This is a rush transcript from "Media Buzz," September 17, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: On the buzz meter this Sunday is President Trump pushes an immigration deal with the Democrats who get some good headlines but is hammered by the media, that is the conservative media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm asking you who voted for him. Is he this tone deaf? Does he not know what got him elected? And I'm telling you some of the staunchest Trump supporters are out there and they've jumped ship.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: Well, the president is reaching across the isle to try and get things done because let's face it, Republican leadership in Congress, they have failed miserably and at every turn.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, FOX NEWS: But for sure the hard- core Trump supporters and the conservatives are very disappointed because they think that this is a step away, a migration away from campaign promises and now they feel that the wall is even in jeopardy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has the wall almost become symbolic. I mean, I know the president ran on it. It was a mantra.
DON LEMON, CNN: If this is indeed the case, this is great. It's bipartisanship. The president should get credit. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schummer should get credit.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
KURTZ: Are the president and his conservative critics heading for a divorce? And does the establishment press like it only when he moves to the left.
Hillary Clinton blaming the media including Fox as she makes the TV rounds to promote her book on why she lost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
MATT LAUER, NBC NEWS: When it comes to the self-inflicted wounds, when you look at the list of them, and you go through them in the book, did you make enough mistake yourself to lose the election without any of the other things you talk about?
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I would say no, Matt. I would think that would surprise you.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN NEWS: Page 27 in your book you talk about alternate nostril breathing.
CLINTON: Yes.
COOPER: What is that and dare you give me a demonstration.
CLINTON: Well, but you know, you do hold and you breathe through one and you hold it and then you exhale to the other and keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
KURTZ: Are the anchors giving her a pass?
Steve Bannon attacking the Republican establishment becomes a media lightning rod after his "60 Minute" sit down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE ROSE, CBS NEWS: The Republicans --
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: The Republican establishment --
ROSE: -- wants to nullify the 2016 election.
BANNON: Trying to nullify the 2016 election, absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP):
KURTZ: Will the former White House adviser hold on to the spotlight. Plus, ESPN announced to throw the penalty flag after a top anchor denounces the president as a white supremacist. But the White House says that's a firing offense. I'm Howard Kurtz and this is "Media Buzz."
To making a short term budget deal with Chuck and Nancy, Donald Trump had them over for dinner in so to struck a tentative deal to save the dreamers program rather than deporting 800,000 younger illegal immigrants, in exchange for tougher border security, but not at least for now, a commitment to build the wall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're not look at citizenship. We're not looking at amnesty. We're looking at allowing people to stay here. We're working with everybody, Republican, we're working with Democrats.
(END VIDEO CIP)
KURTZ: So the president's most loyal supported on the right and the media were furious. "Breitbart," run by former White House strategist Steve Bannon, posted a headline that became a trending hashtag, amnesty Don. S, is this shaking up the media landscape?
Joining is now to analyze the coverage, Shannon Pettypiece, White Correspondent for Bloomberg News; Katie Pavlich, editor of Townhall and a Fox News contributor, and Joe Trippi, Democratic strategist and also a Fox News contributor. Shannon, the mainstream media reaction much of it is while he's being bipartisan, he's figuring out the job, he's growing an office. Is this what happens when a rookie Republican President moves a bit towards the Democrats?
SHANNON PETTYPIECE, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Remember when the president said he could go in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and not lose any votes?
KURTZ: I do.
PETTYPIECE: I think this week he learned, well, maybe so but I got to build that wall, at least if he wants to keep the conservative media and the conservative base on his side. I think there has been a lot made of it since has he pivoted? Is he shifting? Having watched this president over the past nine months I feel like I'll only believe a change or pivot when I see it and I think the media coverage tends like to swing overreactions one way or another.
But the president is definitely feeling out this turf and bringing in a third party into the negotiations which of course is sort of a classic real statement.
KURTZ: I'll put you down as undecided. Media overreacting, where have I heard that before? All right Katie, let me throw some of these tweets up. For those who haven't seen them, from conservative commentators who like Donald Trump, Ann Coulter, "At this point, who doesn't want Trump impeached?" Coulter also saying, "If we're not getting a wall, I prefer President Pence."
And Laura Ingraham, a Fox News contributor and radio host, "Build the wall, build the Wall, or maybe not really." So, Can this marriage be saved?
KATIE PAVLICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I don't think about the DACA issue this week. The majority of the country including a number of people who voted for Donald Trump actually think that DACA should be kept but through Congress constitutionally and not through the executive branch, which is what the president has argued.
In terms of his base getting upset about the wall issue, they're absolutely correct. This is something that was promised repeatedly. This was something that was chanted at rallies over and over again. And their issue is we have seen this movie before. We have been promised for 30 years to have border security in return for some kind of amnesty. It has never worked because amnesty has come first and they see this DACA deal that isn't set yet, but they see any kind of negotiation on that is amnesty first before the wall and that is unacceptable.
