Category: fox-news/media

Trump rips NBC reporter for asking about Qatari jet gift amid tense meeting on genocide: ‘You’re a disgrace’

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Donald Trump ripped an NBC reporter for questions about the Department of Defense accepting a jumbo jet from Qatar to serve as Air Force One. 

"The Pentagon announced that it would be accepting a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One," an NBC reporter asked Trump in a news conference during the South African president's visit Wednesday to the White House. 

"What are you talking about? You know, you ought to get out of here," Trump responded. 

The question regarding the Qatari jet was asked immediately after Trump directed his staff to lower the lights and show video footage of the treatment of White farmers in South Africa during his meeting with the African nation's president. 

ESPIONAGE, CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS ABOUND FROM TRUMP DETRACTORS, ALLIES OVER QATARI JET OFFER

The Trump administration began welcoming white Afrikaners from South Africa to the U.S. in the past week as they face "unjust racial discrimination" in their home country, according to the administration. 

"What does this have to do with the Qatari jet?" Trump shot back at the reporter, believed to be NBC News' Peter Alexander, before slamming NBC News for trying to divert the meeting's topic from genocide in South Africa. 

"They're giving the United States Air Force a jet. OK? And it's a great thing. We're talking about a lot of other things. It's NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw," Trump said. "You are a real … you know, you're a terrible reporter. No. 1, you don't have what it takes to be a reporter. You're not smart enough. But for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing.

"They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network. And you are a disgrace. No more questions from you," Trump continued. 

"His name is Peter something. He's a terrible reporter," Trump added as he began calling on other reporters for questions. 

FLASHBACK: DEM CRITICAL OF TRUMP'S QATARI JET GIFT RODE CAMEL IN EXPENSES-PAID 2021 TRIP TO GULF EMIRATE

Fox News Digital reached out to NBC News for comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News confirmed earlier Wednesday that the Department of Defense had formally accepted a 747 jetliner from Qatar.

Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Trump after he announced the Department of Defense planned to accept a jumbo jet from the government of Qatar earlier in May, arguing the gift is riddled with both espionage concerns and constitutional questions. 

HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS FOR 'IMMEDIATE' ETHICS PROBE OF QATARI PLANE GIFT TO TRUMP

At the heart of Democrats' concern over the matter is the emoluments clause in the Constitution, which states, "No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

It's questionable if the emoluments clause even applies to the president, however, because the Constitution typically stipulates when a clause specifically affects a president and cites the title, such as in the impeachment clause, Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, previously told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP CLARIFIES OWNERSHIP OF AIRCRAFT IN DEFENSE OF QATAR'S GIFT

"The clause was specifically inserted because of concerns by the founders at the Constitutional Convention over corruption of our foreign diplomats, especially by the French government," von Spakovsky explained. 

"It is questionable whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president since he is not named, and the Constitution usually names the president when a provision applies to him. That is why the impeachment clause specifically provides that it applies to the ‘president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States.’ If ‘officers’ of the U.S. included the president, there would be no need for him to be separately listed." 

Von Spakovsky said if the plane is a government-to-government gift — meaning if Qatar gave the plane to the Department of Defense and not as a personal gift to the president — the Trump administration is likely in the legal clear to accept the gift. 

"If this gift is being considered as a gift to the government of the U.S., there is no legal issue to consider, since there is no constitutional or legal problem with such a gift. If this is a personal gift to the president, the Justice Department would be weighing the constitutional issue I have raised — whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president," he said. 

TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET

Trump and his administration have previously and repeatedly said the jet would be given to the Department of Defense and used as a temporary Air Force One because Boeing has not yet delivered a new fleet of Air Force One aircraft. 

"We're very disappointed that it's taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One," Trump said during a press conference on drug prices Monday morning. "You know, we have an Air Force One that's 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it's not even the same ballgame.

"When I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built," he added. "I took it over from the Obama administration, they had originally agreed. I got the price down much lower. And then, when the election didn't exactly work out the way that it should have, a lot of work was not done on the plane because a lot of people didn't know they made change orders. That was so stupid, so ridiculous. And it ended up being a total mess, a real mess." 

Biden’s sad prostate cancer diagnosis: Unanswered questions and MAGA attacks

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Put aside politics for a moment, which I know is basically impossible in this supercharged environment.

There is no way not to feel sympathy for Joe Biden as a human being after his prostate cancer diagnosis was made public on Sunday. He has a serious, life-threatening disease.

I have plenty of medical questions about why Biden and his doctors waited so long to treat this particularly "aggressive" form of cancer until it spread to his bones. This is inexplicable to me. Now the Stage 4 cancer can’t be cured, though it could possibly be contained.

Was this part of the coverup of Biden’s dramatic decline in mental acuity, as documented in the new book "Original Sin"? How would voters have reacted if they had known that not only was Biden too old and feeble to run for a second term, but also had cancer?

BIDEN BATTLING 'MOST AGGRESSIVE TYPE' OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH BONE METASTASIS, MEDICAL EXPERT SAYS

But on a personal level, Biden’s life has been marked by tragedy, from the car accident that killed his first wife and daughter to the brain cancer that claimed his son Beau – which is why he announced a "Cancer Moonshot" as president.

Look, I’ve known Joe Biden for 40 years, and whatever you think of his politics, he’s a likable guy. I covered him as Senate Judiciary chairman. As vice president, he once sent my then-8-year-old daughter a handwritten note after she wrote a poem about them sharing the same birthday. He used to love talking to reporters. He would throw parties for the press and run around with a super soaker, spraying little kids. That was then.

But by 2023, he had no business running for president again, not when aides were debating whether he’d need a wheelchair in a second term, according to the Jake Tapper-Alex Thompson book. Many Democrats are angry that he’s reemerged in a rehab tour, wishing the 82-year-old man would just get off the stage.

