THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Chris Wallace

Fox News anchor and host Chris Wallace confronted Trump 2020 senior adviser Steve Cortes Sunday over the fact that members of the Trump team took off their masks during last week’s debate despite being asked not to.

Cortes wouldn't concede even error in judgment or miscalculation as he continued to insist that there is nothing you can do, that "even the most severe of lockdowns cannot completely stop the virus," and ignored that guidelines had been ignored.

Wallace kept after him, stating that the rules had been clear direct from the Cleveland Clinic for attendance at the debate, Cortes actually said they think masks are "useful" but that "we also believe in some element of individual choice."

"There were rules," Wallace correctly stated. "They broke the rules."

“Chris, the way you’re starting to harangue me now actually reminds me of what you did to the president during that debate," Cortes said at one point

“Let me just simply say that the president interrupted me and the vice president 145 times, so I object to saying I harangued the president," said Wallace. "I know it’s the talking point.”

Oh, and on Monday, a ham-handed right-wing Twitter attempt to mask shame Wallace backfired, too. So lots of winning.

MEDIA LOSER:
Dr. Sean Conley

Dr. Sean Conley, President Donald Trump's physician, told reporters at a briefing Sunday that the president was given oxygen on Friday before he was brought to Walter Reed Medical Center.

That revelation directly contradicts Conley's comically misleading remarks at a Saturday press conference that Trump was not given oxygen either Friday or Saturday.

In other words, he rather breezily revealed openly that he'd been intentionally misleading.

When asked about the discrepancies between official statements on the president being given oxygen, Conley told reporters that he was trying to be "upbeat."

"I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, over the course of this illness has had," he said. "I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction."

CNN's Jake Tapper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta were stunned by Conley's behavior. Fox's Kennedy laid into his briefings as "propaganda."

But it was CNN's John Berman who really let him have it

“The one thing we now know for certain is that politics is superseding medicine here,” Berman noted. ” When Dr. Conley lies on Saturday and then gleefully admits to lying on Sunday, you know that politics has taken precedent.”

The A-Block

White House Covid-19 Hot Zone

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced Monday that she has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus.

"After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms," McEnany said. "No reporters, producers, or members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House Medical Unit."

"Moreover, I definitively had no knowledge of Hope Hicks’ diagnosis prior to holding a White House briefing on Thursday," she added.

McEnany received well-wishes from the White House press corps, but many reporters also expressed outrage that she'd held mask-free pressers as recently as Sunday night.

Politicians, Trump officials, aides, family members, rivals for president and Supreme Court Justice nominees have been tested for Covid-19 since the announcement that the president had the infection. 

The list of positive results is long and getting longer.

As a result, on Sunday night - several days after the slew of positive tests began rolling in - the White House finally notified staff that they probably should stay home if they're sick. They underlined it and everything.

Regal Cinemas to Suspend Operations

Regal Cinemas, the second-largest cinema chain in the United States, is suspending all of its locations nationwide in addition to 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theaters in the United Kingdom. 

The decision comes following the announcement that the release of the latest James Bond film has been pushed back again.

‘Not My Choice’

CNN’s Brooke Baldwin posted a message to Instagram this weekend saying that her hour of airtime will be hosted by Jake Tapper though the election. "Wish I was was with you" she told her fans and followers. When asked further about it in the comments, Baldwin replied "not my choice."

Cut the Mics

Fox & Friends weekend host Jedediah Bila came out in favor of letting moderators control the microphones after the first debate of the 2020 presidential election. It's an idea that has been heavily circulated among Democrats and other media since the Great Interruption Caper of last week.

Seriously?

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller is STILL going after Joe Biden over masks.

Saturday Night Alive 

This week’s Saturday Night Live, hosted by Chris Rock with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion, scored its highest-rated premiere in four years, according to Nielsen Media Research, with an audience of 7.765 million viewers.

Returning for a 46th season, the night was a smash hit for the show and network, with the biggest season premiere since 2016 and, aside from an understandable outlier, the most-watched episode in...

Plexiglass

Jaime Harrison, the former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman who is challenging incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham, brought his own plexiglass barrier to Saturday’s debate to separate him from his Republican opponent.

Zerlina

Peacock announced on Saturday it will be launching a new news program, Zerlina, featuring political commentator Zerlina Maxwell, set to air on October 5.

"We're developing a show to help people think through how news affects their individual lives and our culture as a whole,” said Maxwell, a former Obama field organizer and media director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. “Peacock provides a fantastic platform for the show to be seen by a broad audience.”

Commentator Mehdi Hassan is also getting a new eponymous show on the service.

Must See Clip

'My heart goes out to Covid'

Comedian Chris Rock mocked President Donald Trump over his recent Covid-19 diagnosis in the opening monologue of Saturday Night Live‘s 2020 Fall season.

“Before we even get started let’s — you know, the elephant in the room. President Trump’s in the hospital from Covid and you know, I just want to say my heart goes out to Covid,” said Rock, followed by laughter from the audience.

The show got yuge ratings (see above) and the monologue went viral for good reason.

Links We Like

Democratic bile will reelect Trump
- David Catron, via American Spectator
Undercover with Antifa in Portland
- Nancy Rommelmann, via Reason

The deranged, dangerous push to still seat Amy Coney Barrett
- Dahlia Lithwick, via Slate

Why won’t Democratic mayors crack down on the cops?
- Daniel Moattar, via Mother Jones
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