twitter is spreading misinformation. What about that?
HALLBERG: Yes, it is, and it’s —
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: I don’t want to be tricked anymore.
ANA NAVARRO: I joined too because it’s not owned by Elon Musk. And that in itself is enough for me to join.
SUNNY HOSTIN: It’s become so toxic and Threads is connected to Instagram, and Instagram is a happy place.
EMANUEL: Sorry, Beverly, go ahead.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: ‘The View’ Hosts Bash Twitter and Elon Musk]
HALLBERG: The are my low because of their lack of self-awareness. They were talking about the toxicity of Twitter, saying that it spreads misinformation yet they do that on their show on a daily basis. It seems that the worst thing in their mind is Elon Musk did. To take down Twitter was to open it up to dialogue and free speech. They allow themselves to say what they want on their own show, but they don’t think conservatives should have the same type of platform.
EMANUEL: Curtis, PBS arguing the statue of liberty is entangled with whiteness. Let’s play it.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: PBS Guest Says Landmark “Entangled With Whiteness”]
DAVID RUBENSTEIN: As you look at the Statue of Liberty today, as an American, do you regard it as an important symbol of our country, or do you think it’s a flawed symbol of our country?
U.C. SANTA CRUZ PROFESSOR TYLER STOVALL: I think it’s both. I mean, I think it is an important symbol of our country and it’s a symbol of the ways in which freedom has often been entangled with whiteness.
EMANUEL: Curtis, your thoughts.
HOUCK: Yes, I wasn’t sure, Mike, because I was told by Jim Acosta and the like under the last administration that the Statue of Liberty and the poem by Emma Lazarus at the base of it is...on par or more important than our founding documents? I didn’t really understand this. The host there, David Rubenstein — that — he’s with Carlisle Group. He made his billions. He started out actually working for Jimmy Carter back in the day. So, between those two things, that’s why he’s able to be on MSNBC — or PBS there. You know, we did study back in May and found that 85 percent of their coverage this year has been negative towards Republicans —
EMANUEL: Mmhmm.
HOUCK: — and 54 percent positive towards Democrats. And they’ve applied no progressives or far-left labels to anything Democrats have done, but have done it nearly two dozen times to Republicans. So, American people will have to fund this and put up with this. It’s about time this charade ends.
EMANUEL: Curtis Houck, Beverly Hallberg, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.
HOUCK: Thanks, Mike.
HALLBERG: Thanks, guys.