The former president put out a photo with his wife yesterday, saying: "Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places."

Dr. Zeke Emanuel said on "Morning Joe" yesterday that the cancer has "been around for a very long time in President Biden – years… It is a little surprising to many of us oncologists that he wasn’t diagnosed earlier… He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021."

But none of this matters to the far-right types, many of them based in Florida. 

POLITICAL WORLD REACTS TO FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN'S 'AGGRESSIVE' CANCER DIAGNOSIS: 'INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT'

Conservative influencer Roger O’Handley, writing under the name DC Draino ("America First"), wrote a screed that was retweeted or liked 10,000 times: "Some people seem to forget that he is a career criminal who almost destroyed America."

According to Mediaite, another far-right commentator, Brenden Dilley (Warlord Dilley, "media personality"), says: "In order to believe the Biden cancer diagnosis, you have to first believe that Biden and his family would willfully tell you the truth about anything. In order for that to happen, you have to be f---ing retarded." 

His solution: "Stage 5 prostate cancer." In other words, death.

Presidential adviser Laura Loomer called this "a PR strategy to shame the Democrats who are coming out with a book about the cover up of Biden’s health crisis."

Breanna Morello, a self-described "independent journalist": "They want all the Monday morning shows talking about it because Jake Tapper has a book to sell. It’s a PR move."

What these and other posts have in common is the lack of even a milligram of compassion for Joe Biden as a human being. Biden is evil, everything he does is evil, and if he dies, good riddance.

THE GREAT BIDEN COVERUP: AIDES DEBATED WHETHER TO PUT THE PRESIDENT IN A WHEELCHAIR

I find this inexplicably sad – win-at-all-costs politics is so all-consuming that human life is meaningless. 

Even President Trump dropped his usual attacks on his onetime opponent: "Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family and we wish Joe a fast and speedy recovery."

See, that wasn’t so hard.

Elon Musk, who’s faded from the news, shared a post from Clint Russell, who tweets as Liberty Lockdown ("a podcast for those who demand freedom"):: 

"So the plan was to run Biden, lie about his cancer and dementia, get him back in the WH, and then have him immediately step aside so Kamala's reign of terror could begin.

"All while trying to jail or kill DJT. Just making sure we're all on the same page, here. These people are evil." 

MEDICAL EXPERT 'ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED' BY TIMING OF BIDEN'S PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Musk responded with a "bullseye" emoji in a dart board. 

JD Vance, for his part, sought a middle ground:

"Look, I mean, first of all, of course, we wish the best for the former president’s health. But hopefully he makes the right recovery. Look, I will say, whether the right time to have this conversation is now or at some point in the future. We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job."

Taylor Lorenz, who worked for the New York Times and Washington Post before going independent, was joyful about Biden’s news: "Hopefully he rots in hell and rests in piss."

I have defended her at times, but this is beyond appalling. Lorenz has disgraced herself.

Then again, she cheered when UnitedHealtcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered on the street, and refused to criticize the alleged shooter. What about his family? Too bad. Just zero regard for human life.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

Now is it likely that some on the left will celebrate once Trump passes, which I don’t see happening until after he’s long out of office? Sure. This disease goes both ways. But that doesn’t make it right. 

It was Bill Clinton, during his impeachment over Monica Lewinsky, who accused his opponents of "the politics of personal destruction." And that’s been used against the presidents who followed him. It’s a sickness that says human beings don’t count, only winning at all costs. 

Footnote: The Biden announcement prompted some equally sad news from Scott Adams, the brilliant "Dilbert" creator and conservative, pro-Trump voice who hosts a morning coffee for subscribers: 

"Well, I’ve decided today’s the day I’m going to take the opportunity — since a lot of you are here — to make an announcement of my own. Some of you have already guessed, so it won’t surprise you at all, but I have the same cancer Joe Biden has. So I also have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones. I’ve had it longer than he’s had — well longer than he’s admitted having it.

"My life expectancy is… maybe the summer. I expect to be checking out from this domain sometime this summer."

What a tragedy.

How Donald Trump dominates the news, both positively and negatively

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

The Associated Press, not exactly a White House favorite, has shot itself in the foot.

The following retraction is nothing short of humiliating:

"The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’ Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The AP will publish a corrected version of the story."

TRUMP ACCUSES BIG MEDIA OF ‘ILLEGAL’ REPORTING, VIRTUALLY ABOLISHES VOICE OF AMERICA

Whoa! How do you run that piece in the first place without having it nailed down?

The wire service, you may recall, is suing the Trump administration for ousting its reporters from the White House pool over its refusal to refer to "Gulf of America." So, this unforced error puts the White House in I-told-you-so mode.

On Monday, when Trump was at the Kennedy Center, an NBC reporter tried to ask a question, Trump asked, "Who are you with?"

After the journalist identified himself, the president said: "I don’t want to talk to NBC anymore. I think you’re so discredited." 

The Trump team later posted the exchange with "mic drop" emojis.

The point is that Trump dominates the news no matter what he does. And, as I’ve been saying for the 35 years I’ve known him, even a torrent of negative publicity helps him because his media detractors are playing on his turf.

While Trump was visiting the Kennedy Center, he "floated" the idea of personally hosting the annual awards show. And who’s going to stop him, since he’s purged the Democratic board members?

ELON MUSK, LIGHTNING ROD, WHO CALLS AN OPPONENT 'TRAITOR,' BECOMES A HIGH-PROFILE TARGET

The ratings, he said, would skyrocket. And he’s right about that.

As the New York Times notes, a younger Trump dreamed of becoming a Broadway producer. He now says the Kennedy Center will concentrate on producing "Broadway hits."

And by the way, Trump released 80,000 pages of JFK assassination files yesterday and has asked for no redactions.

The president can make news on the slightest whim, just by posting on Truth Social.

He just went after Judge James Boasberg, who ordered the deportations of mostly Venezuelan gang members to be stopped while planes were still in the air:   

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY."

