Trump Watches MSNBC? Yep! And It’s Driving Him Crazy. So He Threatens to Tax and Penalize Them

Donald Trump’s television diet is ordinarily filled with the junk food and empty calories of Fox News, or OAN, or other devoted purveyors of MAGA propaganda. He feels secure in the bunker he has built that is populated by friendly pundits whose perpetual outpouring of praise feeds his massive, yet fragile ego.

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Donald Trump

Trump’s fear of honest reporting keeps him in a state of constant anxiety and debilitating dread. However, on occasion he manages to stiffen his noodly spine sufficiently to hate-watch news programs that are something less than worshipful. In the meantime he barricades himself behind a wall of disciples who are ordered to sing his divine praises…

SEE THIS: Trump Gathers His Cabinet Members to Conduct Another Festival of Feckless Trump-Fluffing

On Friday morning Trump took to his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, to express his outrage at a segment he had watched on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. The segment featured an interview of Stephanie Ruhle, a financial expert and host of an MSNBC primetime show. Ruhle’s analysis of Trump’s recessionary tariffs triggered another one of Trump’s tormented tantrums. He wrote that

“I just watched an exhausted, highly neurotic Stephanie Ruhle spew LIES about Tariffs, as do many others, in order not to give me the Victory that they all see coming.”

As usual, Trump is delusional. Ruhle’s reporting (video below), unlike Trump’s rant, was calm, reasonable, and rooted in facts. It was in line with what most reputable economists have concluded about Trump’s disastrous tax attacks on America’s international trading partners.

Trump went on to call his alleged “deal” with the UK “AMAZING,” and claimed, contrary to reality, that “We’re going to make a fortune with Tariffs [but that] only smart people understand that.” He still hasn’t explained how there will be any revenue from tariffs after he’s made all the deals he has promised in order to remove them.

Continuing in his infamously infantile fashion, Trump insulted Ruhle as “Never known as a ‘High IQ” person.'” And in closing he accused MSNBC of engaging in a “Major Campaign Violation,” and raged that…

“MSDNC has become the Voice of the Democrat Party, and they should be treated as a Political Advocate with all of the Taxes and Penalties therefrom. Their Ratings are terrible, but Brian Roberts and his crew should be forced to TELL THE TRUTH.”

Trump’s tunnel-blindness in asserting that MSNBC is “the Voice of the Democrat Party,” while ignoring how Fox News is literally aligned with his administration, is the purest form of hypocrisy. MSNBC has numerous Republicans on their roster, including Joe Scarborough, whose show he was actually watching as he unleashed this screed. Trump, meanwhile has recruited at least 21 Fox News hacks to serve in his White House.

MORE HERE: Trump’s Nominees Are Largely Fox News Alum, Mar-a-Lago Patrons, and Billionaires

What’s more, Trump is again demanding that the free press protections in the Constitution be discarded so that he can impose “Taxes and Penalties” on the network, and “force” it to tell whatever bullpucky he regards as the truth.

For the record, the segment that is apparently the cause of Trump’s concern included the following discourse by Ruhle who warned that Trump “needs to get off this crazy tariff train, and he knows it.” [Because] unless he turns this around…we’re going to have a COVID-like supply chain crisis.”

“Donald Trump is backed into a corner. His grand plan of tariffs, tariffs, tariffs, aren’t working. You’re seeing, day in and day out, more business leaders – whether it’s Warren Buffett or Jamie Dimon or Ken Griffin – on big global stages saying ‘This is going to crush us economically.’ And then you’ve got congressmen, senators, saying to this White House ‘our small businesses are strangling, are dying here.'”

"Unless he turns this around, three weeks from now, you walk into a store and we're going to have a covid-like supply chain crisis, and Trump is looking for an exit" — here's the @stephruhle.bsky.social commentary that triggered a Trump Truth Social meltdown

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-09T16:31:48.237Z

Everything that Ruhle said was true and verifiable. Conversely, everything that Trump said was fantasy and preposterous. Not to mention un-American and inspired by the authoritarian practices of Trump’s heroes, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un. But then, what do you expect from a wannabe dictator who doom-scrolls cable TV networks that he despises?

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Who Should Fill Andrea Mitchell’s Now Vacant Slot on MSNBC? Jim Acosta? Mehdi Hasan? Or…

MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell hosted the last episode of her program on Friday. Her departure was announced last October in a statement that indicated her interest in doing “more of what I love the most: more connecting, listening and reporting in the field.”

