Trump Likes To Reserve A Certain Word For Black/Brown People

After Donald Trump went on another Twitter rant, this time directed at Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland), CNN host Victor Blackwell noticed a pattern in the Donald's choice of language when referring to certain people.

I really don't need to say anything else. Just watch.

.@VictorBlackwell, on Trump’s latest racist tweets pic.twitter.com/Vma4EBbmR1

— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) July 27, 2019

Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA......

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019

....As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019

UPDATE: Rep. Cummings responded to Trump's ugliness. You'll note that Cummings, instead of going 'low,' talks about doing his job for his constituents and asks the Donald to be a part of the solution.

Mr. President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors.

It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019

Just yesterday, I held a hearing on the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs and the financial hardships that families across the nation, and in Baltimore, are facing.

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019

Mr. President, we can address this together. Two years ago, I went to the White House to ask you to endorse my bill to let the government negotiate directly for lower drug prices.

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019

You told me then that you supported the legislation and that you would work with me to make it happen. I took you at your word.https://t.co/bcfyQgXwm4

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019

One Night, Five Democrats, Five Town Halls

CNN held five back-to-back town hall events with five Democratic presidential contenders last night - Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Good stuff from everyone, they all had strong moments at times.

A few takeaways:

While I appreciate the moderate lane Klobuchar has staked out for herself, it came across a bit timid and noncommittal in some of her answers. I'll admit that a lot of issues can't be truly addressed in a couple of minutes on a stage, but she was notably more cautious than her fellow candidates.

I really like Kamala Harris. She's clear about what she stands for, and she has a strong decisive energy about her.

When asked about impeachment proceedings for Donald Trump, she said Congress should take steps towards impeachment but added Democrats must be "realistic about what might be the end result."

One of Harris' best moments came when she was asked about the issue of gun violence in the country and what she would do about it. Here's what she said:

Sen. Kamala Harris says if she is elected President, she will give Congress 100 days "to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws, and if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action" https://t.co/KFdn5Viqm1 pic.twitter.com/jVZvDjmVZR

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

I have to say I almost became emotional as Mayor Pete took to the stage. As a gay man, to see this 37-year-old mayor take to the stage as a real player and handle himself so well was uplifting and energizing.

Mayor Pete had one of the biggest moments of the night when he was asked about the back and forth he's had with Vice President Pence, and a comment made by Trump ally and homocon Richard Grennell, the current ambassador to Germany.

Buttigieg's response: "I'm not a master fisherman, but I know bait when I see and I'm not going to take it." And the crowd went wild.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg on dig from Trump official: I know bait when I see it

Buttigieg refused to engage when asked about a Trump admin. official who accused him of pushing a "hate hoax" during his back-and-forth with VP Mike Pence https://t.co/qDjMO1a1Fn #ButtigiegTownHall pic.twitter.com/wggYBDARTk

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

A new talking point emerged throughout the night after Sen. Sanders said even the Boston bomber deserved to be able to vote. Sen. Harris concurred saying, "We should have that conversation."

But Buttigieg was clear and concise in his opinion that prisoners should not be allowed to vote. "While incarcerated? No, I don't think so," the South Bend mayor said.

Mayor Buttigieg says he disagrees with Sen. Sanders on felons' right to vote: "Part of the punishment when you're convicted of a crime and you're incarcerated is you lose certain rights ... I think during that period it does not make sense to have an exception" #ButtigiegTownHall pic.twitter.com/0ddBR97Wcv

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

CNN has recapped each of the candidate's hour-long turns onstage.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Sen. Kamala Harris

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

A few more moments from the night:

Sen. Bernie Sanders says the right to vote should be extended "even for terrible people" https://t.co/M3U37R21GK #SandersTownHall pic.twitter.com/5wmhSdvrRj

