Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FAKENEWS to get 50% off your VIP membership.
Legalized Press-titution – VARIOUS OUTLETS
When it comes to her staying on top of relief efforts, we should just take her word for it.
Kamala Harris has wanted to make it a selling point that she is responding well to the crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Of course, this was made slightly difficult when the storm was ravaging the interior states of this nation and she was otherwise occupied eating gourmet foods with celebrities and Hoovering cash at a Hollywood fundraiser. Now, this week, as the Carolinas and other states are desperate for aid and reports are that FEMA is hampering as much as it is helping in these areas, Harris is not overseeing the relief efforts – she is on a PR blitz. Since this weekend, and through this week, her schedule consists of:
Conducting the candidate interview with "60 Minutes"
Appearing on the "She's Your Daddy" podcast
Sitting in with Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show"
Spending time with Howard Stern on Sirius XM Radio
Tim Walz will be on set with Jimmy Kimmel
Whoops: Looks Like Some 'Call Her Daddy' Fans Were NOT Happy With Kamala Being on Showhttps://t.co/zIlCglsBj1
— RedState (@RedState) October 7, 2024
DNC PR Firm – CBS NEWS
Maybe if she stops doing tongue-bath interviews she will not appear so tongue-tied when speaking?
As we covered, Donald Trump turned down the regular "60 Minutes" candidate interview and received all kinds of smears as a result. (As opposed to when he appeared last time and had Leslie Stahl lying to him, and her falsehoods leading to him being smeared.) So, Kamala will be appearing with her interview, and CBS News has teased some clips of her discussion. And wow, these are horrid.
Recommended
Tonight, on a 60 Minutes election special, Vice President Kamala Harris shares her plan to strengthen the economy by investing in small businesses and the middle class. Bill Whitaker asks how she’ll fund it and get it through Congress. https://t.co/3Kyw3hgBzr pic.twitter.com/HdAmz0Zpxa
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 7, 2024
Try making sense of this:
60 minutes: The Middle East is a mess and no one is listening to your administration
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) October 6, 2024
Kamala: We have done the work pic.twitter.com/SIDbBHlC32
And just as a reminder, here she was last year when challenged by the same show about the prospects of Joe Biden dropping out of the election.
As Kamala Harris is set to appear on “60Minutes” tonight here is a clip from her last appearance and speaking with Bill Whitaker.
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) October 7, 2024
When asked about the prospect of Joe Biden stepping down she ridiculed the concept.
(Note, Biden’s sliding condition was a topic 1st at ago.) pic.twitter.com/STAEH9luzI
Both Kinds of Standards – ABC NEWS
Accusing others of threats is unacceptable – now our next guest will accuse others of threats.
It is as amazing as it is despicable to see such a turnaround within the confines of a single broadcast. On "This Week" with George Stephanopolous, they managed to take both sides of the issue of threats against political targets in order to condemn one side of the political aisle. The host spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson about Donald Trump and the dangerous rhetoric he has been espousing. Specifically, concerning Trump accusing Democrats of fostering an environment where he had two attempts on his life made within months.
Pressed by @GStephanopoulos about Trump’s rhetoric, Speaker Mike Johnson says, "The leading Democrats in this country, the highest elected officials and the current nominee for president, have gone out and said that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy.” https://t.co/vBQ739TMpJ pic.twitter.com/p7eCGn0N6J
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 6, 2024
So, we have established that it is wrong to suggest that your critics may pose a threat. Then – on the very same broadcast – George entertained FEMA Director Deanne Criswell, and she was perfectly permitted to suggest that criticism of her agency and how it is responding to the hurricane relief efforts is "dangerous rhetoric" and that her workers are operating in fear.
We feel the need to point out to George that no FEMA workers have been reported to have been shot, unlike the former president.
FEMA's Deanne Criswell tells @GStephanopoulos that falsehoods about agency can be “demoralizing."
