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CNN Gets Small

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Mar 22, 2023
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

03.22.23

Matching Media Memorandum – MSNBC

  • Sure, he's been saying it for years, but THIS TIME, he means it!

What can you say about Joe Scarborough when he resorts to this comical level of self-parody? Even when so many in the media are beclowning themselves over the "impending" Donald Trump indictment, ScarJo runs into the ring and sprays himself with a seltzer bottle before breaking it over his own head.

On the issue of Trump's legal woes, the left has been so out of control for years that many on the right use "the walls are closing in" as a mocking punchline. ScarJo seems to have missed that, as he actually did invoke the line as he was breathlessly anticipating Trump being stuffed and cuffed for the cameras.

News Avoidance Syndrome – POLITICO

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In Politico's latest entry of Playbook, they covered how newly installed Senator J.D. Vance recently bought a home in a posh Virginia suburb. It appears that the residents are less than pleased that the senator has moved in.

- "Some neighbors in the liberal enclave scratching their heads about why the conservative senator who ran against the Washington establishment would choose to live among them. One neighbor described the area to our Katy O'Donnell as 'filled with Pride flags and Kindness posters.'"

To paraphrase: "We are an open and tolerant community, there is no place here for a Republican."

Legalized Press-tiution – THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • When Trump's fealty leads to assuming that Ivy Leaguers have no sense of humor

As we noted from this weekend, Maggie Haberman has been – to be charitable – uniquely focused on Donald Trump. She has built up her career on the man, so when it comes to his potential rival, Ron DeSantis, it is not surprising Maggie's obsession will lead to an imbalanced analysis.

DeSantis just had an interview on Fox Nation with Piers Morgan, and during their time, the Florida governor addressed the lame nicknames Trump has tried to apply to him, jokingly saying he was not really sure how to spell one of them. Ms. Haberman saw this as a particular point of attack while missing the point entirely.

Low Octane Gas Lighting – DAILY BEAST

There was an announcement that Disney has struck a deal with a major LGBT+ conference to host its annual event in Orlando for the next two years. The Daily Beast was very excited, declaring that by serving as the host location of "The Out & Equal Workplace Summit," it means that "Disney defies DeSantis."

The only issue here: DeSantis has never stated that Disney is not permitted to host such an event. But, in order to build this up as some sort of declarative rebuke of DeSantis, a number of falsehoods had to be delivered. Also, one major detail has to be avoided to make this claim.

The company is not exactly delivering a form of retribution to the state by bringing in at least 5,000 tourists to spend their money during an extended state in Florida.

Demo-lition Project – CNN

The network audience is melting away faster than the glaciers. Last week, CNN managed to deliver some more dismally low audience figures, continuing to hit new historically low landmarks which are jarring in their badness.

While Fox News was leading all cable channels, beating even ESPN, CNN managed to hit lows not seen for some time – that is, decades. In the primetime demo, their audience was about the same as a decently-sized football stadium. The network hit numbers so low they have not been seen in 30 years.