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Jim Acosta, MSNBC

Mitchell will retain her role as chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent. However, no one has yet been named to fill her 12:00pm ET time slot. That leaves some interesting possibilities for the network to counter Trump’s war against the free press that he refers to as “the enemy of people.”

SEE THIS: Trump Hurls Hate and Fear at All of the Media He’s Suing Following the ABC News Capitulation

Among the prospective candidates to succeed Mitchell is former CNN anchor, Jim Acosta. He recently chose to ditch CNN when they tried to banish him to an overnight wasteland, despite his having higher ratings than most of his CNN colleagues. It’s clear that the network’s brass were determined to kiss up to Trump by silencing one of his most honest and effective critics. Acosta signed off by warning that…

“It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant…Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope.”

Other potential replacements might include current weekend MSNBC hosts, Katie Phang, Ali Velshi, Alicia Menendez, Jonathan Capehart, and Ayman Mohyeldin. Another intriguing possibility would be to bring back former host Mehdi Hasan, an insightful journalist who was popular with MSNBC viewers before he was let go. Although he may not be available now as he has started his own successful media enterprise, Zeteo.

Replacing Mitchell with Acosta or Hasan would serve the dual purpose of pissing off Trump. Of course, he will attack whoever gets the spot with his hallmark hatred of anyone who dares to criticize him. And he has a special place in the decaying organ where his heart should be for MSNBC. Some of his recent outbursts include…

You take a look at MSDNC, how evil they are. They’re evil. They’re sick. They shouldn’t even be allowed to do what they do. Because it’s so corrupt. They shouldn’t be allowed to do it.”

MSNBC (MSDNC) uses FREE government approved airwaves, and yet it is nothing but a 24 hour hit job on Donald J. Trump…Our so-called ‘government’ should come down hard on them and make them pay for their illegal political activity.”

MSNBC, often and correctly referred to as MSDNC (Democrat National Committee!), should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason.’”

One option that MSNBC must resist is giving another hour of air time Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough, who is already controlling four hours every weekday morning. The last thing the network needs is to lean closer to the Trump-fluffers at Fox News.

Speaking of which, Fox just announced its own new host, Trump’s daughter-in-lawlessness, Lara Trump. Which is their way of affirming that the network has abandoned any pretense of being anything other than Trump’s Ministry of Propaganda.

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Morning Joe’s Craven Capitulation to Trump is Just Cause for MSNBC to Consider Pulling the Plug

Whenever an emerging totalitarian regime starts to reveal its intentions, there are weak citizens and organizations that seek to get in front of the tyrannical train and declare their allegiance to the dawning dictatorship before it actually assumes power.

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Donald Trump, Woman, Fear

That display of spinelessness was evident when the Washington Post and other media enterprises withheld their endorsements of Kamala Harris prior to the election. It’s especially disturbing when comedy news satire programs are more credible journalists than mainstream media…

SEE THIS: The Media Still Doesn’t Get the Danger that We – and They – Are In, But the Daily Show Does

With the election behind us, it took less than two weeks for a usually reliable news network to fall under the spell of the demagogic cult leader, Donald Trump. On Monday morning the hosts of Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, opened their program with a report on their recent visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home/hotel. It was not exactly a story of courage or journalistic integrity (video below). Mika began…

“Over the past week, Joe and I have heard from so many people from political leaders to regular citizens deeply dismayed by several of president-elect Trump’s Cabinet selections, and they are scared. Last Thursday, we expressed our own concerns on this broadcast and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the president-elect himself. On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that.”

Joe said that he talked to Trump about a lot of issues, including those with which they disagreed. “What we did agree on,” Mika said, “was to restart communications” [and that] “He seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues.” And if she believes that Trump has any genuine interest in finding common ground she is terminally naïve. She continued…

“We have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trump’s actions and words in the coarsening of public debate, but for nearly 80 million Americans. election denialism, public trials, January 6th, were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote. Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.”

First of all, Trump had less than 77 million votes, and only about two million more than Harris. It was one of the closest elections in modern times, and not in any way a mandate for Trump, or reason for Democrats to cave in. Furthermore, merely because Trump came out slightly ahead is no reason to forget the atrocities he was responsible for, including the violent January 5th insurrection, and his dozens of felony charges and convictions.