The posting drew a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts:

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."

DONALD TRUMP, FACING TERRIBLE COVERAGE, SOFTENS TONE AND TACTICS FOR ELON MUSK’S DOGE CRUSADE

The president is also renewing his habit of going after journalists personally. Ashley Parker had a highly successful career at the New York Times and Washington Post–she’s also an MSNBC analyst–who recently joined the Atlantic.

She asked Trump for an interview. 

After dismissing the liberal Atlantic as a "Third Rate Magazine," Trump posted:

"Ashley Parker is not capable of doing a fair and unbiased interview. She is a Radical Left Lunatic, and has been as terrible as is possible for as long as I have known her. To this date, she doesn’t even know that I won the Presidency THREE times. If you have some other reporter, let us know, but Ashley is not capable or competent enough to understand the intricacies of High Level politics."

Parker is restrained, not radical, and in bringing up the 2020 election, Trump is asking her to accept something that has never been proven in court or by his own attorney general.

A magazine spokesperson said, "Atlantic reporters are diligent and fair and continue to pursue stories of importance to the public."

And then there is, you know, the actual job of the presidency. Trump reported yesterday on his 90-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin.

They "stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia" – no surprise there.

"The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace…. 

"They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel."

And: "The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside," including "enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability."

It seems to me that Trump got next to nothing. A 30-day pause in attacks on energy plants and infrastructure, that’s about it. Everything else is subject to negotiations, which gives the Kremlin more time to keep attacking Ukraine and lock in further territorial gains. A real cease-fire seems a long way off.

But whether Trump is on the attack or being attacked, he is driving the news every day, even inserting himself into culture and sports topics. Keep that in mind when the ratings-driven president hosts the Kennedy Center honors.

The ‘garbage’ campaign: Why mistakes and distractions could tilt the outcome

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If there’s one image that captures the craziness of this campaign, it’s got to be Donald Trump driving around in a garbage truck.

He put on the orange vest and talked to reporters after a Joe Biden blunder put Kamala Harris on the defensive.

And this was after a Trump rally filled with profane insults, including a comic who mocked Puerto Rico as an island of floating garbage.

And that, in turn, followed the spectacle of the former president cooking up some fries at McDonald’s, where he actually likes to eat.

THE FATAL FLAW IN KAMALA HARRIS’ SPEECH, MARRED BY BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT

But all this is unfolding against the backdrop of the ugliest and perhaps most divisive race in American history, with each side accusing the other of being a danger to democracy. 

And the tightness of the polls–assuming they’re not off again–has created an almost apocalyptic sense of drama, with many voters worried about post-election violence if Trump loses.

Trump, after all, has survived two impeachments, the Jan. 6 riot, four criminal indictments, one conviction and two assassination attempts. He has spent the last four years insisting, despite numerous failed lawsuits, that the last election was stolen from him.

Can there be more than 500 voters in the six or seven swing states who don’t have a rock-solid opinion of him, positive or negative?

As for Harris, she was a relatively unpopular vice president thrust into a 100-day sprint when Democrats pressured Biden into stepping aside. She soared through the convention but hid from the media – that’s now changed – yet kept sticking to talking points and didn’t make much news. 

What’s more, Harris would be the first female president–and, of course, woman of color–to win the presidency in a country where some men, especially Black men, are reluctant to take that step. 

BACKLASH BUILDS AGAINST BEZOS AS NON-ENDORSEMENT SPARKS HUGE SURGE IN CANCELLATIONS

I have never witnessed such a chasm in coverage as in 2024, not even when Barack Obama first ran for the White House. The Kamala coverage ranges from glowing to gushing, with minimal scrutiny even when she makes false claims. The Donald coverage is overwhelmingly negative, right down to the Hitler comparisons–which the press has pushed for years, even before John Kelly went on the record with his accusations.

It’s not hard to sense the frustration in the press that the improving economy isn’t helping Harris, especially with the news that inflation has dropped to 2.1 percent. 

The New York Times says voters feel "relatively glum" about the economy, with the "lingering pessimism…The job market has been chugging along, although more slowly, overall growth has been healthy and even inflation is more or less back to normal." 

A Wall Street Journal columnist said yesterday the next president will inherit a "remarkable economy," but that 62 percent of those in its poll rated it "not so good" or "poor."

There is generally a lag in public perception, as when George H.W. Bush found when he talked up economic improvements in 1992 but lost to Bill Clinton.

In this supercharged environment, every mistake counts.

JAKE PAUL ENDORSES TRUMP IN FIERY VIDEO TORCHING BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION: ‘CAN’T SIT BACK AND WATCH THIS’

Trump, speaking about criminals who cross the border illegally, said "I told women I will be their protector. They [his advisers] said, ‘Sir, please don’t say that.’ Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not." 

That has an unfortunate ring to it, and Harris said yesterday it is "very offensive to women," including on controlling "their own bodies."

All of which brings us back to the last few days. When every hour counts, every distraction is costly. If you’re explaining, you’re losing. If you’re playing defense, you can’t put points on the board.

Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was marred by racist and misogynist talk, the coverage of which totally overshadowed his speech. What drew the most attention was comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and his ridicule of Puerto Rico. Podcaster Joe Rogan said he heard the joke the day before and told the comic there would be a big backlash. But the Trump camp hadn’t vetted the speakers.

When Harris naturally denounced the "garbage" language, Trump hopped on the sanitation truck emblazoned with his name.

Biden has been hurting his VP’s candidacy with a series of screwups. First he said of Trump, "Lock him up." Then the president blurted out that "the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." He stumbled before adding that this was about the "demonization of Latinos."

Castigating the other side’s voters is about the worst thing you can do, as Hillary Clinton learned eight years ago. That choked off the favorable coverage of her speech on the Ellipse–itself designed to mirror Trump’s Jan. 6 speech–and was the focus of reporters’ questions the next morning.