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders: "I don't think anybody seriously believes that because I wrote a best-selling book and made money, that I've changed my views and you'll now hear me saying, 'Gee, maybe we want to give tax breaks to millionaires'" https://t.co/5rjsvHJlbN #SandersTownHall pic.twitter.com/zQlazSaX2c

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

Sen. Elizabeth Warren explains how she’ll pay for her new student debt cancellation and free college plan, saying billionaires will have to “pay something back so everybody else gets a chance.” https://t.co/r8SoPsq3Vp #WarrenTownHall pic.twitter.com/qSd96d4GQ0

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

"I announced my candidacy in the middle of a blizzard, and he made fun of me for talking about climate change — by the way, happy #EarthDay…I said, 'Hey Donald Trump, the science is on my side.'" -Sen. Amy Klobuchar on controlling the message when facing Trump #KlobucharTownHall pic.twitter.com/4CZiL2mGFQ

— CNN (@CNN) April 23, 2019

Out Mayor Pete Buttigieg Shades Mike Pence As 'Cheerleader For Porn Star Presidency'

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in the hunt for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Sunday night that he and Vice President Mike Pence (former governor of Indiana) have different views on biblical scripture.

CNN’s Jake Tapper, hosting a town hall in Austin, Texas, asked Buttigieg if Pence would be a better or worse president than Donald Trump.

After several moments of bewilderment, the 37-year-old mayor said that, while he disagreed with Pence ‘ferociously’ on things, he always felt Pence “at least believes in our institutions and he’s not personally corrupt.”

However, Buttigieg wondered aloud, “But then, how could he get onboard with this presidency?”

The openly gay mayor shared that his view of the Bible is based on "protecting the stranger and the prisoner and the poor person - that idea of ‘welcome,’” while Pence's take on scripture seems to have ”a lot more to do with sexuality and a certain view of rectitude."

“But, even if you but into that, how could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency?” asked Buttigieg, referencing the allegations that Donald Trump made hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

“Is it that he stopped believing in scripture, when he started believing in Donald Trump? I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg on @VP: "How could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump?" https://t.co/0w8SGn2Fw9 #CNNTownHall pic.twitter.com/7F6pvSfNOF

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) March 11, 2019

The Harvard alum also talked on coming out as gay in his traditionally conservative state.

“Frankly, when I first got into politics, elected politics at the beginning of this decade in Indiana — In Mike Pence’s Indiana — I thought you could either be out or you could be in office, but you couldn't be both,” Buttigieg said.

“I came out in the middle of a re-election campaign because it was just that time in my life when I had to do that,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “Pence was governor. We weren’t sure what it would do to my political future in a socially conservative community.”

“I wound up getting re-elected with 80 percent of the vote,” he concluded.

Asked how he could be qualified for the White House having never held statewide office, Buttigieg pointed to his resume: “I actually think that experience is one of the best reasons for somebody like me to be in this — I have more years of government experience than the president.”

“I have more years of executive government experience than the Vice President, and more military experience than anyone to walk into that office since George H. W. Bush,” said the former Navy intelligence officer and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. “Experience is what qualifies me to have a seat at this table.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg: “I get that I’m the young guy in the conversation, but I would say experience is what qualifies me to have a seat at this table” https://t.co/TEZ8PRGJop #CNNTownHall pic.twitter.com/u3WVmjhirM

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 11, 2019

Judge Orders Trump To Restore Press Pass To CNN's Jim Acosta

CNN reporter Jim Acosta

CNN and Jim Acosta won in court today in their lawsuit to restore Acosta's suspended press access to the White House as a Trump appointed judge ordered the return of his 'hard pass.'

From CNBC:

A federal judge on Friday granted CNN's request for a court order that would temporarily reinstate network correspondent Jim Acosta's White House press pass, which had been suspended indefinitely in the wake of a fiery exchange between the reporter and President Donald Trump a week earlier.

The ruling from Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump, gave CNN a victory in the ongoing case.