Joe suggested that “this is a president who is not seeking reelection, so maybe, just maybe now could be time for both parties to get to work.” Which is patently absurd. Trump is not thinking about reelection as a factor in pursuing his authoritarian power grab. In fact, he may not be thinking about ever having to stand for election again at all, while still staying in power.

Mika added that “Hyperbole and personal attacks will not work. My hair on fire doesn’t work. We have all seen that. What also does not work is threatening political opponents with arrest, harassment and even jail. That is a failed path.” Of course, she’s wrong. Trump succeeded with his threats and fear mongering and therefore, will see no reason to abandon those tactics now. Continuing…

“We know that this will be a consequential presidency. The question is whether it will be constructive. It will take a new approach from all sides, from both parties, and a leader who can bring them together. And only time will tell if Donald Trump can be that leader.”

Wrong again. Trump has no intention of bringing anyone together. He has said so explicitly, reiterating his threats against his critics, political opponents, and the media.

Joe closed by saying that he is “not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump.” But that’s precisely what he is doing. How else can he justify cozying up to someone he once compared to Hitler? A comment that drew a response from Trump’s spokesperson threatening that “their sad, miserable existence will be crushed when president Trump returns to the White House.”

This would be a good time for MSNBC to reconsider whether having Joe and Mika on for three hours every weekday is really a good idea while Trump and his regime are dismantling democracy. And it will be interesting to see how their network colleagues (Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Jen Psaki, Alex Wagner, Nicole Wallace, etc., respond. Katie Phang has already made her feelings clear…

https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1858520409710182606

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that “According to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Scarborough and Brzezinski were credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration.” [and that] “the incoming Trump administration could use its wide-ranging powers to punish people deemed enemies.”

So in other words, the cowards capitulated.


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BIDEN: Trump is Riding Around in His Golf Cart at Mar-a-Lago Talking to His Wealthy Friends

Nearly two weeks ago, President Biden debated Donald Trump on CNN and unfortunately fell short of offering an accounting of himself that could have buried the convicted felon and adjudicated rapist before a national audience of millions. It was a missed opportunity to pull ahead of Trump and coast to victory in November.

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Donald Trump, Joe Biden

For the two weeks that have transpired since, the media has been doing a great disservice to the nation by obsessing over President Biden’s age, while ignoring his successes with the economy and foreign policy, as well as Trump’s pathological lies and incoherence bordering on insanity. And it’s not as if Trump’s debate performance was anything but an embarrassing excretion of flagrant falsehoods and infantile insults.

SEE THIS: FTR: Felonious Trump Gave 3 Times as Many False Statements as President Biden in the CNN Debate

Furthermore, Biden has spent the past two weeks doing rallies and interviews – 18 so far – in order to demonstrate his vigor and competence as a proven leader. And where has Trump been? Well, let’s let Biden tell us what he told Morning Joe on MSNBC this morning…

“Trump’s just a liar. And he hasn’t done a damn thing since the debate. He’s been riding around in his golf cart for 10 days down in Mar-a-Lago talking to his wealthy friends.”

Exactly!. Trump’s avoidance of the press and the public is typical of his cowardly campaign strategy throughout this election cycle. The only public appearances he makes are before rapidly shrinking crowds of his glassy-eyed cult disciples. And the only interviews he grants are with certified Trump-fluffers on devoted propaganda outlets. And even those are having a hard time living down to his demands for total capitulation to unflinching adoration.

Biden also told Joe Scarborough that he is adamant about his decision to stay in the race and beat Trump – again. The decision voters have to make now is historically unique. It isn’t just one candidate or the other. It’s a decent leader with integrity, or a criminal, wannabe dictator that half the country thinks should be in prison. Biden reiterated some of his reasons for running, saying that…

“I’m running because I never bought into the trickle-down economics theory. I never bought into the notion that we have to walk away from the rest of the world and cave to Putin or anybody else.” [and that] “I’m confidant that’s where the American people are…I don’t care what the millionaires think.”

Trump meanwhile, continues to boldly run away from his own positions and platforms, such as “Project 2025,” a handbook for fascism, that was authored by many of his closest associates. He likewise continues to spew utterly bizarre tales that bare no resemblance to reality (e.g. fantasy death by batteries or sharks, all Democrats favoring overturning of Roe v Wade, Biden orchestrating his 34 felony convictions, etc.).