Harris distanced herself, saying Biden had clarified his remarks and she would never criticize voters who don’t support her. An NBC reporter asked her about it again yesterday.

Trump’s brief stint at McDonald’s was meant to highlight his contention that Harris never worked at one during college, as she has insisted. It was a brilliant tactic and one her side should have conjured up first. 

National Review writer Noah Rothman says the candidates are just "trolling" each other, presenting voters with "a choice between two gratingly flip campaigns that are consumed with frivolities."

I would differ on the main point. The whole point of a campaign is for voters to size up how the candidates perform under pressure, since no one knows what crises may arise. How they react to attacks, stunts and interviews gives us a sense of their rapid-response abilities that go beyond policy positions–especially in such a razor-thin election.  

Playing the Hitler card: Will Trump backers dismiss John Kelly’s attack?

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Earlier this year, there was some media chatter about when the Biden campaign would go "full Hitler."

What that meant was, if they started talking about Donald Trump and the Nazi leader so early, what ammunition would they have left for October?

VIDEO SHOWS DEM-ALIGNED INDIVIDUAL FIDGETING WITH MONTANA BALLOT BOX

Well, it’s late October, and the Hitler assault has begun.

It’s not like no one has heard this before. Trump’s detractors across the media landscape have periodically compared him to Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. Magazines have depicted him with a little mustache. He’s been dismissed as an aspiring dictator who would blow up American democracy, with few of the guardrails that constrained him in his first term.

But now we have John Kelly, his second chief of staff, denouncing his ex-boss in a series of three on-the-record interviews with the New York Times, which were recorded and posted on the paper’s site.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who lost a son in Afghanistan, said he was going public because he was disturbed by Trump’s attacks on "the enemy within," which, as the former president told me in our weekend interview, included Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi. And Kelly was equally concerned that he might use the military against Americans.

Kelly says in the Times audio that Trump meets his definition of a fascist. And in the context of wanting his generals (such as Kelly and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis) to be personally loyal to him, "He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too.’" 

KAMALA HARRIS’ CLOSING MESSAGE IS UNCLEAR, DONALD TRUMP DOMINATES MEDIA BY GOING OFF SCRIPT

Kelly says he told the president "you should never say that" and explained some of the history of Nazi Germany. (Hitler’s generals tried to kill him more than once.)

The general also said that Trump referred to soldiers as "losers" and "suckers" and could not understand their sacrifice. If this and other passages sound familiar, it’s because it’s been previously reported in the Atlantic and elsewhere, rather obviously with Kelly as a background source.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung fired back, saying the former official was offering "debunked stories," had "beclowned" himself and was suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

My question is this: Are John Kelly’s comments going to change the mind of any Trump voters?

They may dismiss the comments as old news. Or say Trump didn’t really mean it, he was just letting off steam. Or question Kelly’s motivation in going public in the final stretch of the campaign.

CBS NEWS GAVE A 'PATHETIC RESPONSE' TO DECEITFUL EDITING ACCUSATIONS: HOWARD KURTZ

It’s not that I’m defending the comments as reported by Kelly, who’s free to say what he wants. I have absolutely nothing good to say about Hitler or the Nazis. I don’t agree with everything Trump says, just as I don’t agree with everything Kamala Harris says.

But how many Trump voters, having lived through nine years of media attacks on the 45th president, having watched the violence of Jan. 6, are going to abandon him now? The answer, in my view, is very few. 

Still, it gave the vice president an opening, since yesterday’s bombshell was detonated by a man who was the highest-ranking staffer in the Trump White House. She read a statement to reporters in Washington without taking questions:

"It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans. All of this is further evidence for the American people of who Donald Trump really is," Harris said.

I once had a candid chat with Kelly at a White House media party, and when I looked up 10 other reporters had surrounded us, straining to hear what the man who kept a low profile with the press had to say. At the time, the former Homeland Security secretary was being touted as the guy who’d bring military discipline to a chaotic White House after Reince Priebus was let go.

Now the "full Hitler" moment has arrived. Whether it has much impact on a candidate who has survived two impeachments, the fallout after Jan. 6 and two assassination attempts is, at the very least, in doubt.

Piling on: A tsunami of anti-Trump pieces offer a stark contrast with Kamala’s upbeat coverage

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

In just the last few days, there’s been a tremendous media pile-on against Donald Trump.

Whether you think that’s warranted or not – much of it is based on his own words – we are back to a Trump-centric universe. Kamala Harris is making little or no news, despite such spectacles as the Oprah show, and Trump, as usual, is back to driving each news cycle.

I have been telling people since 2015 that negative stories are good for Trump because the ensuing debate then unfolds on his terms. In fact, he deliberately uses provocative or inflammatory language as catnip for the press, knowing that even if he’s denounced that will drive coverage for at least a couple of days.

The vice president generally gets such favorable press that many people assume she’s got this race wrapped up. When an NBC poll shows her leading Trump by 5 points, she’s said to have the momentum, although national surveys are basically meaningless.

SCANDALS, FAILED ASSASSINATIONS AND POLITICAL RHETORIC: BOTH SIDES GO HIGH AND LOW

And a New York Times poll shows Trump leading in the key Sunbelt states that the Harris camp hoped to pick off. He has a 5-point lead in Arizona, a 4-point lead in Georgia and a 2-point lead in North Carolina.

That’s within striking distance and in some cases a statistical tie. But the Times piece says that many voters believe Trump "improved their lives when he was president – and worry that a Kamala Harris White House would not."

That’s the thing. Trump’s already had four years in the Oval Office. And while there was no shortage of chaos – two impeachments, January 6th – plenty of folks remember a strong economy. And they want more details about whether Harris would take the country in a more liberal direction, even as she puts her rhetorical focus on the middle class and small business (as well as abortion rights).

