NBC with a scoop on Twitter's Q-rackdown. Fox News defends Trump, Trump and Geraldo defend Ghislaine Maxwell, and Kim defends Kanye.

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THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020

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Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny

NBC News' Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny have established a solid track record of investigative reporting, specifically regarding social media and other online communications. They maintained that reputation with an article published Tuesday on Twitter's recent moves to restrict accounts promoting the "QAnon" conspiracy theory.
Twitter announced on Tuesday that it had banned or limited tens of thousands of accounts as part of a widespread crackdown on QAnon activity on the site that “has the potential to lead to offline harm.”
The moves included permanent suspension of thousands of accounts that violate its policies about having multiple users, directing swarms of abuse, also known as “brigading,” or setting up alt accounts to evade previous suspensions.
In addition, the social networking site said it will hide QAnon content from trends and recommendations, avoid promoting its themes and accounts in its search function, and block links from known QAnon sites from being shared on Twitter.
As part of their reporting, Collins and Zadrozny spoke directly to a Twitter spokesperson, who confirmed that the company had taken down 7,000 accounts for breaking its rules on "targeted harassment," and that they viewed the "QAnon material and behavior" to be a "coordinated harmful activity" that was so harmful they had now designated it as a new category.
Social media is increasingly becoming the way that many Americans get their news, as well as being a way that elected officials communicate with their constituents -- perhaps none more prominent than President Donald Trump. Keeping a spotlight on how these popular platforms monitor misinformation is a vital journalistic function, and Collins and Zadrozny deserve kudos for their work.

6.5.0

MEDIA LOSER:
Greg Gutfeld

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld defended the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic ahead of Tuesday’s White House briefing from the president, claiming that “the only entity that made [Covid-19] worse is the media.”
Gutfeld's comments came in response to The Five co-host Juan Williams pointing out that the approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus is low. A new ABC/Washington Post poll found 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s response, while just 38 percent approve.
For Gutfeld, the media -- and the media alone -- is to blame for those numbers, and they're to blame for making the pandemic worse.
“The one thing we’ve learned about Covid is that the only entity that made it worse is the media,” he said.
He also said that Trump was "more important than the experts," who he claimed were "proven wrong on so many things." Criticism of Trump's handling of the pandemic was dismissed as "baloney."
Never mind the months that Trump spent downplaying the coronavirus, his repeated claims that it would just "go away," the time he suggested it could be cured by ingesting or injecting chemical disinfectants, or his own public reluctance to wear a mask.
Nope, it's all the fault of all of us horrible wretches in the Fourth Estate who keep screwing up Trump's approval numbers using that totally unfair tactic of reporting the words he actually says.
In today's partisan political environment, it's expected that some will take a more critical view than others of the White House. To suggest that the media is solely at fault for the pandemic's ongoing effects in the U.S. isn't just incorrect, it's irresponsible.

6.5.0

The A-Block

"Take That, Buttercups!"