Biden’s post-debate appearances have shown him to be alert and engaged and compassionate about advancing the interests of the American people. Trump, however, has burrowed himself into his Mar-a-Lago bunker among the wealthy guests who worship him. But his conspicuous absence from the campaign trail raises questions about his own fitness for office. Will the press interrupt their marathon Biden-bashing to explore any of those questions? To be determined…

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Trump Celebrates Martin Luther King Day By Calling MSNBC’s Joy Reid a Stupid Racist

On the federal holiday commemorating the birth of civil rights icon Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, the nation is called upon to reflect on King’s message of love, economic justice, and the nonviolent pursuit of equality. King’s legacy is one that inspires most Americans to join the crusade for moral enrichment and unity.

Donald Trump, Martin Luther King

Sadly, there is still a small but significant minority that fails to grasp the merit of the movement that King inspired. And the leader of that rabble of regressives is Donald Trump. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that Trump stained this memorial day with the sort of rancid rhetoric that is his hallmark. Trump posted a statement (via his Twitter ban defying spokes-shill) that read…

“Will Morning Joe be canceled? He and Mika’s ratings are very low—they are having an extremely hard time finding an audience to listen to the Fake News they spurn. Losing them would be very sad—hope it doesn’t happen!”

Trump’s attack on MSNBC’s Morning Joe is typical Trumpian media bashing driven by vengeance and jealousy. He continues to demonstrate that he is obsessed with ratings as a measure of quality, as well as his ignorance on the subject. What’s more, his illiteracy is revealed again in his misuse of the word “spurn.” Trump’s assertion that the Morning Joe folks “spurn” fake news literally means that they reject it. So… thank you? And of course he appends a passive aggressive “hope” to confirm his enduring immaturity. But he was just getting started. And here is where Trump couldn’t contain his seething bigotry as he went after MSNBC host Joy Reid:

“On another front, looks like Unjoy Reid, the racist commentator on MSDNC (MSNBC), is toast. Her stupidity is only surpassed by her absolute lack of television persona. She never had it, and never will. The only thing she’s good at is spewing racist hate but obviously, no one is listening!”

The raging hatred in Trump’s statement is blatant and nauseating. And it isn’t the first time that he’s maligned Reid. For this tirade Trump began by childishly mocking Reid’s first name. And he couldn’t even think of an original epithet. So he recycled the one he’s been using against the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection, which he, as the emotionally stunted adult that he is, calls the “unselect” Committee. Then he devolved further into bitter and baseless insults, attacking Reid as “racist” and “stupid.” Ironically, those are words that are far better descriptors of Trump.

It is unclear what triggered this attack on Reid, one of the few African-American women hosting television news programs. But it seems unlikely that it is just a coincidence that Trump lashed out at her on MLK Day without any discernible provocation. Perhaps he’s still upset that his favorite propaganda dispenser, OAN, is going to be dropped by DirecTV, their biggest distributor.

So maybe Trump is just swinging wildly at a cable news network that he regards as enemy (although he’s revealing that he watches it an awful lot). Or maybe he’s just a racist pig who gets off on spreading hate and denigrating women (as Fox News does) every chance he gets. Either way, his noxious attitude and insensitivity toward this solemn holiday is precisely what one would expect of Trump. So at least he is consistent.

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Rachel Maddow Crushes Trump-Fluffer Sean Hannity in November Ratings War With Fox News

Two months ago Fox News moved Sean Hannity’s program to 9:00 pm. It was the latest schedule change resulting from the terminations of Fox anchors (Bill O’Reilly, Eric Bolling) accused of sexual harassment and abuse. For Hannity it was a promotion to a more desirable time slot with a potentially larger audience. He must have been excited for the opportunity.

Rachel Maddow

He very likely regrets it now. The latest Nielsen ratings report for November 2017, has some depressing news for Hannity and Fox News. In the new time period Hannity has been losing to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on a regular basis. The programs are not really competing for the same viewers, but the bragging rights for being number one are important for both promotion and advertising revenue. Hannity is especially hurting on the latter as a result of his support for the pedophile senate candidate in Alabama, Roy Moore. Advertisers have been fleeing the program and a successful Stop Hannity campaign was launched.

The Nielsen ratings results for the month of November reveal another bitter loss for Sean Hannity. With the pressure of going up against Fox’s top program, Rachel Maddow managed to score an impressive victory. That makes her the number one program in all of cable News in the coveted 25-54 year old demographic. Her ratings improved year-over-year by forty-eight percent. Fox News was down eighteen percent.