"I want to thank all of my colleagues in the press who supported us this week, and I want to thank the judge for the decision he made today," Acosta said outside U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

"Let's go back to work!" he added.

CNN's lawsuit, announced Tuesday, argues that Acosta's constitutional rights had been violated by Trump and five other members of his administration, as well as by the U.S. Secret Service. The other defendants include chief of staff John Kelly, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, deputy chief of staff Bill Shine and Secret Service Director Randolph Alles.

In a statement, CNN and Acosta said they "look forward to a full resolution in the coming days."

In his decision, Kelly ruled that Acosta’s First Amendment rights overruled the White House’s right to have orderly news conferences.

Over several days, the White House has changed its reasoning for suspending Acosta.

At first, Sarah Huckabee Sanders attempted to say Acosta had physically attacked a White House intern when she reached to take a microphone out of Acosta's hand as he was asking Donald Trump a question.

Then, the reasoning moved to Acosta being 'rude.'

Donald Trump and his staff have targeted Acosta since the beginning of the Trump administration for asking actual questions and holding them to answers.

The day a nation's leader shuts down a free press is a dark day for any country.

Statement from CNN and @Acosta on today’s ruling: “We are gratified with this result and we look forward to a full resolution in the coming days. Our sincere thanks to all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong and independent American press.”

— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 16, 2018

Here's what Trump-appointed Judge Kelly said about gov't case: "Whatever process occurred within the government is still so shrouded in mystery that the government could not tell me at oral argument who made the initial decision to revoke Mr. Acosta's press pass."

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) November 16, 2018

Jim Acosta turning up at @PressSec’s next press briefing like pic.twitter.com/8iWua6pd18

— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) November 16, 2018

CNN Sues Trump White House For Restoration Of Jim Acosta's Press Credentials

In the aftermath of the White House revoking CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press credentials, CNN has filed a lawsuit against President Trump and several of his aides, seeking the immediate restoration of Acosta's access to the White House.

The lawsuit is a response to the White House's suspension of Acosta's press pass, known as a Secret Service "hard pass," last week. The suit alleges that Acosta and CNN's First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the ban.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning. It was docketed and assigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee. CNN is seeking a preliminary hearing as soon as possible.

Both CNN and Acosta are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. There are six defendants: Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Randolph Alles, and the Secret Service officer who took Acosta's hard pass away last Wednesday.

"CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration this morning in DC District Court," the statement read. "It demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN's Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process. We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process."

The White House Correspondents' Association said it "strongly supports CNN's goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House should not have taken away in the first place."

The White House has shifted its explanation for barring Acosta.

Initially, the reason for suspension was “placing his hands” on an intern (he didn't), but now the issue supposedly is that he kept asking questions.

So, if they think he monopolizes a press conference, why call on him?

"Failing" CNN Projected To Turn $1.2 Billion Profit In 2018

Donald Trump

To hear Donald Trump tell it,  the "failing" CNN is on its last legs.

And then, there are the facts.

Via Vanity Fair:

The average number of people watching on a given day has been above 700,000 each year since 2016, compared to around 400,000 in the pre-Trump news cycle. That’s also considerably larger than any other time over the past 25 years, an astonishing feat given the ubiquity of news and the decline of cable.

The ratings, of course, skew higher in the evening hours, when the most people are watching all at once.

The average prime-time audience is around a million, compared to fewer than 600,000 when Zucker arrived, in 2013.

According to someone with direct knowledge of the numbers, CNN is projected to turn a $1.2 billion profit on $2.5 billion in revenue this year, making 2018 its most profitable year ever.

Bombs Sent To Frequent Trump Targets Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton & CNN

Former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Bombs were discovered to have been sent to former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this morning.

The offices of CNN at Time Warner Center in New York City were also evacuated over a reported explosive device.

From The New York Times:

Explosive devices were sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as to CNN’s offices in New York, sparking an intense investigation on Wednesday into whether a bomber is going after targets that have often been the subject of right-wing ire.

