Clashes break out at anti-Trump protests in London
Pro-Trump protesters met with verbal abuse and some violence following a visit from President Trump to the UK.
Media bias hit warp speed so often this past week, it was like being on the set of the next “Star Trek” movie. In reality, the bias was only flying as fast as Air Force One, as President Trump went from announcing a Supreme Court nominee to traveling to a NATO meeting in Belgium and then to Britain.
Wherever the president went, the media followed, obsessed with allegations the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to win the 2016 presidential election, along with other issues involving Russia. President Trump will be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland on Monday.
As President Trump dared criticize NATO allies for not spending enough on defense against Russia, Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok testified on Capitol Hill. The combination was too much for MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd. “So this is a day that arguably, in the minds of many, may have empowered Vladimir Putin,” he said.
It was a familiar argument. CNN White House reporter Stephen Collinson said that with Trump’s NATO criticisms he “appears to be doing Russian President Putin's work for him.”
Journalists fell over themselves trying to criticize Trump’s diplomatic efforts. CNN anchor John Berman called the White House strategy “Hulk smash.” Both ABC and NBC sneakily cut out criticism of Europe’s paltry defense spending from a quote by European Council head Donald Tusk. The full quote urged Trump to be nice to his allies and for Europe to spend more. Shockingly, the second half was amputated.
Many in the media seemed to be taking talking points from a New York magazine piece that tried desperately to tie Trump and Putin. It was headlined: “Will Trump Be Meeting With His Counterpart — Or His Handler?” The article’s “plausible theory of mind-boggling collusion” wove together conspiracy theories, rumor and supposition. It even included a massive graphic that looked like it had come right off the Unabomber’s wall.
Daily Beast columnist Jonathan Alter compared the Russian actions to 9/11. “The difference is, President Bush never said on Sept 10th: ‘Osama, if you’re listening,’ …” he tweeted.
Journalists got their Russian wishes partially fulfilled. On the same day that former FBI lawyer Lisa Page testified before House committees behind closed doors, 12 Russian military intelligence officers were indicted by a grand jury in the Russia probe being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said: "We do not try cases on television or in congressional hearings." He never said anything about conveniently timed indictments and neither did the giddy press.
The arrests were just the linkage journalists wanted before President Trump’s scheduled meeting with Putin. The New York Times was quick to remind readers of a campaign comment: “Trump Invited the Russians to Hack Clinton. Were They Listening?”
Daily Beast columnist Jonathan Alter compared the Russian actions to 9/11. “The difference is, President Bush never said on Sept 10th: ‘Osama, if you’re listening,’ …” he tweeted.
With the Putin meeting looming, CNN’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter lamented “how will the press and the public know what happens at this private meeting? … Trump can't be trusted” and neither can Putin.
It’s worth noting that Russia isn’t new to trying to influence American elections. The Washington Post reported last year that “Russians have been trying to influence outcomes and perceptions of U.S. elections since” 1960. That doesn’t make the attacks any better, but they were consistent with Russia’s long-held, anti-American strategy.
2. I’m UK, You’re UK: President Trump visited Merry Old England in between media Putin narratives. The coverage didn’t get any better.
The presidential visit set off the typical left-wing protester reaction and journalists loved it. NBC Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel enjoyed both the crowd and criticizing Trump. “So, while you just heard President Trump stop any criticism on him as fake news, he can't dismiss this as fake news. These are real protesters,” he told viewers.
He explained that they were the “biggest protests in this city in years.” What he didn’t say was the protests against President George W. Bush were probably even bigger back in 2003. The Post reported that in 2003, “according to the BBC, an egg was launched at the presidential motorcade and a total of 67 arrests were made (including that of the egg-thrower).”
CBS’s “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert mocked President Trump for picking his Supreme Court justices from a list of “white guys.” There are apparently no mirrors at CBS.
Historian Jon Meacham went on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to ask about the president’s relationships with leaders like British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “What’s the role of misogyny here?” he asked.
It wouldn’t be a press conference if someone from CNN (hint: Jim Acosta) didn’t make a scene. After being stymied trying to ask a question and having the president dismiss the network as “fake news,” Acosta channeled his best Pinocchio. “Well, we’re a real network, too, sir,” he said in response.
3. Kicking Kavanaugh: The media went to some incredible lengths to undermine the new Supreme Court nomination. ABC’s “Nightline” Twitter feed promoted “the controversial Supreme Court Justice pick” roughly 90 minutes before the pick was even announced.
The Post had quite the scoop as well. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh likes baseball and had a fair amount of debt from buying tickets.
In other words, he’s like pretty much every other sports fan. The likely future justice was owed money from friends as part of his purchase, but that earned him this Post headline: “Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh piled up credit card debt by purchasing Nationals tickets, White House says.” Premium seating for Nationals games can run as high as $430 per game for a season-ticket plan. That’s almost $35,000 per ticket.
The spin was all part of the media pro-abortion crusade that encompassed women’s magazines to late-night comedians. MSNBC called the GOP move that refused to allow a vote on President Obama’s nominee Judge Merrick Garland “evil.”
CBS’s “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert mocked President Trump for picking his Supreme Court justices from a list of “white guys.” There are apparently no mirrors at CBS.
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