Do we do we find more political interest in Kimberly Guilfoyle or in Ilhan Omar?

Well, it's obvious.

And the fact that Kimberly Guilfoyle was a.

A Trump administration appointee and not a Democrat and B was part of the Trump family for a while.

Those are just too juicy to ignore it.

That's a that's a legitimate story.

And obviously now it sounds this morning like she's out.

So if you drop an October surprise, Democrats, and no one's there to report on it, is it really an October surprise?

Is there anything that, new that caught your eye here?

Well, the pattern is new, but the... or the pattern is old, we're just always bringing new numbers to it.

Uh, yes, we've had a, a couple of episodes of Saturday Night Live, and they have been what they always are.

You know, they have that cold open at the start of the show, which is all this, "Hi, I'm Trump and I'm a moron" skit, and then they go to Weekend Update and all of the jokes, the n- the fake news, is generally a pile of attacks on Republicans.

It's overwhelmingly really nasty attacks on Republicans.

So, uh, they are, in a sense, the Saturday Night version of a Kimmel, where it's like the only humor we're going to do is anti-Republican humor.

And if you don't like it, go watch some other channel.

Do you believe this has any effect- On elections.

Is there anything that new that caught your eye here?

Well, the pattern is new, but the...

Or the pattern is old, we're just always bringing new numbers to it.

Uh, yes, we've had a, a couple episodes of Saturday Night Live, and they have been what they always are.

You know, they have that cold open at the start of the show, which is all this, "Hi, I'm Trump, and I'm a moron" skit.

And then they go to Weekend Update and all of the jokes, the, the fake news, is generally a pile of attacks on Republicans.

It's overwhelmingly really nasty attacks on Republicans.

Do you believe this has any effect on elections?

And I gotta give some credit to some people in the mainstream media for not letting that go on.

Yeah, you'd have to guess on some level.

You like the idea that The New York Times would say, "Let's stick by the facts, people," but it also might have something to do with, uh, somebody they know who works at Cornell and thinks they're be- getting a raw deal.

I mean, look, the way this came to me was, Mrs. Graham was reading to me from her social media, and it was, uh, the frat boys were Snapchatting about come and rape this woman, and then Cornell told them to all write essays.

And of course, none of that's really what happened.

You're right, but you'll, you'll see more headlines in Wisconsin media about Trump than you will about the gubernatorial race that is only, you know, that is, at this point, less than 30 days away.

Yeah, and it's one thing where you can say it's the national media.

You know, could you stop obsessing about Trump and do something on individual races? And they could say, "This is a national news, uh, you know, system.

Where does it really begin and end here? Is it right for them to say we're just not going to cover the president at all if he shows one of the networks the door? Your thoughts?

Well, I think they're trying to force his hand.

As you are correct, that the First Amendment has no verbiage in it on how you must have a press pass.

Press passes are something that used to be handed out by the White House Correspondents Association.

Now this administration is doing it.

But we all know that the Biden administration cut the number of press passes by about 440 to absolutely zero media complaint back at the time.

And it included some people who were in the briefing room on a daily basis, like Simon Ateba of something called Today Africa News.

I find it galling, Tim, to be honest with you.

All right.

So, yeah, there's Lawrence O'Donnell on the last word.

This was the one that just jumped out at us the other day.

So there's a press conference with Donald Trump and Mayor Zoran Mamdani saying, And, of course, the conservatives are like, why are you meeting with this guy and then having a chummy press conference? But, of course, Laura Barron-Lopez, who used to be with PBS, she's now with MSNOW, so she comes running out there at the press conference and says, Mayor, what's your response to President Trump banning outlets from the White House grounds? Did you challenge him at all about this? Historians and legal scholars have called it textbook authoritarianism.

That's the part that really tickles me because it's like, Historians and legal scholars who are reliably anti-Trump that we have on MSNOW, but they always want to say this.

Everything Trump does is authoritarianism.

And the thing that's funny about this week is they're all saying Trump's an authoritarian.

in.

Let me do that.

The, uh, the record is not good, but their goal is not to create a historical record about Trump.