A law enforcement official said the three devices were similar to one found Monday at the home of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist and liberal donor who has come under fierce criticism from conservatives and conspiracy theorists.

None of the devices harmed anyone. Law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether all the devices were sent by the same person or persons.

Clinton, Obama, Soros and CNN have all been frequent targets of Donald Trump in his campaign rhetoric.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement condemning “the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton and other public figures.”

“These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Sanders according to the Associated Press. “The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”

According to several reports, the package mailed to CNN’s offices was addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration since becoming a CNN commentator.

Everyone at CNN NY being evacuated. Swarms of NYPD outside — I wasn’t allowed to grab a coat or any of my belongings — told to immediately go to staircase pic.twitter.com/rtcAoKS6y9

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) October 24, 2018

News Round-Up: February 23, 2018

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Fitness model Quin Bruce looks ready for date night. #ThatFace #ThoseArms #Woof

• Sixteen year-old Joshua Rush, who plays the Disney Channel's first openly gay character on Andi Mack, says it was important to him to "do it right."

• Members of the Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday killed a proposed amendment to the House budget bill that would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to its nondiscrimination provision.

• In the aftermath of last week's school massacre in Parkland, Florida, several major businesses are ending their partnerships with the National Rifle Association.

• According to Donald Trump, CNN and MSNBC are "failing." But not according to the latest info from the Standard Media Index which shows that MSNBC grew its revenue from from January 2017 to last month by a 62% and CNN jumped 32% year-over-year. Fox News showed a polite 17% increase.

• Brendan Fraser says a Hollywood bigwig sexually assaulted him by fondling his butt (and more) and the incident affected his acting career.

• Out bronze medalist Adam Rippon says with the Olympics coming to a close, he would definitely take time to chat with Vice President Mike Pence about LGBT issues.

But - Rippon doesn't think the two have much to chat on: “Mike Pence doesn’t stand for anything that I was taught when I grew up, and I think that it’s important if you’re given the platform to speak up for those who don’t have a voice.”

“Mike Pence doesn’t stand for anything that I was taught when I grew up, and I think that it’s important if you’re given the platform to speak up for those who don’t have a voice.” @Adaripp tells @craigmelvin pic.twitter.com/w3No1ksMq4

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 23, 2018

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin Apologizes For "False Equivalences" Between Trump/Clinton During 2016 Election

Speaking to Larry Wilmore on his "Black on the Air" podcast, CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin apologized for his part in drawing "false equivalences" between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

“And I hold myself somewhat responsible for that. I think there was a lot of false equivalence in the 2016 campaign. That every time we said something, pointed out something about Donald Trump — whether it was his business interests, or grab ’em by the p–––y, we felt like, ‘Oh, we gotta, like, talk about — we gotta say something bad about Hillary.’ And I think it led to a sense of false equivalence that was misleading, and I regret my role in doing that.”

The Washington Post has more:

On the one hand, media organizations in the run-up to November 2016 exposed and covered the hard-to-count scandals and outrages that Trump had generated over decades as a self-absorbed real-estate mogul: the thousands of lawsuits, the mistreatment of women, the ambient lies, the racism, the stiffing of contractors, Trump University, the false promises of charity and much, much more. On the other hand, those same media organizations pounded away at Hillary Clinton’s email story. And many of them — CNN prominently included — gave Trump generous helpings of airtime for the rallies early in his campaign.

A study by Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy found that in the campaign’s final months, the media’s aggregate coverage performed pretty much as Toobin described to Wilmore. “When journalists can’t, or won’t, distinguish between allegations directed at the Trump Foundation and those directed at the Clinton Foundation, there’s something seriously amiss. And false equivalencies are developing on a grand scale as a result of relentlessly negative news. If everything and everyone is portrayed negatively, there’s a leveling effect that opens the door to charlatans,” wrote Thomas Patterson in the Shorenstein study.

