1. A Trump triumph
Ironically, President Trump had a great night … right on the heels of the news that he had to pay a $5 million sexual abuse and defamation judgment.
Trump’s Wednesday night town hall on CNN – part of the new CEO’s attempt to veer away from partisanship and back towards actual news – was a trouncing. CNN inexplicably packed the audience with Trump-supporting Republicans. Every time he lobbed a signature Trump line or called an enemy names, his audience cheered.
But regardless of how fair the boss wanted to appear, by Thursday morning CNN staff were livid that Trump had been given a platform. CNN’s senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, spent his column arguing that the Republican front-runner for president shouldn’t have been allowed to speak on TV.
“A professional lie machine, Trump fired off falsehoods at a rapid clip while using his bluster to overwhelm Collins, stealing command of the stage at some points of the town hall.”
Liberal heads are exploding after the town hall, and any semblance of fairness at CNN is back out the window.
CNN also handily won the hour in the ratings, with Fox coming in third among the cable networks for the hour. Another victory for a guy who seems to be at war with all the major networks at this point.
Did you watch the town hall? What did you think?
2. Republicans score big with migrant busing strategy
In an unexpected twist of events, the Republicans' strategy of migrant busing has proven to be a political game-changer. The busing, which started essentially as a stunt, has not only distributed the open-border problem to sanctuary cities but has created an entire class of big city Democrats now touting conservative positions on the issue.
While NYC mayor Eric Adams cried, of course, racism, saying the Texas governor “is now targeting five cities run by black mayors”, the Democratic mayors otherwise sound like Republicans, complaining about the federal government’s actions that allowed this crisis.
3. Marine vet will be charged in subway death
Daniel Penny, the former Marine involved in the unfortunate and highly-publicized chokehold death of Jordan Neely, is set to face manslaughter charges. With mobs of activists shutting down subway tracks, NYC’s District Attorney found another criminal besides Trump to prosecute.
The incident, which was captured on video, shows Penny applying a chokehold to Jordan Neely, who had threatened subway riders. Neely, who clearly had a mental illness, had been arrested 42 times, including four times for assault.
4. You’re not pro-hate, are you?
What if there was a government entity where you could complain about people being mean, even if what they say is completely legal? Welcome to Gavin Newsom’s California.
A new website and hotline will allow people to report what they perceive as acts of hate, even those that are legal. The move, supposedly in response to increased hate crimes against Asians, has been called a potential instrument of censorship and mass surveillance. Critics argue it's a mechanism for governments to suppress free speech under the guise of combating online harassment.
The audience reactions were very telling.
That moderator was terrible.
Postscript to my comment above: a lie is a deliberate attempt to deceive. Trump absolutely believes what he says, regardless of what YOU believe. He says and fights for what he perceives is true. If I also agree with him, I hear no lies from Trump and am confused by those who say he is “a blustering liar.” The bluster, ok maybe, but no lies.