Speaking during CNN’s analysis of the first 2016 Republican presidential debate on Thursday night, CNN political commentator and former Obama White House adviser Van Jones panned Jeb Bush’s performance as “terrible” and “like oatmeal getting colder” but praised Ohio Governor John Kasich as “just unreal,” “emotional,” and an “authentic guy who cares.”
Marco Rubio
By Geoffrey Dickens | July 31, 2015 | 9:30 AM EDT
Due to extremely poor ratings, MSNBC formally announced Thursday it will bring down the ax on Ed Schultz and Alex Wagner. It turns out hate-mongering against conservative Republicans and sucking up to far-left Democrats is not a great way to attract large audiences.
By Brent Baker | July 26, 2015 | 12:08 AM EDT
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier wrapped up its Thursday “center seat” session, with Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, by playing for him a clip of Jon Stewart ridiculing a New York Times hit piece about how Rubio had received a few traffic tickets.
By Scott Whitlock | July 24, 2015 | 11:02 AM EDT
The co-hosts of CBS This Morning on Friday ganged up on Marco Rubio and pushed the idea that the Senator should just give up opposing Barack Obama's deal with Iran. Co-host Norah O'Donnell lectured, "You heard Secretary Kerry say it's a fantasy to think you can just bomb away Iran's knowledge." She later reminded, "Senator, the deal now has the unanimous support of the UN Security Council. You heard the Saudi foreign minister as well say that they support this deal." O'Donnell pestered Rubio as to whether he had enough votes to override a presidential veto.
By Ken Shepherd | July 23, 2015 | 9:04 PM EDT
Closing a segment on the July 23 program about Republican criticism of the nuclear deal that the Obama/Kerry State Department brokered with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hardball host Chris Matthews wondered if 2016 presidential aspirant Marco Rubio's vocal criticism of the deal might in some way be "illegal."
By Ken Shepherd | July 22, 2015 | 8:32 PM EDT
After all these years, Chris Matthews still hasn't lost that lovin' feeling. The MSNBC host spent a total of two minutes and 12 seconds on Wednesday night hitting Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) for a line comparing Donald Trump to Barack Obama. "Look how he's lived his life. He's done everything right," Matthews began, going on to explain how Obama is "perfect" and "immaculate."
June 23, 2015 | 4:22 PM EDT
If one thing can be counted on since Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced his presidential campaign, it’s that the nation’s top Spanish-language networks will give more coverage to the pro-amnesty protesters stalking the Senator’s campaign and interrupting his speeches than to the substance of what is happening and what Rubio is actually saying at those events.
June 23, 2015 | 4:15 PM EDT
Si el algo puede darse por sentado desde que el senador Marco Rubio (R-FL) anunció su candidatura presidencial, es que la mayores cadenas de habla hispana dedicarán más tiempo en el aire a manifestantes pro-amnistía, acosando a Rubio e interrumpiendo sus discursos, que al contenido noticioso de lo que está sucediendo y a lo que Senador está diciendo en estos eventos.
By Mark Finkelstein | June 18, 2015 | 10:16 AM EDT
"People who think he's a joke and a fool need to be careful because by the end of the campaign, the joke may be on them." That's how Joe Scarborough summed up the surprisingly respectful analysis of Donald Trump's candidacy on today's Morning Joe.
Introducing the segment, Scarborough suggested that if Trump sticks to a Perot-like populist message, he could get 15% of the primary vote. When Joe turned to Steve Schmidt, this NewsBuster expected the former McCain campaign manager and establishment Republican to dump on Trump. But to the contrary, Schmidt agreed heartily with Joe and went on to make the case that Trump is channeling widespread popular resentment, is the man people would want to hear in a debate, and could be "very impactful" in the race. John Heilemann was similarly respectful of Trump's potential, saying he "doesn't play by the rules and is fearless," and receives serious, generally favorable local coverage in places like Iowa and New Hampshire.
Lefty Writer Paul Waldman: Media Are ‘Full of Biases,’ But ‘Ideological Bias Is Among the Least Important’
By Tom Johnson | June 16, 2015 | 5:45 PM EDT To lefty pundit Paul Waldman, journalists are like detectives, not activists. They relish discovering and exposing the secrets of politicians, but they don’t much care whether the pols are liberal or conservative, given that “ideological bias is among the[ir] least important” motives.
For example, regarding recent New York Times stories about Marco Rubio’s driving record and personal finances, Waldman claimed in a Sunday American Prospect column that “no one who thinks about the news media in a serious way could believe that articles like these are driven by an ideological bias. If that were the case, then the Times would be giving Hillary Clinton a free ride, and they've done anything but…That goes for the rest of the media as well; whatever you think about Hillary Clinton, she's hardly a favorite of political reporters.”
And, who knows, some might even make the case that the media are pro-Rubio. After all, commented Waldman, they’ve “done plenty to elevate [him] from an ordinary first-term senator into a legitimate presidential contender.”
By Mark Finkelstein | June 16, 2015 | 9:08 AM EDT
Think of Hillary Clinton. I know, I know, but work with me. Now think of the first 100 things that come to mind. Is "change" one of them? It is for Howard Dean, and Bill Kristol found that hilarious. On today's Morning Joe, explaining his early endorsement of Hillary, Dean claimed that "Hillary Clinton is change." That was enough to provoke hearty laughter in the normally-composed Kristol.
Manifestly in a jocular mood, Kristol later turned the PC tables on Mika Brzezinski. When she claimed that young people are very enthusiastic about Hillary, Kristol told Mika that she needed to hang out with a more "diverse" group of them.
June 15, 2015 | 10:28 PM EDT
The opening rally of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was the subject of fawning coverage on the nation’s top Spanish-language network, Univision, which failed to include a single critical voice in its report on Clinton’s speech at the rally and celebrated the participation in the event of activist Andrea González, a non-citizen who was the only person other than Clinton to address the crowd.