Hoda Kotb
On Tuesday, all three network morning shows were thrilled with Democratic Party talking points preemptively dismissing President Trump’s upcoming immigration speech as nothing but “malice and misinformation.” Reporters touted how liberal lawmakers were “demanding equal time” in the media to response to Trump’s prime-time address.
All three networks went into red alert on Friday, hyperventilating about the “chaos” of a shutdown showdown after Donald Trump “torpedoed” a deal as he demanded funding for a border wall. Of course, the blame went to Republicans. Today co-host Hoda Kotb blasted, “Critics saying it is up to the President and his party to break the gridlock.”
Appearing on NBC’s Today show Tuesday to exclusively reveal Time’s Person of the Year, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal first discussed the runners up, which included President Trump. After lamenting how the President “showed the weaknesses in our system,” the journalist happily declared that 2018 “was a year when the system fought back.”
On Monday morning, Time Magazine released its top ten “shortlist” ahead of the Tuesday reveal for its annual “Person of the Year” issue and many of the nominees came as no surprise. Whether it was the March for Our Lives students or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, it was a liberal list made in heaven.
Like much of the media, ABC News celebrated the announcement from Dick’s Sporting Goods that it would be restricting gun sales following the Parkland school shooting in February. However, when it was reported on Wednesday that the retail chain was suffering a financial backlash for the decision, ABC was the only broadcast network to ignore the story.
Appearing on Monday’s Today show to promote his new role as Atticus Finch in a Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird, liberal actor Jeff Daniels touted how the iconic story “still resonates today” because racism “hasn’t gone away.” In fact, he described racial animus as a defining characteristic in American history.
Appearing on NBC’s Today show, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi bemoaned the “tumultuous” Trump presidency and slammed the administration’s immigration policy, accusing the Border Patrol of “tear-gassing children.” She also discussed the September New York Times op-ed she wrote attacking then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter released an extensive poll on the news habits of consumers plus a poll of 51 cable and broadcast network news hosts and late-night comedy hosts. In the full blog, check out the seven areas that The Hollywood Reporter article on their own poll didn’t have quite the time to do a deep dive on.
After Republican Congressman-Elect and military veteran Dan Crenshaw appeared on Saturday Night Live over the weekend to publicly forgive comedian Pete Davidson for a skit mocking his service, on Monday, the newly-elected Texas lawmaker was interviewed by the hosts of NBC’s Today show. In part, co-host Savannah Guthrie thanked him for his “incredible act of generosity” in agreeing to go on the comedy show.
Tuesday morning the three networks continued their fawning coverage of the thousands of illegal aliens heading to the U.S./Mexico border while ABC and NBC spent additional time worrying that President Trump’s “threats” about the caravan would motivate Republican voters to the polls.
When it comes to the so-called mainstream media, it’s a case of Kanye West vs. Kanye West. The Networks on Thursday and Friday mocked the “bizarre,” “surreal” rapper for appearing at the White House with Donald Trump. But these outlets gushed over the “thoughtful” entertainer when he derided then-President George W. Bush as a racist.
During extensive pre-hearing coverage on Thursday’s Today show, co-host Hoda Kotb was already wondering if Senate Republicans would abandon Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh: “Is there a point in here where some Republicans just say, ‘You know what? This is a little too muddy. Why don’t we just go ahead and put Brett Kavanaugh over here and go with our next person in line’?”