Plus, it’s hard to run as a change candidate when you’re part of the incumbent administration and large numbers see the country as being on the wrong track.

Virtually everyone in America has a set-in-stone view of the former president. His MAGA loyalists have been with him since he said in his first campaign that "I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue" and not lose support. 

That takes on a more ominous tone now that Trump has barely escaped assassinaton twice – and, after the Florida golf course attempt, blamed the attacks on "danger to democracy" language by Harris and the Democrats. Many in the media have made Hitler comparisons, and the truth is both sides have used incendiary language.

Sometimes Trump just resorts to trolling – "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" – to get chattering classes chattering, even though he much wanted her endorsement.

Let’s look at the coverage in recent days:

TRUMP INDICATES HE WON'T MAKE ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN 2028 IF UNSUCCESSFUL THIS TIME

The Washington Post describes "Donald Trump’s imaginary world," where "Americans can’t venture out to buy a loaf of bread without getting shot, mugged or raped. Immigrants in a small Ohio town eat their neighbors’ cats and dogs. World War III and economic collapse are just around the corner. And kids head off to school only to return at day’s end having undergone gender reassignment surgery.

"The former president’s imaginary world is a dark, dystopian place, described by Trump in his rallies, interviews, social media posts and debate appearances to paint an alarming picture of America under the Biden-Harris administration.

It is a distorted, warped and, at times, absurdist portrait of a nation where the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to deadly effect were merely peaceful protesters, and where unlucky boaters are faced with the unappealing choice between electrocution or a shark attack. His extreme caricatures also serve as another way for Trump to traffic in lies and misinformation, using an alternate reality of his own making to create an often terrifying — and, he seems to hope — politically devastating landscape for his political opponents."

Trump also accused Tim Walz speaking positively about "execution" after a baby is born–though Washington Post’s Fact-Checker says the governor never said that, and that fewer than 1 percent of abortions are performed after 21 weeks of pregnancy.

In the New York Times, conservative writer David French uses self-described "Black Nazi" and pro-slavery GOP candidate Mark Robinson, who’s running for North Carolina governor, to slam Trump.

French says he’s endorsed Kamala "because I believe that a Harris victory gives Republicans ‘a chance to build something decent’ from the ruins of a Trump defeat.

"After enduring weeks of lies about the Haitian immigrants who live in Springfield, Ohio, and an entire news cycle devoted to covering Trump’s connection with Laura Loomer, one of the most overtly racist figures in MAGA America (she once spoke at a conference of white nationalists and declared, ‘I consider myself to be a white advocate, and I openly campaigned for the United States Congress as a white advocate’) — I’m hardening my view. Trump loses now or the Republicans are lost for a generation. Maybe more…

"This has changed the composition of the party. While many decent people remain — and represent the hope for future reform — Trump’s Republican Party has become a magnet for eccentrics and conspiracy theorists of all stripes." 

64 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS YET TO DO FORMAL PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Back at the Washington Post, the Trump campaign is described as imploding: 

"In a single 24-hour span at the end of last month, for example, he amplified a crude joke about Harris performing a sex act; falsely accused her of staging a coup against President Joe Biden; promoted tributes to the QAnon conspiracy theory; hawked digital trading cards; and became embroiled in a public feud with staff and officials at Arlington National Cemetery.

"The Swift attack was especially concerning to Trump’s advisers, who are worried about attracting female voters."

And there are his constant tributes to "the late, great Hannibal Lecter," the movie serial killer.

"Some campaign advisers are eager to move on from Trump’s and Vance’s unverifiable claims about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs — a potentially detrimental news cycle that has stretched into its second week — but also acknowledge that Trump rarely retreats, even when it might be politically advantageous to do so."

The piece describes Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager, as playing a divisive role, to which he responded: "Same old nonsense that has already been written by the Washington Compost. Your obsession with my volunteer efforts just demonstrates your continued hatred of Donald J. Trump and prove you will stop at nothing to try and prevent him from becoming the 47th President of the United States."

Post op-ed columnist Ruth Marcus says Trump is "crossing a hazardous new line" by saying it will be the fault of Jewish people, insufficiently grateful for his pro-Israel policies, if he loses the election:

"They threaten, if he does lose, and especially if he continues this line of argument, to unleash the fury of disappointed Trump supporters on Jews. It does not take much to imagine the backlash, and the violence, that could ensue. We Jews know something about being scapegoated…

Trump has long had an unnerving habit of bringing up the fact of people’s Judaism — sometimes mistakenly — on occasions when it seems irrelevant at best. ‘Who would have thought my top guys are Jews?’ Trump observed to aides Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller and Jason Miller aboard Air Force One, according to the New York Times’s Maggie Haberman. (In fact, Jason Miller, as he told Trump, is not Jewish.)" 

By contrast, a Times piece on Harris’ record as a prosecutor soberly finds "a coherent record that is for the most part consistent. Ms. Harris seemed particularly focused on protecting the most vulnerable victims by cracking down on violent offenders while seeking alternatives to incarceration for less serious criminals." 

It’s not that each individual story isn’t based on reported facts. But the tsunami of anti-Trump pieces is a reminder of how relentlessly negative his coverage is – his supporters just don’t trust the media – when compared to the general praise for the Democratic nominee.

Footnote: As I was typing this column, I got a statement from Trump saying "the Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and FBI are mishandling the second assassination attempt on my life since July." He says Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida should handle the investigations and prosecutions instead.

Olbermann leads left-wing meltdown against CNN, calling to ‘burn it down’ after Biden’s performance

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Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann led liberal outrage toward CNN, calling for the network to be "burn[ed] down," after its moderators otherwise received praise over its forum between President Biden and former President Trump.

While bipartisan voices lauded moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, Olbermann and other Biden loyalists appeared to take their outrage at the president’s performance out on the moderators and network.