KURTZ: Of course the president says it's not amnesty but do some of your colleagues in the conservative media feel betrayed?
PAVLICH: Absolutely, I mean, if you look at what the president said on the campaign trail, it was the opposite of what he's doing now.
KURTZ: Well that is true. He did promise to get rid of the DACA program. Joe, you must love this, Chuck and Nancy and the president telling Chuck Schumer in a phone call that Fox was praising him and that the others, CNN, MSNBC were praising Trump. Is the positive coverage of the president beginning driving this at all?
JOE TRIPPI, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It's a wonderful thing to see. And I also say this too shall pass. I mean the one thing we've seen regardless of the coverage, the sort of the hype that comes with when the president changes course. The media overreacts, I agree with that. And I think in the end though what we've seen repeatedly is three days later this may not be the way the way thing stand. I mean that's how both the coverage and the president have been throughout.
KURTZ: All right, so Senator Schumer caught on a hot mic saying he likes us, he likes me at least. Also getting some good press, a couple f weeks ago, a conservative media wisdom in Washington was Schumer and Pelosi were irrelevant. So, is this a (INAUDIBLE), I mean, the Democrats do seem to at least have some kind of seat at the table now.
PETTYPIECE: Well, and they're certainly getting the media attention. And the media is here (ph) again because yes, I mean in Washington if you go to the Hill, you know, the Democrats walk by and the reporters all ignore them and the Republicans walk by and everybody wants to know --
KURTZ: And now it's a new story.
PETTYPIECE: Right. Now, everyone wants to know what Chuck and Nancy have to say again and they are back in the spotlight. So for them and for their attention, it has made them relevant and given them a seat at the table and that they can go to their constituents and then we'll see how this plays out and say hey, we worked with the president and you know, helped protect these 800,000 dreamers or whatever.
That's god for them too. It's not too much to lose at this point, but (INAUDIBLE) Joe can speak thing continue going in this path, they may have a difficult path going --
KURTZ: Well, it only looks fact (ph) here is that Chuck is from Brooklyn and Donald is from Queens and they speak the same language but so, leaving aside the anti-Trump (INAUDIBLE) people who were never for Donald Trump and the conservative media, are some of his conservative media supporters now justifying this because they want still want to support the president by going after McConnell, by going after Ryan --
PAVLICH: Sure.
KURTZ: -- by and turning their ire on Republican leadership that hasn't produced much for him on the hill?
PAVLICH: It is certainly fair to criticize Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell for their failures f Obamacare and other things this year as such of giving the promises of the last eight years. Totally fair. Fine. But it's not Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan who've been calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump.
And although Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi has stopped short of that, I guarantee you, if they had a majority in the House and Senate, they wouldn't stop their members from voting for impeachment of the president. So moving forward, I think this is a warning shot from the president to Republicans to try and get them to get some things done.
I don't think necessarily it will be a long standing issue. He has to decide whether Chuck and Nancy are negotiating in good faith. Based on their background and their history, they probably are not.
KURTZ: But what about the commentators who had seem, you know, if it was a Democratic president, the commentators on the right would probably be very supportive of McConnell and Ryan --
PAVLICH: Right.
KURTZ: -- and they seem to be changing.
PAVLICH: Like I said, I think it's fair to criticize them for their failures, but I do not think it's fair to say that Nancy and chuck are better negotiators than they are.
TRIPPI: I think this is right in step with what a lot of the conservative media has been saying, that it's the establishment Republican Party that stopped -- has gotten in the way of the Trump agenda and I think this is, you know, it's a way to go after them again. It's their fault that he had to go to the Democrats. I mean --
KURTZ: But what about the liberal media, Joe, because some of the pundits on your side are saying, no, no, no, let's be careful. Let's not do a deal with this guy who we've been demonizing for two years, right?
TRIPPI: I think it's the Democrats sort of get the wrong side of that deal because in the end I think it's going to turn out that this president can go shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. I mean, in terms of his base, that base that really hangs with him. I'm not sure -- it's interesting that Bannon and some of the others are pushing against this right now, but I'm not sure his base --
KURTZ: We'll get to that part and you just went viral. Trippi justifies Trump homicide. We'll see how twitter reacts to that. So, what's fascinating to me is this week at least, the president seems to be speaking more to the press the day that he went to Florida. There is the damage from Hurricane Irma when he talked to the press five different times including - - we're going to put that up -- along (INAUDIBLE) to a mini press conference on Air Force One where he came back and talked t reporters and he thanked the media in Florida. Is he softening a bit on the whole fake news thing, Shannon?