Gutfeld's Fox colleague Lou Dobbs mounted a strong challenge for Loser of the Day with a bizarre defense of Trump's recent about-face on face masks.
During his Fox Business show Tuesday, Dobbs praised the president's tweet calling mask-wearing patriotic, saying that it was “further aggravating the daffodils and the buttercups on the left.”
“Take that, buttercups!” Dobbs added.
It's well documented that Trump spent months openly disdaining the use of face masks, and many of his supporters around the country have taken a cue from him, being reluctant to wear one themselves.
Pointing out that Trump's "patriotic" tweet is a 180-degree spin from his previous position doesn't make anyone a cute little yellow flower. It's just a fact. Watch Dobbs' botany-inspired bleating here.
That's More Like It
Not everyone at Fox News is drinking the Kool-Aid.
America's Newsroom Anchor Martha MacCallum pressed White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on the mask issue, pointedly asking, “there are people at home who will listen to that and say why didn’t the White House have this message for all of us two months ago? Why now? Why wasn’t this pushed and emphasized and encouraged by the president back then when it might have made even more of a difference?”
How About We Just Call It The "Coronavirus"?
Trump has notably been referring to the coronavirus as the "China virus" in recent tweets and public comments, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called it the "Trump virus" as she attacked him Tuesday for his administration's response to the pandemic.
Pelosi made the comments in an eyeroll-inducing CNN appearance with Wolf Blitzer. Watch it here.
Inspiring!
Comedian Sarah Cooper, who has gone viral for her online videos with mocking lip syncs of Trump speeches, had an entertaining discussion with MSNBC's Nicole Wallace regarding her comedic process.
“I have to say that it’s been kind of inspiring. And I think everyone should be a little inspired by Donald Trump.” Cooper reposed, tongue clearly planted in cheek. “You know, if there’s something you think you can’t do, just remember, Donald Trump is the President of the United States and that should just make you realize anything is possible."
"I'm Not Going Any Place"
Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WA) shrugged off criticism from her Floridian colleague Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has demanded that she step down from her House leadership position for being insufficiently loyal to Trump.
Cheney has publicly diverged from the president on several issues, including defending Dr. Anthony Fauci and tweeting a photo of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, wearing a face mask. Still, she noted that she votes with Trump the majority of the time and insisted, "I'm not going any place."

Massive Ratings for Chris Wallace's Trump Interview
Fox News scored a huge Sunday morning viewership with Chris Wallace's hour-long interview with Trump, drawing 5.8 million people to watch across airings on broadcast and cable.

The feisty interview also drew over a million in the prized younger 25-54 demographic.
Get the numbers, and the top shows, from Mediaite+ here!
Kim Speaks Out
Kim Kardashian West spoke out publicly for the first time regarding her husband Kanye West's bipolar disorder, posting a lengthy statement on her Instagram account, asking the media and her followers to withhold judgment and show compassion and understanding.
West has made headlines for his recent attempt to launch an independent presidential bid, and a series of bizarre tweets and public comments.
Say What?
Trump raised eyebrows with his comments sending well wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein who stands accused of helping him groom and rape hundreds of underage girls in a sex trafficking scheme that lasted for years and potentially could implicate several high profile men, including former President Bill Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew, and even Trump himself.
“I just wish her well, frankly," said Trump when asked about Maxwell on Tuesday. "I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach. I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well. Whatever it is.”
Reaction to Trump's comment was predictably negative -- it even drew rebukes from several congressional Republicans. CNN's Dana Bash openly questioned whether Trump was trying to "send a signal" to Maxwell that he was "on her side."
Say What? Part Deux
After a day of negative blowback on Trump's comments about Maxwell, Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera jumped into the fray, praising the president's “brave” well-wishes to Maxwell in a tweet on Wednesday, claiming she “deserved bail” as she faces charges of underage sex trafficking.
Twitter users were overwhelmingly scathing in their reactions, noting that Rivera had now defended Maxwell twice so far in the past two weeks, and questioning why he was so ardent in his defense of an accused sexual abuser of underage girls.
A Darn Good Question
NBC News’ Kristen Welker confronted Trump about his tweet touting mask-wearing as patriotic, asking him, “Yesterday you said wearing a mask was an act of patriotism. If that is the case, why don’t you do it more frequently?”
Watch their exchange and Trump's response here.

6.5.0

Must See Clip

"What Kind of Bulls*** Is This?!"

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré led the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and angrily reacted to the federal government's use of armed federal agents to crack down on protesters in Portland.
In an appearance on MSNBC's The 11th Hour, Honoré erupted at the scenes of unmarked, camoflauged, and heavily armed federal agents patrolling the streets of Portland and violently clashing with protestors, unmistakably registering his disapproval by proclaiming “What kind of bullshit is this?!”
Honoré sharply criticized the agents' use of tactical military uniforms as useless in an urban environment, and used "as a function of intimidation" and slammed them as an "uncontrolled mob on the streets."
Watch his remarks here.