Tucker, Duckworth, and Avlon. Bad news on pandemic front. An awkward Pence moment. A campaign of bullying.

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THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020

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Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA LOSER:
Tucker Carlson

Senator Tammy Duckworth slammed President Donald Trump for spending his 4th of July speech at Mount Rushmore "honoring dead Confederates," instead of more important priorities, when she appeared on CNN Sunday.
Fox's Tucker Carlson on the other hand said it was "probably the single best speech Donald Trump has ever given." Carlson also said that although it has "long been considered out-of-bounds to question a person’s patriotism," the "conclusion can’t be avoided" that Duckworth and other Democrats "hate America."
Sen. Duckworth, a Purple Heart recipient who lost both legs serving in Iraq, responded on Monday night, asking if Tucker would like to "walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America?"
Carlson, who you'll recall was claiming being a Democrat means hating America, responded to Duckworth's reply emphasizing her service and sacrifice to the country she supposedly hates by calling it "identity politics." He then called the war veteran a "coward' and a "fraud."
Carlson called her a coward as bait. When you say "she's a veteran not a coward" he will say "oh what veterans are above criticism?" It's a ploy meant to seduce the less intelligent among his audience into thinking he's taking a big brave stand.
But he isn't. He's throwing a giant temper tantrum because she got him.
Carlson called Duckworth a "deeply silly and unimpressive person." Then he demanded she debate him.
Winner CNN's John Avlon wasn't fooled and neither are we. Tucker is, without a doubt, the loser.

6.5.0

MEDIA WINNER:
John Avlon

As we just mentioned in the loser column, CNN senior political analyst John Avlon absolutely tore into Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his repeated attacks on Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

In a scathing commentary on Wednesday morning’s New Day, Avlon blasted the Fox News host for questioning the senator’s patriotism.

“You know what’s unpatriotic?” Avlon said. “Calling your opponents unpatriotic.”

Avlon covered Duckworth's qualifications for the task of loving America, and he compared them to Carlson's.

“In 2004, she went to Iraq as one of the first American female combat pilots,” Avlon said. “Her black hawk helicopter was hit by an RPG. She lost both her legs, along with half of the blood in her body. She earned the purple heart among many other medals and spent a year recuperating. But she never let her disability hold her back."
Then Avlon drove the knife home expertly.
“She became director of the Illinois V.A. the same year that Tucker Carlson was on Dancing With the Stars, after a career as a conservative writer and co-host of Crossfire."
Devastating.
“This isn’t just about whether Tucker Carlson or Donald Trump served and sacrificed for their country the way that Tammy Duckworth did,” Avlon said. “They didn’t."
OUCH. There's more, and the clip is worth seeing in full. Not that he was the only person who had words for Tucker Carlson after the attacks. But the DWTS riff definitely pulls Avlon the win.

6.5.0

The A-Block

"You can't really say that"

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade rejected a claim from White House spokesman Hogan Gidley’s that life is “undoubtedly” better for Americans now than before President Donald Trump.
Gidley, doing his duty as a surrogate, pushed forward the clichéd campaign talking point that Americans are better off now than they were before his boss was president.

“Wait. With the pandemic, you know the growth is not there. You know that unemployment is still 11 percent. So you can’t really say you are better off than you were three years ago. Because, at the very least, the pandemic. So you can’t really say that, right?" said Kilmeade.
Gidley, somehow, disagreed.
International Students
Harvard University and MIT have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an attempt to stop their new rule requiring international students to either transfer to another institution or leave the country if their school offers its courses entirely online in the fall.
Pandemic Politics

Trump administration infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci decried the polarization and politicization around the coronavirus, saying “We hope that changes, but there’s no place for that” when making policy decisions.

Fauci took questions from the press during an event with Democratic Alabama Senator Doug Jones when he was asked about it. It's a revealing answer, and fitting considering his next statement was to call the focus in some quarters to "take comfort" in lowering death rates a "false narrative."
ICU Capacity
As cases spike around the country, 42 Florida hospitals have zero remaining icu capacity, and another 50 have 10% or less. And that's just the beginning.
Wallace Unloads
NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace called out those who have criticized his advocacy for the Black Lives Matter movement in a new interview with Fox Nation, saying that some fans consider it their job is to “always deliver hate” and they will “do everything to knock you off your pedestal.”

“Their job is to always deliver hate,” Wallace said in an interview with Fox Nation’s Lawrence Jones, which is set to air Friday.
Fox's Monster Weekend
Fox News enjoyed massive Friday and Saturday night ratings thanks to consecutive Independence Day speeches by President Trump at Mt. Rushmore and in Washington, D.C.
During the former, Fox achieved truly monster numbers, attracting roughly five-and-a-half million overall viewers and more than one million in the coveted 25 – 54 age demographic.

Total day and primetime, too, went wild.
Get the numbers, and the reasons, from Mediaite+!
Tech CEO Tirade

Michael Lofthouse — CEO of tech firm Solid8 — was caught on video delivering a racist tirade in which he invoked the name of President Trump as he cursed out Asian diners and hurled a slew of racial slurs.
The video went viral, prompting our bigoted, Common Projects-clad tech bro to apologize. Forgive us for not buying it.
"A Campaign of Bullying, Intimidation, and Retaliation"
A new report says Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman will retire from the army after months of “retaliation” against him by President Donald Trump and his allies.
A statement, sent by his lawyers, describes a vindictiveness as terrible as it was totally expected and in-character for the administration.

6.5.0

Must See Clip

Awkwaaard

Vice President Mike Pence defended President Trump over his recent comments attacking the CDC over their guidelines Tuesday... WHILE standing right next to the head of the CDC, Robert Redfield.

Awkward, uncomfortable, and a bit weird.
A familiar milieu for Pence, come to think of it.