As we all know, the daily, incessant pounding on Hillary about her emails - when nothing illegal had been found despite several congressional investigations - helped push her numbers down.

As well, unfounded allegations about the Clintons somehow making money from the Uranium One deal which, in truth, was approved by not Hillary but nine different agencies unanimously. The Clintons take no money from anything related to the Clinton Foundation.

But if you keep repeating what Hillary haters want to hear like a used-car salesman, you see what happens.

Listen below.

NY Times: Trump Watches Up To 8 Hours Of TV News Daily

The New York Times has a fascinating piece up chronicling Donald Trump's daily television viewing habits.

You know - the television he says he has no time to watch.

Around 5:30 each morning, President Trump wakes and tunes into the television in the White House’s master bedroom. He flips to CNN for news, moves to “Fox & Friends” for comfort and messaging ideas, and sometimes watches MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” because, friends suspect, it fires him up for the day.

Energized, infuriated — often a gumbo of both — Mr. Trump grabs his iPhone. Sometimes he tweets while propped on his pillow, according to aides. Other times he tweets from the den next door, watching another television. Less frequently, he makes his way up the hall to the ornate Treaty Room, sometimes dressed for the day, sometimes still in night clothes, where he begins his official and unofficial calls.

As he ends his first year in office, Mr. Trump is redefining what it means to be president. He sees the highest office in the land much as he did the night of his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton — as a prize he must fight to protect every waking moment, and Twitter is his Excalibur. Despite all his bluster, he views himself less as a titan dominating the world stage than a maligned outsider engaged in a struggle to be taken seriously, according to interviews with 60 advisers, associates, friends and members of Congress.

Before taking office, Mr. Trump told top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals. People close to him estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day, and sometimes as much as twice that, in front of a television, sometimes with the volume muted, marinating in the no-holds-barred wars of cable news and eager to fire back.

Check this tweet from July, and remember Trump said he'd have "no time" for golf if he was elected president... #liar

The W.H. is functioning perfectly, focused on HealthCare, Tax Cuts/Reform & many other things. I have very little time for watching T.V.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

CNN To Trump: It's Your Job To Represent U.S. To The World - Not Ours

After his fifth day in a row on a golf course, Donald Trump took to Twitter today to attack (yet again) CNN News and pump up Fox News.

“Fox News is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly,” the president wrote. “The outside world does not see the truth from them!”

.@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly. The outside world does not see the truth from them!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017

Not sure exactly what set that off, but CNN was ready to clap back at the Trumpster, tweeting that it isn’t the network’s “job to represent the US. to the world.”

“That’s yours,” the network’s comm team wrote. “Our job is to report the news.”

It's not CNN's job to represent the U.S to the world. That's yours. Our job is to report the news. #FactsFirst 🍎

— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 25, 2017

News Round-Up: November 3, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Woofy Steve Raider (above) wants to know "Who's your daddy wolf?"

• 40% of America's homeless youth are LGBT. And to help, AT&T recently launched its Live Proud Holidays campaign to support Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund in their work to end LGBT youth homelessness. Click here to find out how you can support and participate.

• After two appearances on Will & Grace during the show's initial run, might Cher willingly grace the NBC series one more time?

• 8 House of Cards employees accuse Kevin Spacey of sexual harassment/assault.

• CNN is now looking at putting up a subscription paywall like several major newspapers have done. The New York Times and Washington Post allow ten free articles to be read before being blocked. Wall Street Journal gives you nothing free. Thoughts? Post below.

• Out professional athletes Robbie Rogers (MLS) and Jason Collins (former NBA) share their coming out stories as part of the "One Stride, Many Journeys" series by Barefoot Wine + Out. Watch below.

Fox Sports Guy On CNN: I Only Believe In The 1st Amendment & Boobs

Umm, wow.

The rednecks will love this.