PETTYPIECE: I don't know. As I say, take one week and use it to judge any sort of shift, but --
KURTZ: This sounds like you've all been burned. Like (INAUDIBLE) said, oh, he's changing and then he was --
PETTYPIECE: And 9-1-1(ph) starting to catch on here eventually, but I do feel he is trying to be his own messenger a bit more and that's something. Of course, he's always been very involved in communications, very involved in the message. But as his circle has tightened and, you know, the inner circle has narrowed and there is less noise coming from the outside, that General Kelly, now Chief of Staff has been controlling the flow of information. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he is trying to find his voice more and be his own messenger.
KURTZ: Right.
PETTYPIECE: And say, I'm going to get the message out so work (ph) with me.
KURTZ: Meanwhile, much of the media and particularly saying MSNBC focusing on what I call B minus stories about Russia for example, Michael Flynn's son, some of the former national security advisers reporting for the investigation by Bob Mueller, legitimate story. But when it gets a lot of primetime coverage, I'm wondering whether Russia is really the default setting for some --
PAVLICH: Right. It certainly induced in a legitimate story given Mike Flynn's close connections to the White House, but it is not relevant now in terms of, you know, Mike Flynn's son never worked in the White House. Mike Flynn worked there very briefly so to make that leap to the White House being responsible --
KURTZ: Flynn's son had a role in the transition team.
PAVLICH: Right. He wasn't working in the White House as a full-time government staffer.
KURTZ: So, we talked about this a bit. When the media treat every single Russia development (INAUDIBLE) is hiring a lawyer, you know, as a big deal. Then when the bigger story is coming along they don't seem as big a deal because the volume is cranked up so high.
TRIPPI: Absolutely right. Everything cannot be 10 on the Richter scale. But all these stories are legitimate, they're just I think, again sort of being overhyped and sort of, you know, too much focus. But we've seen with Irma -- actually Irma and Harvey, those two hurricanes actually sort of I think, got some normalcy to the coverage because we're covering real news events and slipping away from some of the Russian stories that got pushed off.
KURTZ: Right. But we also covered the president's role in both hurricanes which turned out he did pretty well despite what the media was saying. We'll talk about that actually a bit later. Let us know what you think, mediabuzz@foxnews.com. Ahead, why hasn't ESPN lifted a finger against the host who called the president a white supremacist? And when we come back, Steve Bannon, the star of "60 Minutes," is helping or hurting his former boss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KURTZ: Steve Bannon, back running Breitbart after leaving the White House, is making lots of news, creating all kinds of controversy including his "60 Minute" sit-down with Charlie Rose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE: America was in the eyes of so many people and it's what people respect America for because people have been able to come here, finds a place, contribute to the economy. That's what immigration has been in America. And you seem to want to turn it around and stop it.
BANNON: You couldn't be more dead wrong. America was built on her citizens.
ROSE: We're all immigrants.
BANNON: America was built from -- don't (INAUDIBLE) this is a thing that the leftist -- Charlie that's beneath you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Well, a feisty exchange there. Katie Pavlich, Steve Bannon says in the interview and elsewhere, he's going to be Trump's wingman at "Breitbart." But is it helpful when he says the Republican establishment, which the president kind of has to work with is trying to nullify the 2016 election.
PAVLICH: Well, he's trying to put pressure on to quote the establishment, the Republicans like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell as we've been talking all throughout the show. That is what he sees as his role. Now, I will point out that the RNC has gone full Donald Trump. I mean, they've hired people who were surrogate for him during the campaign to be their spokes people.
S the RNC is on board. So the only establishment that I think Steve Bannon thinks is left is on Capitol Hill. So, his goal is to kind of push them into this corner and I think will probably be talking to the White House a little bit about how to get this Democrat-Republican cat and mouse game going and to get some things done.
KURTZ: But Joe, Bannon has deep ties in the conservative movement, no question about it. But as a media figure, he's also made clear that he's not only going to go after Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell but also Jared Kushner, Gary Cohen, and some of his former adversaries within the White House. So, is he a media force to be reckoned with?
TRIPPI: Absolutely, yes. But the other thing about, this was quintessential Steve Bannon. He really wants to tear down the establishment.
KURTZ: He said it himself.
TRIPPI: Yes, and it's not about -- I don't this is about (INAUDIBLE) Trump. It's about his desire to break the whole thing up and that's what that interview sort of conveyed.
KURTZ: Shannon Pettypiece, how do you think Charlie Rose did in handling Bannon, saying things as pretty forcefully?
PETTYPIECE: Well, Charlie Rose is Charlie Rose. He has his certain style and certain way of interviewing people. I don't think --
KURTZ: He was a little more aggressive than usual as we saw in that exchange about immigration.
PETTYPIECE: That's probably true, and he was very well prepared and you could tell he had read up on Bannon and probably knew where things were going. He could assume one or two steps ahead of the time. But he did get some very interesting, you know, some interesting lines and observations out of him.