It's to create a hysterical record.

It is all about war on Trump.

It's, they don't seek to hold Democrats accountable when Democrats are in power and they, they're not really trying to hold Republicans accountable.

They want Republicans in prison.

So that's, that's sort of the problem now.

that i think half the country is sick of and half the country is just pretending isn't there

So it's not to say

that the Trump team's going to be successful in keeping them out of the White House.

And they probably knew that it's more like, I like picking this fight.

I'm going to pick it again.

And the, you know, the, obviously a lot of people would say, well, why would you do this again? Well, part of it is it brings out in the press, this overwhelming arrogance.

And they say ridiculous things like we are independent reporters who make a historical record and we do accurate reporting and, we represent the American people.

You know, all of this is hogwash because they don't so much do a historical record on Trump as a hysterical record, you know, and the problem we've always had with the so-called mainstream media is they don't do, they don't ask the accountability questions when the Democrats are president and, you know, and Trump really doesn't so much get accountability questions as, you know, he can look at them and say, these people want me in jail.

How do those two things potentially play out?

But also, what about men? Is violence against men, depictions of violence against men, is that okay? Yeah.

I think the added element of this is news media access.

They get upset when ESPN doesn't get the interview they're supposed to get.

So there was already that.

But yes, with you, I mean, part of the problem is it's AI.

It's the whole thing is a fake video.

So when you when a 21 year old guy laughs at it, he knows it's fake.

I'm surprised he didn't do it sooner.

CAN YOU HELP BRING US UP TO SPEED ON WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING HERE?

Sure, there is that whole question of whether their so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies are discriminating against unfavored groups.

But there's also that whole question of whether ABC News has really violated its public interest obligations.

They have looked in particular, they got a show like The View, which has had candidates on within 90 days of a primary.

And when you do that, you need to offer that same interview to other candidates in that race.

So that's been one of the issues.

And what's really fascinating is what ABC is basically arguing.

And can you tell us a little bit about your organization and the types of things that you're reporting on that clearly has you very versed in this topic?

Um, how different or how the same do you expect this defense to be going into the season?

It'll be different probably in every, almost every imaginable way.

Now, yes, there are some guys who are back, but here's a stat that I, I bring up often and I, and I bring it up so frequently that I'm amazed that people, uh, you know, just aren't giving it back to me, but I c- people are surprised when I say it still.

Uh, is that the Bills, uh, have, uh, had six starters in the playoffs last year.

Six defensive starters from the post-season are still unemployed in the NFL right now.

Not only did the Bills not re-sign them, nobody else has signed them either.

Which kind of goes against the concept of, well, General Manager Brandon Beane built a Super Bowl contending roster that Sean McDermott should have thrived with.

What's your, what's your kinda feel? The, what, what's your thoughts on, on Bradley Chubb, who's expected to be someone who's gonna get after the quarterback for the Bills this year?

It's more about what did Ryan Clark say? Or what, what did Cam Newton say? Like, do you feel at times maybe as journalists that maybe the hot takes are just getting out of hand and it becomes they're becoming the story more than whatever it is that they're talking about right now that's how i feel anyway that's my interpretation of a lot of what i'm seeing especially like when i see clips on social media they're geared towards people hitting play on that button you know what i mean as opposed to whatever the substance is it almost doesn't even matter

I feel like sports media, ever since I went to ESPN, this was 2007, so that was my my introduction really to big NFL media coverage.

And I think we're all a part of it now.

When it was traditional, I was writing for the Buffalo News or the Palm Beach Post.

It was just different.

It was the old, you had the newspaper, you had the radio, and you had television.

Everybody stayed in their own lane.

But again, maybe concerns not the right word to use there, but is it noticeable

It's supposed to be free, fair, and balanced, right?

Yes.

Now we've made this point, uh, by studying these big four news apps, and s- in this case particularly, Apple News and Google News, to see what sort of results you get, what they give you, uh, what Apple feeds you in your iPhone.

And yeah, they decided we were not feeding any damaging stories about this Senate candidate in Maine.

