THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Mia Love

Former Republican Congresswoman Mia Love called out the GOP as a “party in crisis” for its very public schism over Rep. Liz Cheney, whose very public condemnation and vote to impeach Donald Trump has incensed the die-hard MAGA faction inside the House caucus.

Love, a CNN contributor, spoke with Wolf Blitzer about the dual crises in the GOP House as the meetings were still going on. (More on that in our A Block below.)

“I think that this is a party in crisis, unfortunately,” Love said accurately. 

"I’m a little disappointed that they’re going after her, because we’re supposed to be independent thinkers," she said. "And if you really want to try to unite the party, you have to be able to live within that and respect people’s decisions.”

It isn't just run-of-the-mill commentary. Love was defeated in Utah after Trump attacked her for not being pro-him enough. The narrow race in the deeply red state could easily have been won by GOP turnout. She was, in effect, defeated by the GOP's single-minded Trump obsession.

Which is exactly what was behind the attempt on Cheney's leadership. 

On point message from on point messenger is a media win in our book.

MEDIA LOSER:
Bob Sellers

What a difference a day makes.

On Tuesday, Newsmax host Bob Sellers had engaged in a brutal rhetorical stand-off with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and, after the pillow businessman refused to stop revisiting his absurd election conspiracies, begged his producers to end the segment. When that didn’t work, he stormed off the set in protest, leaving an empty chair for Newsmax viewers.

It was a dramatic scene that got huge play and some name recognition for Sellers, who even made Green Room Media Winner of the day. 

Then he blew it. 

For unwavering fans of Donald Trump and his “big lie” election conspiracy, Sellers’ sudden injection of inconvenient truth didn’t sit well. At all. As expected. Sellers crumbled before that backlash, going on air to humiliatingly grovel on Wednesday night.

Sellers effusively praised Lindell as a friend of the network and great guest, took the fall for mishandling the interview, and played a separate clip of Lindell saying everything he got cut off from saying by Sellers.

It's clear who wears the pillow at that network. Sad.

The A-Block

BREAKING

Smartmatic, one of the voting systems companies subjected to a torrent of conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election, has filed a massive $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, top Fox stars Lou DobbsMaria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, as well as pro-Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

WELP

The effort within the House GOP to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as retribution for voting the "wrong" way on Donald Trump's impeachment failed last night

Kind of an embarrassing moment for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Not to mention Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), as Morning Joe was quick to brutally remind him.

Meanwhile, however, QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-BS) has faced no consequences or stripping of committee spots. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who voted to remove her from committees, absolutely blasted the GOP over it.

Sean Hannity isn't too big of an MTG fan, either.

Meghan McCain set fire to the GOP on Thursday over the debacle.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pretty sensitive about being asked about it.

Still, in the end, it's the base that defines the party, and that base, it turns out, favors Greene over Cheney. By, like, a whole whopping lot.

Welp, indeed.

Shine On

Former Fox News Co-President Bill Shine, who left the network in 2017 in the wake of the network’s sexual harassment scandal, is now a consultant for NewsNation, a recently-launched news network looking to compete with CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Which has some insiders worried.

McFish MacRage 

Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly is beginning to make a habit of rage-tweeting about his trips to McDonald’s, which he often refers to — in all caps — as “MACDONALD’S.”

 Most recently, Kelly told the sad tale of his inability to procure a “McFish” sandwich from “MACDONALD’S,” which resulted in an encounter that caused the restaurant’s employees to accuse him of being a “MALE KAREN.”

"Please Don’t Do This!"

Chris Hayes issued a simple but urgent plea for Democrats: Just give everybody a check!

At the end of his Wednesday night show, the MSNBC host literally begged his guest Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and other Senate Democrats not to compromise on the Covid relief package by setting taxable income limits on those who can receive $1,400 direct payments.

To the Pain

The Princess Bride actor Cary Elwes dealt Texas Senator Ted Cruz an Inigo Montoya-esque death blow to end a very brief social media feud.

Parler

Former Parler CEO John Matze was “silenced” and pushed out of his company by conservative donor Rebekeh Mercer when he proposed policies to moderate content on the platform, Matze claims in an interview.

Parler investor Dan Bongino tells a different story.

Biden Memoir
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is set to release a memoir entitled Beautiful Things, which will focus on his battle with substance abuse.




Nicolle Wallace Beats Jake Tapper, Rachel Maddow Edges Out Tucker Carlson
RATINGS

in the tuesday ratings race, MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace beat CNN’s Jake Tapper and the first hour of Wolf Blitzer’s show in total viewers, while Rachel Maddow just edged out Fox’s Tucker Carlson to again hold the top spot across all of cable.

Fox’s prime time lineup had the biggest audience turnout, winning the night in total viewers.

Deadline: White House averaged 2.21 million total viewers over its two hours, while Tapper’s The Lead and the first hour of Blitzer’s The Situation Room averaged a combined 2.03 million from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. In the key demographic of viewers age 25-54, however, CNN won out across those two hours, averaging 442,000 viewers in the demo, compared to 305,000 for Wallace.

The Rachel Maddow Show, which has now been the most-watched show in cable news in recent days, had 3.56 million total viewers (590,000 in the demo), just ahead of 3.52 million (555,000 in the demo) for...

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Must See Clip

Emotional Commentary

Fox News Primetime guest host Trey Gowdy ended the program Wednesday night with an emotional commentary about law enforcement following the killing of two FBI agents in Florida and the memorial service for Officer Brian Sicknick at the Capitol.

Gowdy said watching the ceremony for Sicknick — who was killed after being seriously injured at the violent riots when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol — reminded him of “the sacred trust that exists between the police and us.”

“We give the police awesome powers and we have high expectations for the police. They have the right to expect certain things from us, too,” said Gowdy, in what truly was a must-see moment.

 

The Interview: Wesley Lowery Talks Leaving the Washington Post and Why He Wasn’t Surprised by the Capitol Attack

Links We Like

Republican Leaders Are Rushing to Exploit Trump’s Big Lie
-  Steve Coll, New Yorker
U.S. Mulls Using Law Designed To Prosecute Mafia Against Capitol Rioters
- Mark Hosenball & Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters

'Mostly Peaceful' Violence And Dueling Double Standards
- Michael Barone, Washington Examiner

What Everyone Who’s Mad at Robinhood Got Wrong
- Alex Kirshner, Slate
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