KURTZ: Oh, well you know, Bannon attacked the Catholic church.
PETTYPIECE: The Catholic church.
KURTZ: -- and you know, you go down with. But how successful has Bannon been at re-launching himself? I mean, a year and a half ago, except for the political media insiders, the country didn't know who Steve Bannon was. Now, he gets two segments on "60 Minutes" and everyone says when an issue erupts, oh, let's go see what "Breitbart" has to say about this.
PETTYPIECE: Exactly. I think he's doing a very good job actually re- launching himself and being his own force to rival almost the president for the method with the amnesty don headline and hashtag on twitter and al the traction that got on twitter. I think he is a force to be reckoned with and I think the White House is going to realize that Steve Bannon's loyalties is to his ideologies and his movement and not necessarily to a president or one person.
He's not someone who has been loyal to Trump for 20 years. He is someone who knew him preferably (ph) and then worked on the campaign and then the White House. His loyalty is to himself and his message.
PAVLICH: Steve Bannon expects the president to keep his populist nationalist campaign promises. And as we saw this week with this seemingly getting DACA through Congress first before building the wall narrative, meaning border security comes second. Again, that changed over there at "Breitbart."
And so, it is about making sure the campaign promises through that message are kept and they are willing to hold the White House accountable on those specific issues and go after his enemies on that and other things.
KURTZ: We will watch that space. Joe Trippi, Katie Pavlich, Shannon Pettypiece, thanks very much for joining us this Sunday.
Up next, ESPN says a sports host calling Donald Trump a bigot is merely inappropriate. Unless your the media, it doesn't seem to care.
And laterm, Hillary Clintons (INAUDIBLE) behind her new book, did anyone asked her a hard question? What happened?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEMELE HILL, ESPN: -- despite the fact I talk on TV for a living. I don't necessarily like to do a lot of talking. I like to do a lot of thinking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: ESPN is still reeling after Jemele Hill, the co-host of Sports Center went way out of bounds in attempting to tackle President Trump. In a twitter ran, Hill declared that, "Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself with other white supremacist." She called him the most ignorant offensive president of my lifetime.
And she calls Trump a bigot and unqualified and unfit to be president. And if he were not white, he never would been elected. The network said in a statement that Jemele Hill's comments don't represent ESPN, and that she's been talked to and understands her action were inappropriate, that's right, inappropriate. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had a harsher take from the White House podium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE-SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that's one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Joining me now from New York is Jared Max, sports reporter for Fox News Headlines 24/7 on SiriusXM. So Jared, what do you as a former ESPN employee, think about the network failing to take any action at all against Jemele Hill? No reprimand, no apology, nothing, for calling the president of the United States among other things a white supremacist.
JARED MAX, FOX NEWS HEADLINES 24/7: Howie, good morning. Right off the bat, I'm a big believer. DO you know that saying action speak louder than words? I'm a big believer that actions speak and words don't. So in a week where we have seen ESPN come out and issue a statement that separated itself from Jemele Hill's personal stance and Jemele Hill that are coming out and saying this is not ESPN beliefs, these are my beliefs.
The actions still show that ESPN condones her behavior because to our knowledge she has not been suspended and certainly not terminated so it is an interesting story.
KURTZ: Yes, some people said slap on the wrist, it wasn't even that. And you know, when Jemele Hill and her supporters says these are her personal views on twitter. I mean of course, she's a television personality. When you worked for ESPN what were you told about popping off on social media?
MAX: I could tell you're his, right off the bat, first day at ESPN I was called into my boss' office and told you are no longer Jared Max. You are ESPN'S Jared Max. If you do anything stupid, you go out late at night, you get in any kind of trouble you wound up on page six of the "New York Post." You are ESPN's Jared Max.
Jemele Hill, knows the score. Further, there have been different policies that have been issued by ESPN before the presidential election as well as one early this year that clearly stipulate, do not insert your personal political opinions. Do not take disparaging shots -- pot shots at political folks.
KURTZ: Right. So, that's been clear policy, obviously hasn't even enforced. Let me move now to the White House press secretary because after the clip we shown where Sarah Huckabee-Sanders were saying this was a fireable offense, there was another briefing where reporters pressed here about that and the White House position, let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does that mean that he's willing to apologize for birther claims that he called on for years?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he gave you any cause to make this quest (ph) on private companies from the podium here at the White House?
HUCKABEE-SANDERS: I wasn't being talked about a private company but an individual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: So, some journalists are making the White House an issue rather than the conduct of Jemele Hill and the handling (INAUDIBLE) by ESPN.
