Alex Christy
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If Democrats and their allies in the media are trying to convince the country that the current impeachment proceedings are not a farce, MSNBC's Friday impeachment pre-game show did not help in advancing that goal. According to the assembled cast of journalists and commentators, Republicans were "jerks" who were destroying the legacies of their family members who worked for past Democrat administrations.
Perhaps the only thing more off putting than swooning over politicians is the swooning over bureaucrats, but that is exactly where MSNBC Live went on Thursday in recapping Wednesday's impeachment proceedings and Fox News' reaction to it. In defending the honor of the civil service, former spokeswoman for the Treasury Department and Samantha Power at the UN Hagar Chemali accused Fox of "blasphemous" attacks on George Kent and Bill Taylor.
As impeachment frenzy continues to sweep the nation, CNN Newsroom co-hosts Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow welcomed CNN national security analyst Shawn Turner and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (under Clinton) Steven Pifer to their Tuesday show. Turner and Pifer tried to debunk the Administration's claims that they have been tougher on Russia than President Obama, because unlike Obama, Trump actually has sent the Ukrainians lethal aid in the form of Javelin anti-tank missiles and that Trump withheld the aid because, according to Mick Mulvaney, he was worried how Russia might react.
It was on Friday that Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough was upset that Louisiana Senator John Kennedy called Speaker Nancy Pelosi "dumb." But that was then and this is now. Apparently, Scarborough doesn’t remember what he says from day-to-day. On Monday, he was up to his old tricks questioning whether President Trump is a Russian agent or simply a useful idiot.
There is perhaps no greater sign that your presidential campaign had a bad day than when CNN says that your immigration plans will "play into a Trump ad" and that you are "essentially saying we have open borders," but that is exactly where Bernie Sanders found himself on Thursday after Inside Politics host John King and Washington Post reporter Seung Min Kim discussed Sanders' radical immigration plans.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet was on MSNBC Live on Friday for a wide ranging interview with host Katy Tur in an attempt to bring attention to his longshot presidential campaign. That Bennet has styled himself as one of the more pragmatic members of the field by refusing to support Medicare for All did not sit well with Tur, who pressed the Democratic hopeful from the left on the issue.
Vice President Mike Pence was in New Hampshire on Thursday to file President Trump's paperwork for that state's Republican Primary and afterwards gave a brief speech to supporters where he laid out the administration's case for re-election. One of the things Pence cited was the country's positive economic situation since 2017 and even MSNBC Live had to concede the positive economic situation in the country is currently quite good, so how did the anti-Trump network spin this one? By saying credit actually belongs with former President Obama, of course.
Despite Beto O'Rourke's best efforts, it is still legal in the United States to buy and sell firearms. This constitutional fact, however, greatly unnerved MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle on Tuesday as she devoted an entire segment to gun auctions and raffles hosted by the NRA Foundation's charitable arm, Friends of the NRA, at schools. The very existence of these of these auctions where deemed "shocking" and "incredible" in various teases throughout the hour, but the truth is far less nefarious.
For her latest assignment, that aired on Monday's CNN Newsroom, Clarissa Ward was in Ukraine talking to various people about their reaction President Trump's since-reversed decision to put U.S. military aid to that country on hold. However, not all of the people Ward talked to were private citizens, two, one American and one Ukrainian, were active duty officers, but unfortunately for Ward both refused to give the viral soundbite that she clearly wanted.
On Friday, Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren revealed how she expects to pay for her $52 trillion health care plan that is said to include $20.5 trillion in new federal spending without raising middle class taxes. For MSNBC Live host Hallie Jackson and Warren campaign reporter Ali Vitali, the plan was not a left-wing fairy tale, but rather the "ultimate clapback to her critics."
There is perhaps no greater example of a political bubble than MSNBC. Its journalists are liberals, its analysts are liberals, even most of their purported conservative commentators spend most of their time sounding like liberals. So, it was a bit strange during their special coverage of the House vote to establish rules for the impeachment of the president on Thursday, that the pot accused the kettle of living "in its own bubble."
Former Speechwriter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and retired Navy Commander Guy Snodgrass is out with a book that purports to be an insider's of what it was like at the Pentagon during Mattis' time as defense chief. As Sondgrass tells it, Trump's foreign and defense policy is a dangerous one that undermines alliances and is driven out of a petty desire to undermine former President Obama's legacy. Naturally, this had led to Songrass's book receiving positive reviews from the media. On Wednesday, Snodgrass found himself on CNN Right Now on to talk about the book, but one critic's take was noticeably absent.
MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle had bad news to report about the Trump campaign on Tuesday. No, they haven't done anything nefarious or illegal, rather they've been wildly successful in their digital strategy, specifically in terms of merchandise sales and that was enough for the alarms to start going off at MSNBC. Teasing the segment, Ruhle cautioned viewers about the success of the merchandise, "I warn you, it is bad news for Democrats."
If you were to go up to the plate and had previously determined to swing at every pitch, you would innevitably strikeout. This lesson is being learned by President Trump's media critics today as they offer up various hot takes on the raid that led ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to blow himself up on Saturday. Richard Haass, President of The Council on Foreign Relations, joined CNN Newsroom on Monday to talk about the raid and Trump's reaction to it.
Every Sunday, CNN's Brian Stelter hosts a show entitled Reliable Sources, but on Friday's edition of CNN Newsroom Stelter could be seen eagerly anticipating a new book by the most unreliable of source- that being of the anonymously written book that will purportedly be a behind the scenes look into the workings of the Trump Administration.
After previously singing the praises of young people, MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle found a group of young people who really just need get over their political beliefs. That group was, of course, young conservatives and Republicans. Ruhle's panel, which consisted of Harvard polling guru John Della Volpe, In Defense of Elitism author Joel Stein, and editor of The Bulwark Charlie Sykes, naturally agreed.
As impeachment passions continue to heat up in Washington, MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle thought it would be a good idea to bring some historical perspective to the conversation on her Tuesday show. Unfortunately for viewers however, that perspective was brought by historian Jon Meacham who bungled some key points on his way to making a more partisan, than objective historical analysis.
It is a common refrain on MSNBC in the age of Trump that nobody is above law and to raise questions about investigations into high ranking officials is damaging to our institutions, unless of course that investigations is looking into alleged misconduct during the Obama years, then it is the investigation that is the threat to institutions. Such, was the argument that Andrea Mitchell made on her Monday show alongside former Obama officials Wendy Sherman and Ned Price in a segment that also torched plenty of strawmen in an attempt to described John Durham's investigation into the origins of the Russia probe.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg did some that should not be considered remarkable on Thursday, but given the current political context was- having listened to the concerns of others regarding free speech, he decided not appoint himself the final arbiter of truth. However, this left the media out in the cold, if Zuckerberg won't take down that anti-Biden Trump ad, who will? Fortunately for the media, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has a book to sell and is willing to play the role.
According to a Tuesday segment on MSNBC Live, American voters do not trust female political candidates and are biased against them. You would think such an accusation would require evidence, but you would be wrong. The segment also provided host Craig Melvin, former Hillary Clinton aide Zerlina Maxwell and All in Together CEO Lauren Learner an opportunity to sing the praises of Elizabeth Warren.