"No audience, no moderators, no journalism," Olbermann fumed as he opened the latest episode of his "Countdown" podcast.

Olbermann called what he characterized as the refusal to "fact-check" former President Trump one of the most "immoral decisions" in the history of American journalism.

STATE DEMOCRATIC OFFICIALS RALLY BEHIND BIDEN AS A DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR SUGGESTS REPUBLICANS PULL TRUMP

"Literally, I am suggesting that at some point tonight CNN should -- it will not -- go off the air in shame, fire everybody, seal off the buildings, make sure everybody's out, and burn the Godd--- place to the ground," the onetime ESPN anchor added.

Olbermann lashed out at CNN Worldwide CEO Sir Mark Thompson and called for Bash and Tapper to be "fired for journalistic malpractice" for how the debate went on.

In an interview Friday, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro – a Biden campaign surrogate – also criticized the network directly to anchor John Berman’s face.

"Frankly, I think CNN could have a done a better job in calling [Trump's] lies out," Shapiro said while admitting Biden had a rough night.

"I’ll be the first to admit that…," Shapiro said, while adding that Biden’s "bad night" is less egregious than Trump being a "bad president."

Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., one of Trump’s staunchest critics who served as Democratic counsel during his impeachment, claimed CNN did not properly push back when the Republican "blatantly mischaracteriz[ed] the disaster that was his presidency."

BIDEN SENIOR ADVISER CLASHES WITH CNN ANCHOR OVER BIDEN'S DEBATE PERFORMANCE

"He intimidated your network," Goldman told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

Former Playboy White House correspondent Brian Karem, a columnist at Salon who was known for his outbursts in the briefing room during Trump’s tenure, also took aim at Bash and Tapper.

"The biggest sin was the fact that the moderators failed to moderate the debate. A complete abdication of journalistic responsibility," Karem said, according to the Daily Mail.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff – a former top adviser-turned-critic of former first lady Melania Trump who wrote a "tell-all" about her former boss – criticized CNN's lighting during the debate.

Wolkoff claimed on X that the network's choice of framing and lighting design conveyed "intended perceptions of fragility vs. dominance in visual composition."

"Biden was filmed in profile, looking pale as a ghost. Trump was filmed straight on, not looking his usual shade of tangerine, but more like marmalade," she said. 

"Biden is a man of honor, integrity, resilience, and resolve."

Meanwhile, liberal actor John Cusack claimed CNN was letting a "deranged liar lie with no consequences," adding on X that "this is the end, my beautiful friends."

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In a statement, CNN pointed to the aforementioned bipartisan praise, citing quotes from Republicans, Democrats and Fox News talent Sean Hannity and Charlie Gasparino, defending its debate production.

"The role of the moderators is to present the candidates with questions that are important to American voters and to facilitate a debate, enabling candidates to make their case and challenge their opponent," a CNN spokesperson said.

"It is up to the candidates to challenge one another in a debate. CNN offered robust fact-checking coverage in post-debate analysis on TV and across our digital platforms during and following the debate’s conclusion."

Trump’s lead just won’t budge: Why the debates may be Biden’s last shot

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The presidential campaign is as frozen as the Arctic Circle.

Virtually nothing seems to melt the ice caps that have encased the race. 

The former president convicted of 34 felonies? Feels like it happened months ago, without exactly dooming the Trump candidacy.

TRUMP FOUND GUILTY BUT, FACING BIDEN, COULD STILL WIN BACK THE WHITE HOUSE

The current president’s son, also convicted of felonies? Now that’s deemed a mere distraction by those who used an impeachment inquiry to try to sink the Biden campaign.

Each attack, each smear, each controversy dominates the news and then quickly yields to the next real or perceived outrage, leaving little lasting impression on the shape of the race.

All this is bad news for Joe Biden, who has an anemic 38 percent approval rating and is on track to lose, despite the apparent closeness of the contest.

While Trump’s lead in such core battleground states as Michigan and Pennsylvania is often just 2 to 3 points, it’s been remarkably consistent (with the president having a slight edge in Wisconsin). If Scranton Joe can’t win Pennsylvania despite endless trips there, the election is over.

That’s why Biden abruptly challenged Trump to two debates, with the first one, on CNN, in less than 10 days. It’s really his last chance to bring some heat and shake up the race.

Now I could make the argument that the Trump team has lowered expectations for Biden to the point that if he avoids major gaffes and doesn’t fall off the stage, he wins. The CNN rules – two-minute answers, no notes, muting the opponent’s mike – will also favor the president.

VEEPSTAKES VERVE: CONTENDERS CREATE MEDIA BOOMLETS WITH LEAKS AND MANIPULATION

But debates can be overrated. Mitt Romney clobbered Barack Obama in their first debate and it didn’t matter. Hillary Clinton arguably won two or even three of her debates against Trump and it didn’t matter. 

The pressure is on Biden, who’s drilling with former top aide Ron Klain, to show that he’s aggressive and feisty as well as knowledgeable. Trump, who is doing only informal prep, will be hailed by his base no matter what he says or does.

In short, it will take something highly unusual to change many minds. Most Americans already know what they think of these guys.

The same goes for the Trump veepstakes. As Donald Trump told me, it doesn’t matter much because people vote for the top of the ticket. I think Doug Burgum has a somewhat better chance than when I first interviewed him three weeks ago, on this shorter short list that seems to include Tim Scott, Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance. 

But I can’t see that changing the race’s trajectory. What’s striking is that the anchors are now handling these as "vetting" interviews about each candidate’s record, because they believe one of them may well be moving into the vice president’s mansion.

Trump’s GOP unity day on the Hill got muddied when he criticized Milwaukee, the host city for next month’s convention. Even though Trump said he was talking mainly about crime in the city – which is actually down substantially this year – I’m not sure why he needed to go there.