MAX: These are uncharted times, Howard, obviously. When I first got into broadcasting 20 years ago I used to keep a sign up in my studio that said no race, no religion, no politics. And now everything is kind of intertwined. And ESPN finds itself in a real mess. What I find so interesting here is that -- and I'm going to talk about science. I was a C and D student in science but I did remember this one.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Colin Kaepernick kneels for the national anthem. That's his action, protesting. Reaction, 32 NFL owners decide this guy is not good for our business. He has done a lot to do everything to alienate our fans, the majority of our fans offending them. He's not good for business.
Then what happens? There's a rally outside the NFL offices not long ago. In my opinion, trying to bully the NFL into giving Colin Kaepernick a job, a guy who was clearly not good for business.
KURTZ: Right.
MAX: Action, reaction. ESPN -- hold on, what does ESPN now do because they have essentially aligned themselves separate from Jemele Hill, while Jemele Hill has been aligned with Colin Kaepernick, Dwayne Wade, NBA Hall Famer Reggie Miller. So now ESPN in a position because what do they do if they take disciplinary action against her? What is the backlash? Is there a rally outside the headquarters --
KURTZ: Let me jump in with this last question because by the way the mainstream media means CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, Washington Post. didn't even cover this until the White House weighed in which I found interesting. So, ESPN's ombudsman weighed in and said Jemele Hill made a mistake and said that -- and has said before that ESPN -- less politics get to allowed in the sports coverage that it leans to the left, the conservatives don't feel comfortable with it. What do you think about ESPN's positioning?
MAX: I don't necessarily know, you know, talk about leaning to the left. And people forget sometimes the media is comprised of individuals and when you give this person a very large stage, they can be mistaken as having the voice of the network. When it comes down to it, yes, this was a very much personal attack. She still has the tweets that are there on twitter and has not removed them.
Again, action speak, words don't. This has been condoned. Those tweets about our president are still there which is outrageous when you consider that many others have lost their jobs or have been suspended for much less.
KURTZ: Yes, including a conservative former baseball player coach (INAUDIBLE). What amazes me is that ESPN doesn't seem like concerned that it is alienating lots of sports fans who don't share Jemele Hill's opinion of the president. Jared Max, thanks very much for joining us from New York.
MAX: Thank you Howie.
KURTZ: Great to see you. Ahead, a "Media Buzz" exclusive, the troubling omission in a CBS report largely defending the Consumer Financial Protection Board. But first, Ed Henry on why the coverage doesn't look like Donald Trump becoming a more traditional president. Well, unless he tweeted something this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWARD KURTZ: Something about the Trump presidency seems to have changed in the last few weeks and in my view, most of the media haven't picked up on it.
Joining us now is Ed Henry, Fox News Chief National Correspondent and he is reporting 42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story. So the media were unanimous before hurricane Harvey hit Texas, it was the first major natural disaster test for President Trump.
Now he's been thought that, he's been through Irma in Florida. And almost no one, it was one Washington Post story, has said whether he passed the test. What happened?
ED HENRY, FOX NEWS: Howard, you and I were talking about this in the Newsroom before Harvey hit. And you've got two storms, you know, this has never happened, you know, in natural disaster response history.
And you and I were talking at the end of August about stories like this. Quickly New York Times, August 25th, the stakes could be exceedingly high. Few events test the effect of this administration or bear as much political risk like a major natural disaster, OK, fine.
So the media at NBC, I found all kinds of stories, yes. Nobody has come back and said, you know what, the president did pretty good and I think that's one of the media's -- nature media's big credibility problems right now. It's just anti-trump almost everything. And when he does a good job, they can't say, hey, that was a pretty good job.
KURTZ: They just go on to the next thing.
HENRY: That what make the legitimate criticism of the mistakes he does make sound a lot more credible.
KURTZ: We'll get to the exceptions in the moment, but by and large, in the last few weeks, I haven't seen the president picking as many fights on Twitter, pretty clear are denouncing the press quite as go virtuously.
He's negotiating with Democrats. There were fewer leaks out of the White House. There is still some. But this clear point, we don't see many stories that say Trump seems to be settling down. Maybe he's acting like a traditional president.
HENRY: But the media will shift over and you see a lot of you see a lot of stories saying he's angering his conservative base. The hard rightist can't take this.
KURTZ: Right.
HENRY: They don't like him doing what he supposes. He legitimate says some rank to that and there is some truth.
KURTZ: Yes.
HENRY: And when you talk to people in the president's phase, they are very frustrated about this sort of more normalized presidency that's not taking on the swamp as much in their view.
And that's a legitimate story we have to continue to follow because some of the president's supporters don't like the idea of a calmed down presidency. They don't like him shaking things up. They like him to it. They don't like General John Kelly making it more calm.
KURTZ: Maybe the media don't like a calm down Trump presidency because all the chaos narrative that helps boost ratings.
HENRY: Right and that gives back to the hurricane thing in sort of like, any time every time there is a minor screw-up at the White House they say what happened to the CEO president? He can't manage anything.