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 6, 2024
“When you have this dangerous rhetoric ... it creates fear in our own employees and we need to make sure we're getting help to the people who need it.” https://t.co/iScqerl0ew pic.twitter.com/lta6wrxLMi
News Avoidance Syndrome – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Ya think maybe you could dedicate your energies to reporting on what is actually taking place in the storm-ravaged areas.
As we are treated to ever-widening stories of the lack of proper reactions to the hurricane from FEMA, The New York Times is on the case – of demonizing those daring to call out the ineffectual government responses.
The Paper of Record has four reporters detailing some of the more outlandish theories floating around the web, from this disaster leading to land-seizure attempts or using the damaging effects to begin lithium mining in the affected areas. These crackpot theories are highlighted as a means of tamping down any criticism of the work done in the West North Carolina and Tennessee regions. As they quote one politician: Mayor Glenn Jacobs of Knox County, Tenn., said to his followers, "If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great."
This focus then justifies the paper avoiding stories of how FEMA has been hampering the efforts of those who are trying to help. It has been reported that residents have been stopped from aiding neighbors, restricted from delivering aid to those in need, told to halt drones from being used to seek those in stranded areas, and helicopter pilots restricted from conducting rescue or aid delivery flights.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s devastation, a torrent of conspiracy theories, rumors and lies threatens to undermine efforts to provide accurate information and crucial resources. The sheer number of false claims has alarmed officials and experts. https://t.co/oUjc7hDwQK
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 6, 2024
Gilded Reframe – ORLANDO SENTINEL
With another hurricane bearing down on Florida, the Orlando Sentinel appears to be somewhat dismayed by a decision handed down by Governor Ron DeSantis. He made a declaration that despite the storm about to hit the state this week, there will be no restrictions on gun sales or forced gun store closures as a result.
The Orlando Sentinel seems to be rather bothered by this decision:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued an emergency declaration ahead of Hurricane Milton that prohibits Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie from exercising his authority to suspend or limit gun sales. The preemption of Guthrie’s authority is unprecedented and even highlighted in the news release. No such language was provided in the disaster declarations for hurricanes earlier this year, Idalia last year or Ian the year before.
Now, before you are led to believe that this was a random decision made by the governor in a vacuum, weeks earlier when Hurricane Helene was hitting the state, a story emerged of a Chief of Police in Okeechobee City who decided to ban gun carrying by citizens and to mandate gun store closures as an emergency declaration. The O-Town paper noted this decision and made the curious interpretation that this was "causing an immediate outcry from DeSantis."
Not addressed was that this move by the Okeechobee authorities was a direct violation of the Constitution – just that it seemed to bother DeSantis, so he sent out this never-before-seen order from his office.
Hurricane guns: DeSantis orders no suspensions, limits on gun sales during storm https://t.co/iAD0Y8cc0e pic.twitter.com/YB4PMFnpQz
— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) October 6, 2024
Reporting on the Mirror – THE JOURNALISM INDUSTRY
A new public study has been conducted with a unique approach to measuring the personal opinions of Americans. In it, there is a methodology used to gauge how Americans truly feel about particular topics, using this to see if people hold an opinion that may differ from what standard polls report.
The think tank Populace, working with Gradient, and fielded by the panel provider YouGov, used new tactics to measure the differences between privately held opinions and professed public stances on issues, suspecting that when asked a direct question, people will tend to answer in a manner they think they should respond, rather than disclose their true feeling. There are significant gulfs between the results – in particular how citizens hold faith in the news media:
Public opinion results suggest low public confidence in the Supreme Court (36%) and a general distrust of the government (22%) and media (24%). Private opinion reveals that trust is even lower than public opinion results would suggest (21% confidence in the Supreme Court, 4% trust in government, and 7% trust in media).
As bad as trust in the press has been seen, this study revealing faith in our media stands in the single-digit range is jarring, yet makes perfect sense when you seeing the struggling fortunes witnessed across the news landscape.
Most Americans are hesitant to share their honest opinions on key political issues, Social Pressure Index says https://t.co/GSorvvCOxP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 30, 2024