The 78-year-old Trump is so anxious to depict the 81-year-old Biden as mentally unfit for the job that minor incidents are being exaggerated and distorted. There’s no question, as I said on the air, that Biden often comes across as frail and confused. 

But after a $30-million L.A. fundraiser over the weekend, Obama grabbed his arm and then kept touching his back as they exited the stage. This went viral as the former president was depicted as "leading" his onetime VP away.

Earlier, the New York Post, taking its lead from the RNC, misleadingly cropped a photo as if Biden was talking to no one at the G-7 in Italy. A wider angle showed Biden was saying a few words and giving a thumbs up to a skydiver who had landed next to the world leaders before the Italian prime minister led him back to the group. 

THERE’S ‘CORROSION’ IN HOW THE MEDIA COVERS POLITICS: LUCY CALDWELL

Despite a couple of flashy media headlines, I did not criticize Fox’s coverage, though sometimes that comes with the job. I made a point of saying that the coverage by "Fox & Friends" was perfectly straightforward. We played a clip of Sean Hannity criticizing Biden, but there was no suggestion that he didn’t show the proper footage; he was paired with Joe Scarborough hitting Biden’s critics, as we often do to convey the range of commentary.

In my view, there’s little doubt that most of the media believe Trump will win the election, and here’s the proof.

The New York Times just ran a deep dive on how the Trump resistance is already laying the groundwork to battle and stymie him in a second term.

These groups "are drafting potential lawsuits in case he is elected in November and carries out mass deportations, as he has vowed. One group has hired a new auditor to withstand any attempt by a second Trump administration to unleash the Internal Revenue Service against them. Democratic-run state governments are even stockpiling abortion medication.

"A sprawling network of Democratic officials, progressive activists, watchdog groups and ex-Republicans has been taking extraordinary steps to prepare for a potential second Trump presidency, drawn together by the fear that Mr. Trump’s return to power would pose a grave threat not just to their agenda but to American democracy itself." 

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

A newspaper simply doesn’t devote the enormous resources the Times did to this investigative piece without believing a Trump victory is at the least very likely.

Some groups are described as "wary" of discussing their plans for fear of signaling a lack of confidence in the Biden campaign, which is exactly what it signals.

And that brings us back to the CNN debate.

Biden is really running out of time to change the narrative of the race. The debate will probably be a wash, but it’s his only shot. Otherwise, the frozen campaign will wind up freezing him out.

The anti-Trump movement’s secret Zoom calls give their target ammo

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At first glance, it might seem like inside baseball.

A bunch of former prosecutors and cable pundits talking to each other about how much they don’t like Donald Trump and how he’s in deep legal trouble? Doesn’t that happen every day in green rooms and the corner bar?

But this, as disclosed by Politico, is different. These are some of the most prominent commentators in the media universe, and they appear to be consulting/coordinating/conspiring about their main target.

DAVID PECKER CALMLY LINKS TRUMP, MICHAEL COHEN TO SUPPRESSING STORIES, PUSHING FAKE NEWS

Even if that’s not the case, it looks awful.

It plays into the hands of conservatives who back Trump that the media are part of the resistance, determined to bring him down at all costs.

They can now say that it is a cabal, confirming all their darkest suspicions about the press determined to bring him down.

Every Friday, these media hotshots join in a secret, off-the-record Zoom call.

In a high-road description, the piece says the goal is to "intellectually stress-test the arguments facing Trump on his journey through the American legal system." But a beat later it says, "most are united by their dislike of Trump."

The origins of the group are telling, beginning during the Jan. 6 hearings, when committee staffers began briefing legal commentators on their work. I can think of classified military matters that haven’t remained secret as long.

TRUMP BLASTS JUDGE AFTER BARRING HIM FROM ATTENDING IMMUNITY ARGUMENTS

Who’s doing the zooming? Norman Eisen, an Obama administration official who worked with House Democrats on Trump’s first impeachment and is a CNN legal analyst, is the founder. 

He’s joined by Bill Kristol, a leader of the anti-Trump conservatives; longtime Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe; Watergate figure John Dean; and George Conway, ex-husband of Kellyanne, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and a fixture on MSNBC. 

AT A TURNING POINT? COLUMBIA ARRESTS AND ANTI-JEWISH HARASSMENT SHUT DOWN CAMPUS

That’s just the beginning. There is MSNBC analyst Andrew Weissman, who investigated the fruitless Russian collusion accusations against Trump as a prosecutor for Bob Mueller; why would anyone doubt his objectivity?

There are CNN legal analysts Jeffrey Toobin, Elliott Williams and Karen Agnifilo, along with L.A. Times columnist Harry Litman. And there’s Mary McCord, a former DOJ official who co-hosts an MSNBC podcast. 

Sometimes there are guests, which is also revealing. After Trump was held liable in E. Jean Carroll’s first defamation and sexual assault suit, her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, addressed the group. And, says Politico, former conservative judge J. Michael Luttig, who spearheaded a campaign to kick Trump off state ballots under the 14th Amendment, was another guest. The Supreme Court rejected the anti-democratic move.

Despite efforts to rationalize this as a meeting-of-great-minds exercise, I’m not buying it. Even Politico concedes the calls could "breed groupthink" – what a shocking thought.

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And cable news drives plenty of other coverage, particularly when certain themes are constantly pounded.

All these folks are smart enough to think for themselves. Which makes it surprising that they lack the common sense to see how troubling the Zooming looks.

Liberal pundits, urging Biden to withdraw, pushing convention scenario

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A growing number of left-leaning pundits are hopping off the Biden train and they’re trying to come up with a plan to enable the president to jump off as well.

The attacks from the right are one thing, but these are Joe Biden’s people, who say he’s been a good president, who say he’s accomplished a great deal, but who say his age renders him either too likely or too certain to lose to Donald Trump. It’s the one problem he can’t fix.