KURTZ: Right.
HENRY: And he has two major disasters hurricane related.
KURTZ: All right, so on the exceptions -- I mean the president did so take off Brits after the London train violence.
HENRY: Yes, off the tweets.
KURTZ: With tweets about all these demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard and that will be mess British authorities.
And then there was this -- this morning the president retweeted a brief video clip by a guys whose Twitter, we can't say on the air. Let's take a look. Keep playing that clip.
(CROSSTALK)
HENRY: It's just goofy. Look, you know, this is the kind of thing the president does that end up making even his supporters say, what's he doing.
I think the bigger point really is about Hillary Clinton. You know, he will still tweet about crooked Hillary. Who cares about Hillary Clinton at this point. Giving her more oxygen...
KURTZ: Yes, and now...
HENRY: She's now the Democrat's problem, not his problem. A, he won and B, the Democrats are frustrated about this book tour. So let them be frustrated.
KURTZ: I am sure a lot of the president's supporters think that's funny.
HENRY: Yes.
KURTZ: It's harmless, but one of the people who are fan of the president and taking this censor Ruth Marcus from the Washington Post tweeted, he thinks hitting women is funny.
HENRY: Right. I mean develop himself up to that. Sure, he develop himself up but I think also people sometimes need to calm down. I mean for example another, he brings in this kid Frank, 11-years-old I think from Virginia on Friday to mow the lawn.
You've got a former New York Times reporter out there tweeting yesterday or a day before. There could be child labor law issues here. This is the -- this sends a bad signal.
What does this teach people of about the minimum wage, give me a break. If Barack Obama invited a kid to mow the lawn, they would be three days of, this is the greatest thing I have even seen, he loves kids.
KURTZ: All right, (Inaudible) because he wrote a letter. So there are still some leaks the New York Times reporting this week that when Bob Mueller was appointed Special Counsel to President Trump, we knew some of this, berated Jeff Sessions in the Oval Office.
Some leave string of insults, called him an idiot, said he should resign, and he did later submit a resignation later that wasn't accepted, according to current and former officials.
HENRY: Right.
KURTZ: So some people are still putting things out there that are not helpful.
HENRY: I mean, Sean Spicer has been out on this tour. He is going on there. There are people who have left the White House...
(CROSSTALK)
HENRY: ... that maybe frustrated. Bannon goes on 60 Minutes. Some shots have been also defends the president on other things.
KURTZ: And the leaks are still a problem for the White House.
HENRY: There are still big problems for this White House but I think bigger than leaks are going to be, is there anything there. Is -- you know, you can drip, drip on the Mueller deal.
But the president -- you know, people close to him that I've talked to believe that by the end of the year, they are going to have some sort of resolution that the president is not in the cross-hairs of this investigation.
They may be wrong about that but they are hopeful of that. If they can get by the end of the year, some sense that Mueller is not going directly after the president for obstruction of justice, these leaks may not matter very much.
KURTZ: And we'll hope to see how the media hear that if that indeed comes to pairs. Ed Henry, great to see you.
HENRY: You too.
KURTZ: Thanks very much. Coming up, Hillary Clinton calls Fox a dedicated propaganda channel. But she doesn't much like the liberal media either. How the anchors are handling her book tour in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KURTZ: Hillary Clinton is on a TV blitz this week to promote her book, What Happened and the anchor have largely badly hurt to site her take on the campaign and to trash Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC ANCHOR: Can we talk about another as you rise on the book, you talk about sexism.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER STATE SECRETARY, UNITED STATES: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think it's harder for Americans to elect a woman than an African-American man?
CLINTON: I think there's a lot of evidence.
MADDOW: Having been through your own political version of the Trump ringer as his political opponent, do you have any advice for his staff?
CLINTON: Well, this is a man who engages in humiliation and domination as a tactic of control.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Because of Russia's role, do you have think there should be an asterisk next to President Trump's name in the history books?
CLINTON: Look, I don't know, we don't know. We don't have all the facts yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Joining us now to analyze the coverage, Gayle Trotter, who watches for Townhall in the Hill and in the ark Emily Tisch Sussman of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Gayle, would you say the TV people interviewing Hillary has been a lot of them, Jane Pauley, Matt and Savannah, Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow have been largely sympathetic or at least to obtain and subtract to pin her down.
GAYLE TROTTER, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: They have been largely sympathetic. In general, just the questioning, they let her go on with long questions without journalist usually try to interrupt in.
KURTZ: Like I'm doing with right now.
TROTTER: Exactly.
KURTZ: Yes.
TROTTER: And particularly in one episode, Anderson Cooper in the interview was listening to Hillary Clinton, tell him about how Russian spies no longer dress in black and sneak into people's offices, but they are able to sit in their military head quarters and break into computers.
