Barack's book, Kornacki's khakis, and Meghan's meme. Plus: Enough with the anonymous White House sources.

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THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020

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Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Barack Obama

Former President Barack Obama has a new book coming out, and it's certain to be a bestseller. In fact, the publisher ordered so many copies of "A Promised Land," the first of the two-volume set -- 3 million copies for the initial U.S. printing -- that it was too many for American printers and three cargo ships were needed to ship them here.
Getting a multimillion dollar paycheck for selling piles of books is, of course, a win, but it's Obama's actions as he promotes this book that really got our attention.
He's mostly kept his powder dry during President Donald Trump's presidency -- with the main exception being his campaign trail appearances for his former Vice President Joe Biden right before Election Day -- but has been offering emphatic and precisely targeted criticism of his successor as he promotes the memoir.
Obama's book includes critique of Trump's actions to exploit "racial anxiety," as well as his reaction to the birther conspiracy that Trump peddled, but a core focus of his recent interviews has been Trump's refusal to concede the election or allow the standard transition procedures to begin.
Obama has both offered praise for how former President George W. Bush and his administration handled the transition, and lambasted the Trump White House for its recalcitrance to even admit there will be a transition. He had especially sharp words for Republican elected officials "who clearly know better" but were still willing to indulge Trump and go down this "dangerous path" to delegitimizing, not just the incoming Biden administration, but democracy generally."
Obama undoubtedly helped his former veep win the election, and is now bringing the enormous spotlight that naturally follows a former president to bear upon the obstacles the Trump administration is throwing at the Biden transition. The peaceful transition of power is a nonpartisan issue all Americans should support, and we're glad to see Obama involved here.

MEDIA LOSER:
The Anonymous Sources

Election Day was November 3. Decision Desk HQ called the race for Biden on November 6, and the rest of the major media outlets followed suit a day later.
And yet, here is our president, continuing to tweet nonsense, peddle debunked conspiracy theories, file frivolous lawsuits, and refuse to allow the normal transition process to begin. Hey, it's not like there's any major national security issues or we're in the middle of a surging pandemic or anything.
In case you missed the very obvious sarcasm, that is exactly what's happening. And every day that Trump refuses to accept electoral reality while simultaneously doing nothing about the spreading coronavirus makes the problem worse.
That's why we are collectively naming as today's Media Loser every single member of the Trump administration, Congressional Republican, and their staffers who have been speaking anonymously to the media to express their "concern" and acknowledge that Trump lost the race -- while continuing to indulge his narcissistic delusions behind closed doors. Some of them may even be the ones who we see on our screens blathering about a "second Trump administration" that isn't happening.
There are exceptions, but they're sadly few and far between. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) have both stated that Biden should be getting access to intelligence briefings. Karl Rove, Hugh Hewitt, and Erick Erickson have all said Trump should concede and make a graceful exit.
We recognize the vital journalistic role that anonymous sources can play, but these anonymous sources are playing with fire and putting our country at risk in the process. Speaking out of both sides of their mouth on this specific issue isn't just cowardly, it's dangerous to our national security and efforts to control the pandemic.
Time to put up or shut up.

The A-Block

A White House in denial

Trump has spent his post-election days mostly holed up in the White House, popping out for golf and a Veterans Day ceremony, but he hasn't been silent on Twitter, posting a seemingly constant stream of attacks on the media, Democrats, his critics, and throwing all sorts of outlandish and baseless conspiracy theories at the wall.
He's taking credit for the "most secure election ever" -- but still claiming Democrats rigged it.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a report saying "no evidence" of widespread fraud in the election, and Trump fired a senior DHS official shortly thereafter.
Fox News' Steve Doocy looked into Trump's claims about the Dominion voting machine software "stealing" or "changing" votes from Trump to Biden, and found there was nothing to it.
The Blaze -- the Glenn Beck-founded media company that is well-established as being Trump-friendly -- conducted a detailed review of the affidavits Trump's legal team collected in Michigan, and found them to be a very big nothingburger.
That hasn't stopped Trump from continuing to tweet about these topics, however.
Maggie Haberman at the New York Times says Trump doesn't have the "competence" or "ambition" to pull off a coup.
But Kayleigh McEnany says of course Trump will attend inauguration in January -- his OWN inauguration. Peter Navarro echoed this sentiment, telling Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo that White House staff are assuming there will be a second Trump term.
Mediaite founder Dan Abrams thinks there's a "tiny chance" Trump could manage a way to "steal this election."
Geraldo Rivera shared details of his phone conversation with a "frustrated" and "wounded" Trump in a conversation with Fox News' Harris Faulkner.

McCain's revenge
Multiple outlets called Arizona for Biden Thursday evening, after Fox News and the AP did so last week.

Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), couldn't resist posting a meme mocking Trump for losing her home state.
JUST IN -- GEORGIA CALLED FOR BIDEN, NORTH CAROLINA FOR TRUMP
The Peach State is headed for a manual recount, but the networks were confident enough in the latest numbers to go ahead and project Biden as winning Georgia on Friday, and North Carolina for Trump
Biden is currently projected to win 306 electoral college votes to Trump's 232, with only 270 needed to win.
2024
There's been a lot of speculation whether Trump will run again in 2024. The Constitution allows a president two terms, and they don't have to be consecutive, but how likely is that to happen?
The president's niece Mary Trump is highly skeptical he would run again, and offered multiple reasons for her view. Watch her interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo here.
Secret Service getting sick

A troubling report came out Friday, saying that more than 130 Secret Service officers have recently quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus, or coming in close contact with someone who has. The outbreak is being blamed at least partially on Trump's superspreader rallies in the final days of the campaign, and raising huge concerns about inadequate staffing availability for the agency responsible for the president's security.
Blunt truth from Jersey
Don't like wearing a face mask? New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy doesn't wanna hear your whining. “You know what’s uncomfortable and annoying? When you die," he said.
Khonackis
MSNBC's Steve Kornacki has been getting a lot of love on social media for his indefatigable presences on our television screens during the election coverage, and now he's being credited with increasing sales of the GAP khakis he's fond of wearing.

6.5.0

Must See Clip

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Reporting live news brings unique challenges, and even sometimes safety risks.
Two local reporters in North Carolina had a terrifying day at work, and it was broadcast live.
FOX 46 Reporter Amber Roberts and Photojournalist Jonathan Monté are lucky to be alive after they were reporting on massive flooding in Alexander County and a large section of the bridge they were standing on suddenly collapsed into the waters below.
"This is incredibly -- SCARY!" Roberts is heard breaking into a yell as the structure falls away from where they were standing mere seconds earlier.
Watch the frightening video here.