Uh, obviously w- that often happens because these, these sites have a tendency to exclude, uh, sites like Breitbart, Newsmax, Fox News, the Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, you know, Newsbusters.

I mean, they, they don't wanna run any stories that, uh, that might think critically about, uh, radical left Democrat candidates.

But once it was a Democrat, it'll, it, uh, it immediately had, uh, validity, which to me is just absolute absurdity.

It does sort of underline the way that these people look at this thing.

Is this the worst, Tim, you've ever seen?

It's pretty bad.

I mean, it is one of those things where you wonder if their extreme Trump hatred leads them down avenues where they don't succeed.

I think they looked at 2024 and said, how did this happen? And they can't seem to realize it's kind of you.

You know, you're the one that sued him 73 times and indicted him on 46 counts and and all that.

And it ended up people were just like, well, obviously, this this isn't fair.

He's being persecuted.

Where are they going with this?

Or, Tim, do they know that Mika is going to be soft on them and that's why they go there for cover?

Well, if we go back to the Biden debate fiasco, who was one of the most enthusiastic don't let him quit persons? It was Mika Brzezinski.

She really thought she needed to stay in.

So, I mean, I think the problem here is they're making political calculations, which they absolutely should.

But the weird thing about the way the media covered this man.

was that we knew about the Nazi tattoo last fall, and the networks really didn't touch Graham Plattner for months and months.

What actually made Graham Plattner appear on the network news was the sexting allegations that the wife told the campaign this could be a problem.

And the story that came out was they spent more time talking about Lindsey Pfeifeld's political past than they did talking about Graham Plattner's past in that article.

Is there anything else that I'm missing, Tim?

Well, those are some of the big ones.

Look, the real myth in all of this, and you saw this in the coverage last night, is, oh, back in the Obama years, we were all unified.

We all loved Obama, and there was no strife between the parties, which any of us who lived through those eight years, that's just preposterous.

You know, okay.

So he got elected.

In fact, he got reelected because they basically came back around in 2012 and said, well, you'll still be racist if you don't reelect him.

So what more are we going to see fall away from his time in office?

[laughs]

You know? And now let's talk to Catholic bishops who hate Trump, you know.

And, and, and there'll be no pro-Trump people in the story.

I mean, that's, that's the kind of thing that they would make, you know, unless it was somebody interviewing the president, uh, after the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, and he...

And then she was quoting the shooter to him, and he was like, "You're a terrible person." But-

Yeah.

And they've spent months and months whistling through the graveyard and not saying anything.

Um, and part of it was, I think, they wanted to see who was actually gonna win that primary.

Yeah.

Uh, uh, it's, it's a good thing that this guy was apprehended.

Um, but yes, they should probably consider the fact that somebody could get a room at the hotel before they try to take a potshot.

I think the other problem we obviously have is that we have lived in 10 years of a threat environment that the media participate in.

You know, nobody ever corrects them when they compare Trump to a guy that killed six million Jews, where they say that, uh, on CNN that he might end up killing more people than Hitler, Stalin, and Mao combined.

Brian Stelter just let that fly, you know? And so we have that environment where people constantly tell the American people that Donald Trump's a dangerous totalitarian, not just authoritarian, they say totalitarian.

Senator Murphy went to Spain and said, "We live in a totalitarian country now," which raises the question, who let you out to go to Spain?

What's your analysis?

Um, w- they never, never seem to change, and I think that's a perfect example of what you're talking about.

Yeah, I mean, it's just the latest example of many.

But I think that we have looked at this and thought the liberal or left wing narrative is always all state-run media, uh, that especially at wartime, you know, you have to be patriotic.

There's been none of that.

There's been no rah-rah cheerleading, not that we expected it.

But again, just in terms of them being able to describe how Iran's defenses have been degraded, they don't even wanna focus on that.

They wanted to focus overwhelmingly on death and on, quote-unquote, soaring gas prices at all times.

Why? There's money here, isn't there?

What role does the media and potentially social media, as well as the rhetoric coming out of the potentially Democratic leadership, as we just saw in that last package, what role does that actually play in potentially radicalizing individuals?