And that would have been a perfect time for Anderson to come back and say, well, what about your insecure server that was accessible. Do you think that that played into the results of what happened in the election? But he didn't. He pivoted to what Republicans would say about that.
KURTZ: Right. Emily.
EMILY TISCH SUSSMAN, CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND: Well, there was an entire chapter of her book called My Emails. So I did think she actually address that head on.
I think it's something like, there's (Inaudible) and other something like that. But look, this is her account of the election. It's a historic election on many counts namely and including the fact that it was the first time a major party nominated a woman.
KURTZ: Right.
SUSSMAN: All of those are important facts. And the fact...
KURTZ: But what we are trying to focus on here, Emily, is the extent to which (Inaudible), what she put in the book with the way in which anchors dealt with her. And I thought to Today Show interview was the toughest. And that a lot have mentioned that he's been criticized in the book. But come on, didn't she get a pretty easy ride?
SUSSMAN: Well, I think for that reason, look, you can't go five minutes in the media. You can't turn one page without seeing somebody's account of what happened in this election -- someone's analysis. I think it's perfectly fair for her to go on a tour giving her analysis. She was actually the candidate. I mean, grilling her for what, like for what purpose.
She is never going to be -- she is never going to run for office again. Her husband is never going to run for office again. Like this is her account, that is -- this is her moment in the media to have that account.
And I do think they went in. She was so honest in her book about so many things that were played over and over in the media through the course of the election. What would it add in the media to go in and rehash those, and she -- and she answer.
KURTZ: Let me get by, Gayle. So you say we hash -- I mean if she says in the book, yes, I take responsibility, but it's also, shouldn't Jim Comey's fault, the Russian's fault, Bernie Sander's fault, as the media's fault, then why wouldn't an anchor say what about that, or press her on her argument?
TROTTER: Right. Howie, I would disagree with, Emily, because there was nothing news worthy in her book. And this would have been the perfect opportunity for objected journalists to drill down and get something news worthy.
And truly, a part for partisanship, they are not doing the Democratic Party a service, because I think this is equivalent to the RNC 2012 autopsy that the RNC tried to understand how they lost the election to Obama.
This would be an opportunity for Judy Woodruff of PBS, I watched her interview to really drill down on that and try to understand to get something beyond the talking points that Hillary Clinton just repeat ad nauseam. The amount of coverage devoted to the emails Putin, Comey, everybody knows what they -- how they weigh these things.
KURTZ: Emily, you seem to feel like Hillary Clinton was candid in her book fine, that's part of the reason we conclude on your part but you seem to feel that anchors don't have any responsibility to press her about these things. I mean if, you know, Mitt Romney have written a book, it was in the 2012 election, do you think he would have gotten that kind of K Club treatment?
SUSSMAN: Look, everybody has written a book about every piece of every election, particularly, this election. I do think that she has a right to be candid and I think for every interview I have seen with her, she comes across as incredibly genuine. She is just speaking what she feels happened in this election.
And I think the anchors are responding to that. I don't think that it's not that don't have a responsibility to press her, they are journalists. And on to, Gayle's point would this helps to Democratic Party or not, again, they are journalists, they are not invested in what happens in the Democratic Party.
KURTZ: All right, jump in because I want to get to won this question, Gayle Trotter, Hillary says in the book that Fox leads a right-wing war on truth but she is mad at Matt Lauer over her debate that he not related (Inaudible) the New York Times were playing up her emails which the paper broke. So she doesn't much like the liberal media either.
TROTTER: She doesn't. I think she plays the victim instead of being like Margaret Thatcher who was Iron Lady. She has this feminist ideology that puts out there but she is playing the victim. And so when these journalists ask her these tough questions that benefits not only the Democratic Party but the American political system.
And Glamour Magazine when they wrote an article about whether or not Hillary was correct in saying that white women voted for Trump because their husbands pushed them on that. Anderson Cooper should have asked her about that.
KURTZ: All right, Emily, we just have half a minute. So she is entitled to take her chance to talk but again, she seems to still be ticked off at much of the media.
SUSSMAN: She was quite specific in what she alleges -- said she was talking about but specifically she have said, there was one rumor in particular that was repeated again and again on the network and so -- I think that's fair for her to actually set the record straight.
And if we are talking about what happened in this election, the media played a huge piece in it. So I think it's very fair for her to critic that and talk about what impact it had over all.
KURTZ: Very fair for her to critic in back. Emily Tisch Sussman and Gayle Trotter, thanks very much for joining us.
SUSSMAN: Thank you.
TROTTER: Thank you.