During a segment about ESPN host Jemele Hill calling Donald Trump a white supremacist, Fox Sports analyst Clay Travis tells host CNN host Brooke Baldwin that the only things he believes in 100% are the 1st Amendment and boobs.

"The First Amendment and boobs. Two things that have never let me down in this country's history."

A stunned Baldwin at first pauses, then checks in again with Travis to confirm he actually said "boobs."

Needless to say, the segment ended pretty quick.

Apparently, Mr. Travis and boobs are a thing.

Watch below.

CNN Trolls Trump With List Of Recent White House Debacles

CNN's Brooke Baldwin read a list today, in no particular order, of White House disasters from just the last four weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.

The list includes classic Trump hits such as hiring (and firing) "The Mooch," cutting Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon loose, shaming Attorney General Jeff Sessions, making up congratulatory phone calls from the Boy Scouts and the Mexican president, threatening nuclear war with North Korea and more.

Trump supporters will accuse CNN of bias, but the fact of the matter is America has never seen a White House in this much disarray. And, every single news story listed did happen.

Watch, and enjoy.

A wild four weeks in the White House…summed up in minutes: https://t.co/fCjxg4TE59

— Brooke Baldwin (@BrookeBCNN) August 18, 2017

(h/t JoeMyGod)

Satire: "CNN" Responds To Trump Smackdown Video

Satirist Mark Humphries of Viceland's The Feed gives us "CNN's" response to Donald Trump's smackdown video.

Says "CNN:"

"The bullying started a while ago, mainly online. Donald Trump started calling me "fake news," which was as painful as me having to call him "President of the United States."

Funny. Watch below.

CNN's Jim Acosta: White House Spokesman Sean Spicer Is "Kind Of Useless"

CNN's Jim Acosta is pretty much DONE with the lack of communication coming out of the White House these days.

Today saw the White House daily press briefing devolve into an off-the-air, no cameras, no audio recording "gaggle" where Spicer basically offered no answers to questions asked by the White House press corp.

“The White House press secretary is getting to a point, Brooke, where he’s just kind of useless,” Acosta told CNN's Brooke Baldwin. “You know, if he can’t come out and answer the questions and they’re not going to do this on camera or audio…why are we having these briefings or gaggles in the first place?”

According to Politico, Spicer is pushing to move into a new position that would oversee communications for the entire White House, advocating for a new press secretary to take his place. Fox News personality Laura Ingraham has apparently met with the powers that be in the Trump administration about the position.

The president hasn't held a true press conference since February.

Watch Acosta's justified frustrations below.

“The White House Press Secretary is getting to a point where he is kind of useless”- @Acosta https://t.co/6BxSrbCDDy

— Brooke Baldwin (@BrookeBCNN) June 19, 2017

At off camera no audio briefing, Spicer took a question from a Russian reporter but not from CNN. #pravda

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 19, 2017

There is a suppression of information going on at this WH that would not be tolerated at a city council mtg or press conf with a state gov.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 19, 2017

CNN Counts Down Donald Trump's Top Twitter Lies

Today marks the 8th anniversary of Donald Trump joining Twitter.

And to observe the rather inauspicious occasion, CNN's Victor Blackwell is counting down the Trumpster's top Twitter lies.

#Delicious

You wanna guess what ranks as #1?

Watch below:

(h/t JoeMyGod)

Wild And Wilder: White House Alleges UK Spied On Trump For Obama, UK Slaps Back

Donald Trump's allegation that President Obama ordered "surveillance" on Trump during the presidential campaign continues to get even more unbelievable.

On Thursday, during a White House press briefing, spokesman Sean Spicer cited comments by Fox News contributor Andrew Napolitano asserting a British spy agency was involved in the alleged surveillance of Donald Trump during the presidential campaign.

Napolitano had stated on-air that President Obama had asked Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters, the intelligence collection agency known as the GCHQ, to surveil Mr. Trump.