Well, as Caroline Leavitt laid out there, there is hot talk out there.

They use these words daily, fascist, authoritarian, dictator.

They use them all the time.

And they suggest, if you listen to people like The View, they're out to kill you.

They do use very hot terms.

Now, as a conservative, I'm saying if some nut starts shooting something up, you don't blame MSNOW or something.

So might this be an opportunity to be a turning point in how rhetoric is used when reporting on what might be considered the other side, depending on which media outlet you are?

Do you think a lot of people are doing that?

Yes, because obviously when you do a Google search, what's the first result you're generally gonna get? Google gives you Wikipedia.

It's just the algorithm's right there.

So almost whatever you put in somebody's name, you put in a political event, the, the first link you're probably gonna get is to Wikipedia.

So that's really important, and then it says which sources do they use? And yes, overwhelmingly they're going to use these liberal media sources.

You know, when we were kids and we were reading the World Book, it didn't have a bunch of footnotes necessarily, um, but it was pretty straightforward and cut and dried.

I think when you look at Wikipedia articles, like the M- Wikipedia article on the Media Research Center, it's gonna have a bunch of liberal things in it, that, their, you know, oh, controversies, you know?

Now, do you think that Wikipedia editors or owners are doing it on purpose?

Do you think a lot of people are doing that?

Yes, because obviously when you do a Google search, what's the first result you're generally gonna get? Google gives you Wikipedia.

It's just...

The algorithm's right there.

So almost whatever you put in somebody's name, you put in a political event, the- the first link you're probably gonna get is to Wikipedia.

So that's really important, and then it says, which sources do they use? And yes, overwhelmingly they're going to use these liberal media sources.

You know, when we were kids and we were reading the World Book, it didn't have a bunch of footnotes necessarily, um-...

Now, do you think that Wikipedia editors or owners are doing it on purpose?

I did not see this, but apparently she was doing what while reporting on the Gaza situation?

Well, she can't give credit to Trump.

Uh, Mary Bruce was well known to us for somebody when Joe Biden was president, she was always just glorifying everything that he did.

Um, now they have to both sides everything.

You know, this...

Yesterday, most of the networks, this was a day when you saw so much touching video of reunions, uh, and of these hostage families.

Um, and so obviously, this is something Donald Trump caused.

You disagree with that?

I did not see this, but apparently she was doing what while reporting on the Gaza situation?

Well, she can't give credit to Trump.

Uh, Mary Bruce was well known to us.

For somebody when Joe Biden was president, she was always just glorifying everything that he did.

Um, now they have to both sides everything.

You know, this, yesterday most of the networks, this was a day when you saw so much touching video of reunions, uh, and of these hostage families, um, and so obviously this is something Donald Trump caused.

So, this was about the best press day Trump has had.

You disagree with that?

Um, what do you think is going to happen with new management at CBS News?

Well, it has to change somehow.

You know? She fired the first shot, so to speak, in this, uh, uh memo she sent out when she took office.

Um, just the title editor-in-chief makes all the liberals nervous.

And especially when, I think it was items six and seven, she said, "We are going to try to provide equal scrutiny of the political parties, and we are going to try to ensure a diversity of viewpoints." Both of those are extremely opposed to what we generally see on CBS, specifically on some programs like 60 Minutes.

Um, we are already seeing there's complaints saying, "Please don't touch the crown jewels of 60 Minutes and CBS News Sunday Morning." Those are two of the most aggressively tilted, uh, shows, where they, you- your, you have fierce scrutiny of Trump and the Republicans, and you have fierce publicity for Biden, Harris, you know, you know, and, and the like.

Does that make a difference?

Well, you'd think it does now, because one of the complaints about whether it was Jimmy Kimmel, whether it was the lawsuits, uh, against CBS, for example, is they all thought, "Well, if you wanna, if you have any business where you wanna acquire a media property and the FCC or the FTC has to approve it, then Donald Trump's gonna tell you you need to do X, Y, and Z." So they've been concerned about that.