THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Daniel Kaluuya

Actor Daniel Kaluuya has been enjoying a strong winning streak since his breakout role in Jordan Peele's 2017 film Get Out, including notable roles in Black Panther and, most recently, Judas and the Black Messiah, for which he won a Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild Award, and has been nominated for an Oscar.

This weekend, Kaluuya hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, and his performance was widely praised. 

In the opening monologue, Kaluuya explained the difference between British and American racism.

“First of all, I know you’re hearing my accent and thinking, ‘Oh no. He’s not Black, he’s British,'" he said, reassuring the audience that he was both of those things.

Kaluuya then went for the jugular by referencing the royal family racism scandal: "Basically I’m what the royal family was worried the baby would look like."

He also had a key role in a hilarious digital short mocking insincere YouTube apology videos.

All in all, it was a fun night for a rising star.

MEDIA LOSER:
60 Minutes

CBS News' 60 Minutes took aim at Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Sunday for a program that briefly put Publix grocery stores at the forefront of vaccine distribution in Palm Beach.

However, the network came under fire for failing to air much of the governor's response to reporter Sharyn Alfonsi's question on the issue. The full response included the DeSantis noting that nearly all Florida seniors lived within 1.5 miles of a Publix — and that other stores didn't volunteer until a later point in time.

Social media users panned the network's omission, including Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz, who served three terms as a Democrat in the state Legislature. “I said this before and I’ll say it again,” Moskowitz wrote. “Publix was recommended by FLSERT and [the Florida Health Department] as the other pharmacies were not ready to start. Period! Full Stop! No one from the governor’s office suggested Publix. It’s just absolute malarkey.”

Government pandemic response strategies deserve scrutiny, but the way 60 Minutes edited the video clip makes the coverage appear slanted. It's unhelpful and they should know better.

The A-Block

I'm a Congressman, not a monk

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has had his name in headlines a lot lately regarding troubling allegations that he was involved in sex trafficking of underage girls and other acts of sexual misconduct.

Gaetz defended himself in a Washington Examiner op-ed, blaming the "D.C. swamp," denying the accusations against him, and insisting that he would not resign. "I am a representative in Congress, not a monk, and certainly not a criminal," wrote Gaetz.

Unfortunately for the Florida congressman, as Mediaite Founding Editor Colby Hall pointed out, we've been hearing "pretty much crickets coming from the GOP caucus" to defend him. 

The View's Meghan McCain called the allegations "disgusting and vile" and said that Gaetz should resign. Florida prosecutor Dave Aronberg told MSNBC that Gaetz could face life in prison if found guilty.

Saturday Night Live's cold open took aim at Gaetz too, and Last Week Tonight's John Oliver delivered an especially scathing monologue on the topic. 



In Other News...

JUST IN: US Covid Daily Deaths Reach Record Low Since March 2020

'Reeks of Hypocrisy': Marco Rubio Dares MLB Commissioner to Give Up His Augusta National Membership

Jake Tapper: Trump’s Operation Warp Speed Success Doesn’t Erase the ‘Undermining of Science’ and ‘Promotion of Quackery’ for Months

Trump Campaign Reportedly Maneuvered One-Time Donors Into Recurring Contributions, Prompting Wave of Fraud Complaints

Must See Clips

Hunter Biden speaks

Hunter Biden appeared on CBS This Morning to promote his new memoir, Beautiful Things, and addressed a number of noteworthy topics, including the infamous laptop that ended up at a a Delaware computer repair shop and accusations that the Secret Service improperly intervened in an investigation regarding his missing gun.

Perhaps the most emotional segment was when he recalled how his father, President Joe Biden, held an intervention for him while he was in the throes of his alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction, including his father chasing him down the driveway and embracing him in a hug, urging him to get help. 

Links We Like

60 Minutes’ Dishonest DeSantis Hit Job
-  The Editors, National Review
Abolish the FDA
- Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason
We Need a 9/11 Commission for COVID
- A.B. Stoddard, The Bulwark
Pandemic habits: How to hang on to the good ones and get rid of the bad
- Washington Post
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