KURTZ: After the break, a CNN anchor cuts the mike when a sports guest gets a little too graphic. Plus how The View treated Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her dad compared to Hillary Clinton.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KURTZ: Sports blogger and radio host Clay Travis was on CNN the other day talking about that uproar of the ESPN host to attack President Trump when suddenly he went all frat boy with anchor Brooke Baldwin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAY TRAVIS, ANALYST, FOX SPORTS: I'm a First Amendment absolutist. I believe in only two things completely, the First Amendment and boobs. And so once they made the decision...
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I just want to make sure I heard you correctly, as a woman anchoring this show. Did you say -- what did you just say? You believe in the First Amendment and B-O-O-B-S
TRAVIS: Boobs. They should.
BALDWIN: I'm done. This is done. Mute the conversation over yanking mikes, bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Sorry, he sounded like a boob. Now, Travis, former employee of Fox Sports Radio which now carries a syndicated show has been boasting about this silly stunt. He kept repeating it over and over, and over again but it kind if work because he wanted to grab attention. And Brooke Baldwin was right to dump him.
It seemed like a nice idea for a feature segment when "The View" agreed to host both Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her dad, Mike Huckabee -- a veteran politician and the rising star at the White House.
And everyone knows the day-time show is predominantly liberal. But I wasn't expecting what happened. After the obligatory, what kind of advice did your dad the give you stuff. We got this assault on Sarah's boss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: The media is not supposed to report on the facts that 95 percent of what he said is a lie?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, PRESS SECRETARY WHITE HOUSE: The problem with that, Joy, is that you're doing exactly what we're talking about and pushing a false narrative.
(APPLAUSE)
BEHAR: I feel sorry for you that you have to get off and defend those lies every day.
SANDERS: Again, I completely disagree with the fact that what you are saying is only 5 percent of that is true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: And the former got governor wasn't spared either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: So let's not pretend that he hasn't said some horrifying things about women, OK? I mean you know that. Just nod. You're not going to say anything, just nod because you know it's true. Having said that, how can you let your daughter defend him?
MIKE HUCKABEE FORMER GOVERNOR, ARKANSAS: Well, he also empowered a lot of women. I mean he has given my daughter an incredible opportunity.
BEHAR: Anecdotal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: How can you let your daughter defend him? An on contract, that would be pretty inspired the woman who lost to Donald Trump and Joy Behar is still depressed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: I was positive you were going to win, everyone was you know and then when I saw that you weren't. I have showed a picture, I went into mourning. I had a veil.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: This was untrue. People were crying. There was a like a certain moment, we were on the air when I realized that you were not going to win. It was like, I felt like I had lost a friend or something. Did you cry? Did Bill cry?
CLINTON: No, we didn't cry that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: She is still in mourning. The only hard question came from conservative panelist Jedediah Bila who asked whether there was tone deafness in the book about voter's angers toward President Obama's short comings. And the White House press sectary, well, she came up again as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNNY HOSTIN, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: : Sarah Sanders said yesterday that it's sad that the last chapter of your public life is now going to be defined by propping up book sales with false and reckless attacks.
CLINTON: I honestly don't pay much attention to what she says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Well, no one expects the ladies of The View not to have opinions. But to fawn over the Democrat and taunt the Republican guest is just low class. Still to come, a story you'll see only here on Media Buzz, how CBS Sunday Morning air the misleading segment defending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KURTZ: A CBS Sunday Morning segment on the director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clearly under President Obama was extremely sympathetic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN MORIARTY, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Richard Cordray maybe the best at the consumers ever had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: CBS (Inaudible) Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling whose bill curbing the agency's powers has passed the House, asked him about the letter of opposition for than 150 professors and then showed some of them laughing at the interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are all of those professors wrong?
CONG. JEB HENSARLING, TEXAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are all wrong?
HENSARLING: Obviously they don't believe in freedom, they don't believe in capitalism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: The program interviewed four law professors, Christopher Peterson, Patricia McCoy, Kathleen Engel and Adam Levitin who defended Richard Cordray and the bureau, and criticized the GOP congressman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER PETERSON, LAW PROFESSOR: It seems to me that Chairman Henserling believes in freedom but only for big banks and financial institutions.
KATHLEEN ENGEL, LAW PROFESSOR: Even the choice that would not abolish the bureau, instead it reaches to leave it an empty husk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: But the program leave likely to disclose is that all four professors worked for or with the Consumer Protection Bureau During the Obama administration, either an staff or it's consumer advisory board. These weren't independent experts. They all had ties to the board they were defending.
CBS decline a comment by after my inquiry posted this editor's note to an online write up of the story, some members of the panel of college professors and consumer advocates featured in this report also have previous work experience with or have serve on advisory board for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
A good step but there was no indication it has been left out in the first place. That's it for Media Buzz, I'm Howard Kurtz, thanks for watching. Check out our Facebook page, give us a like, continue the conversation on Twitter @Howardkurtz, we'll see you back here next Sunday with the latest buzz.
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