Said Sean Spicer:

“Three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command. He didn’t use the N.S.A., he didn’t use the C.I.A., he didn’t use the F.B.I., and he didn’t use the Department of Justice. He used GCHQ. What is that? It’s the initials for the British intelligence spying agency. So simply, by having two people saying to them, ‘The president needs transcripts of conversations involved in candidate Trump’s conversations involving President-elect Trump,’ he was able to get it and there’s no American fingerprints on this.”

The British government immediately denied the allegation on Thursday in a statement issued by the spy agency, labeling the assertions “nonsense” and “utterly ridiculous.”

Today, President Trump was asked about the kerfuffle at a press event with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by a German reporter. Trump answered, “We said nothing. All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television. I didn’t make an opinion on it. You shouldn’t be talking to me. You should be talking to Fox.”

Shortly after Trump's comments, Fox News' Shepard Smith issued this strongly worded statement from his network: “Fox News cannot confirm Judge Napolitano’s commentary. Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the now president of the United States was surveilled at any time in any way, full stop.”

.@ShepNewsTeam responds: "Fox News cannot confirm judge Napolitano's commentary."

Back to you, @PressSec and @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/z9UamLkkRP

— Tom Namako (@TomNamako) March 17, 2017

CNN's Jake Tapper has clearly had just about all the BS he can handle from Trump. Tapper opened his show on CNN thusly:

“In a fevered effort to try to force this outlandish claim into something remotely resembling - passably, perhaps, maybe - the truth, the White House appears actually willing to repeat another wild accusation that potentially could alienate our nation’s most important ally.

"Does smearing British intelligence make your family more safe? No? So why is the White House doing it? What is the White House defending here? Because it damn sure isn’t national security or American credibility before the world.”

How does any of this "make America great again?"

Watch Tapper below:

"What is the White House defending here? It damn sure isn't national security or American credibility before the world." - @jaketapper pic.twitter.com/3LSUKZT5hj

— Colin Jones (@colinjones) March 17, 2017

Shep Smith Defends CNN Again: "CNN's Reporting Is Not Fake News"

Shep Smith

Yet again, Fox News' Shepard Smith took to the airwaves today to defend CNN after White House press secretary Sean Spicer excluded CNN and others from a closed door press "gaggle."

“For the record, ‘fake news’ refers to stories that are created, often by entities pretending to be news organizations, solely to draw clicks and views and are based on nothing of substance.

“In short, fake news is made up nonsense delivered for financial gain. CNN’s reporting was not fake news. Its journalists followed the same standards to which other news organizations, including Fox News, adhere.”

Watch below:

WATCH: For the third time in two months, Fox News' Shep Smith has stood up for a free press. "CNN is not fake news" pic.twitter.com/wbJmy7LMiD

— Yashar (@yashar) February 24, 2017

Anderson Cooper's Fiery Interview With Trump Advisor Kellyanne Conway

Don't let the length of the clip fool you. This was quite riveting to watch.

Good on Anderson that he doesn't back down. Make sure you watch to the end when he CONFIRMS that CNN never linked to the document dump or to Buzzfeed.

Conway is wrong, spinning for the Trumpers, and never acknowledges she's wrong.

What's clear is Team Trump has a huge chip on it's shoulder that folks didn't think he would win.

Near the end Conway asks why 8 years ago at this time CNN was reporting that President Obama was headed to Oslo to pick up a Nobel Peace Prize, but no one's reporting that about Trump today.

Umm, maybe because Trump hasn't won a Nobel Peace Prize???

From CNN:

In a fiery exchange, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and Anderson Cooper clash over CNN's reporting of the classified documents presented to President Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump http://cnn.it/2jG0Mom

"I haven't talked to Sean Hannity today. I'm sure you guys have a couple times." Anderson Cooper 2 Kellyanne Conway. https://t.co/Pz3Jg0dOt7

— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) January 12, 2017