At the same time, a new report says the Resistance is growing frustrated and burned out.

Nate Silver, the data guru and hardly a right-winger, says: "Personally, I crossed the rubicon in November, concluding that Biden should stand down if he wasn’t going to be able to run a normal re-election campaign — meaning, things like conduct a Super Bowl interview. Yes, it's a huge risk and, yes, Biden can still win. But he's losing now and there's no plan to fix the problems."

MEDIA DEEM TRUMP THE NOMINEE, DESPITE HALEY TYING HIM TO PUTIN

After noting that an improving economy hasn’t helped him, Silver says "it’s become even clearer that Biden’s age is an enormous problem for him. As many as 86% of Americans say he’s too old in one poll, though numbers in the 70-to-75% range are more common — still an overwhelming majority in a bitterly-divided country." 

And that wasn’t helped by the special counsel’s report calling him an elderly man with a poor memory.

"But even the most optimistic Democrats, if you read between the lines, are really arguing that Democrats could win despite Biden and not because of him. Biden is probably a below-replacement-level candidate at this point because Americans have a lot of extremely rational concerns about the prospect of a Commander-in-Chief who would be 86 years old by the end of his second term. It is entirely reasonable to see this as disqualifying."

Wait, there’s more. 

FANI WILLIS IS IN A ‘DANGEROUS SPOT’: JACQUI HEINRICH

"I can now point you to moments when he is faltering in his campaign for the presidency because his age is slowing him. This distinction between the job of the presidency and the job of running for the presidency keeps getting muddied, including by Biden himself. And what I think we’re seeing is that he is not up for this. He is not the campaigner he was, even five years ago…The way he moves, the energy in his voice."

Ezra Klein, the uber-liberal New York Times podcaster, also wants the president out. 

"Step one, unfortunately, is convincing Biden that he should not run again. That he does not want to risk being Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a heroic, brilliant public servant who caused the outcome she feared most because she didn’t retire early enough."

Despite what he called the "Kamala Harris problem," Klein says to assume that Biden steps aside. "Then what? Well, then Democrats do something that used to be common in politics but hasn’t been in decades. They pick their nominee at the convention." 

Silver agrees with this scenario as well.

I’m here to tell you, barring a major health scare, that’s not happening. Biden has been running for president since 1987 (I did a long interview with him during that campaign). He finally got the job. He likes being in charge. He’s not going to walk away.

And in fairness, Biden has made adjustments in the last two weeks. He now takes on-camera questions from reporters almost every day, sometimes longer than others. Just yesterday, he walked over to say, in the wake of Alexei Navalny’s murder, he’d be announcing a package of sanctions against Russia on Friday. And he’s given two televised speeches.

Still, liberal Times columnist Michelle Goldberg has been arguing since 2022 that Biden should step aside, and without a major change in strategy, "he should find some medical pretext to step aside in time for a replacement to be chosen at the Democratic convention."

Moderate conservative Ross Douthat says flatly in his Times column that Biden should not be running for re-election.

As if the Times might be in danger of under-covering this issue, the paper also says that "anti-Trump voters are grappling with another powerful sentiment: exhaustion."

"Some folks are burned out on outrage," Rebecca Lee Funk, founder of the liberal activist group Outrage, told the paper. 

A Pittsburgh security guard said  "It’s crisis fatigue, for sure."

DEMOCRATS WIN SEAT, REPUBLICANS WIN IMPEACHMENT, TWO PRESIDENTS CLASH OVER NATO

How about the right? National Review’s Noah Rothman, who thinks Biden will narrowly win, explains the grand voting shift that has the Democrats in trouble:

"Despite his self-set reputation as a lunch-pail-toting nine-to-fiver with familial roots set deep in the carbon-rich soil of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Joe Biden has presided over the hemorrhaging of his party’s support among non-college-educated voters. The Democratic Party is increasingly dominated by degree-holders…The party is pinning all its electoral hopes on driving up turnout among this relatively affluent, highly educated slice of the electorate. The big problem with that plan is that there just aren’t enough of those voters…

"In 1999, according to Gallup’s historical surveys, working-class Americans identified more as Democrats than as Republicans by 14 points. Today, that has flipped, with the GOP enjoying a 14-point advantage over Democrats among those voters. Democrats have suffered similarly with young voters: Today, only 8% more voters between the ages of 18 and 29 associate themselves with the Democratic Party than with the GOP." 

This is eye-popping for those of us who grew up with the Republicans holding the monopoly on wealthier college graduates and favoring aggressive military intervention abroad.

Rothman concludes: "Even with Trump at the top of the ticket, Democrats appear committed to a strategy that will produce, at best, the narrowest of re-election victories."

On the other side, meanwhile, Nikki Haley gave a South Carolina speech to declare she’s not going anywhere. Plenty of Republicans have "surrendered" to pressure because "they didn’t want to be left out of the club. Of course, many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him. They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party…I feel no need to kiss the ring. I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him, my own political future is of zero concern."

But the most important part of her appearance was when she choked up while discussing her husband (who Trump has taken vague shots at). He is a National Guardsman now serving a year-long deployment in Africa after an earlier one in Afghanistan.

"Michael is at the forefront of my mind," Haley said, her voice breaking. "I wish Michael was here today, and I wish our children and I could see him tonight, but we can’t. He’s serving on the other side of the world."

It was a striking moment because Haley is usually so scripted and disciplined. A burst of emotion in 2008 helped Hillary Clinton win the New Hampshire primary. The problem is that the press will write off Haley if Trump clobbers her in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, no matter how long she keeps campaigning.

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A reporter asked Biden yesterday whether he’d rather run against Trump or Haley. He responded, "I don’t care," while walking away.

But given that Haley is 52, I believe he and his advisers very much care. At 77, while projecting a much more vigorous persona, Trump is the one opponent who might help Biden neutralize the issue that most threatens his re-election campaign.