On the strength of Maddow’s popularity, the rest of the MSNBC lineup benefited as well. It was the only cable news network to grow its total audience from last year, rising thirty percent. Meanwhile CNN and Fox News both declined (-49% and -31% respectively). The MSNBC primetime was a strong contender across the board, finishing either first or second.

For early risers, Morning Joe took second place and delivered its best numbers in the twenty-one year history of the network. It was also the only show in the time period to grow its audience. In the 25-54 demo Morning Joe advanced twenty-two percent. CNN was down just three percent. And the “Curvy Couch” potatoes at Donald Trump’s favorite show, Fox and Friends, fell by twelve percent.

This has to be a satisfying victory for Maddow and MSNBC. Having suffered a year of Donald Trump’s infantile whining about fake news and low ratings, the network can boast that it handily outperformed Fox News (aka State-Run TV). It’s an indication that the country is hungry for real, in-depth reporting and analysis that doesn’t talk down to them. And, more importantly, doesn’t lie or engage in humiliating episodes of fawning over and defending the ignoramus in the White House.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

As we go forward we will likely see more of the same as Trump’s star falls ever further and the legal noose around his neck gets tighter. Hannity and his Fox News colleagues will undoubtedly ramp up the crazy (just as Trump is doing) in a desperate attempt to keep from becoming totally irrelevant. But their desperation will result in even more ludicrous conspiracy theories and lunatic outbursts. Who knows? This might actually end up being kinda fun to watch.

Trump’s Deranged Reality TV Contest to Award a Fake News Trophy

America’s first Reality TV president still hasn’t risen from the inanities of television game shows to the seriousness of world leadership. Donald Trump’s total inability to behave at a level above a tantrum throwing toddler is frightening and dangerous for our nation – and planet.

Donald Trump

In another demonstration of his persistent infantilism, Trump returned from a Thanksgiving vacation at his Palm Beach golf resort to his porcelain throne at the White House and fired off a couple of tweets that affirm his narcissism and hatred of the free press. He began with this rhetorical flatulence:

The Donald should be careful what he wishes for. The contest he is proposing has already taken place in the form of polls that compare the public’s trust in the media to their trust in him. And despite his relentless smear campaign against the free press, he comes out the loser in every match-up. That’s right, he loses to CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and all of the broadcast news networks. He is even getting hammered in a Twitter poll attached to his own tweet.

It’s a rather pathetic display of hubris for Trump to proclaim himself anyone’s “favorite president.” Particularly when he is still wallowing in the lowest depths of presidential polling in modern history. Americans rebuke him on almost every character trait as well as his overwhelmingly unpopular policies. Yet the only thing he can do is swing wildly at the press in a tactic favored by dictators throughout time. And his tirades are entirely ego-driven. In another of his morning tweets he goes after his former pal, Joe Scarborough:

This was in response to a tweet by his Director of Social Media, Dan Scavino, who sought to embarrass Morning Joe for pre-taping a Thanksgiving episode. Someone should tell them that Sean Hannity pre-tapes every show he does on Fox News. And furthermore, they should be informed that Morning Joe is enjoying it’s highest ratings ever. It is currently the number two morning news program. And the only thing that Trump’s ranting does is make those ratings numbers go even higher.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Clearly Trump is suffering a massive meltdown due to his anxiety over the impending legal doom he’s facing. Special counsel Robert Mueller is closing in on him and his crime family. That fear is being manifested in incoherent tweets and empty (and sad) self-exaltation. But he’s right about one thing. If there were a contest for a fake news trophy, Fox News should not be allowed to compete. It would be decidedly unfair because they would win every category. Better to just exempt them and name the trophy on their behalf: The Fox News Fake News Award (aka The Foxy). This year’s top contenders would be Breitbart News, Rush Limbaugh, and Alex Jones.

Tweetstorming: Donald Trump Remains Manically Obsessed With His War on the Media

Just two days after repulsing the nation with his misogynistic attack on MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, Donald Trump is at it again. It wasn’t enough to earn the condemnation of both Republicans and Democrats for his juvenile, and possibly unlawful, behavior. Trump appears to have no regrets (or conscience) for his hateful outbursts and, consequently, is resuming them unabated.

Trump Baby

In another of his characteristic displays of dickishness, Trump took to Twitter to escalate his war on the media. It’s a campaign that denigrates the Constitution as it emulates the tactics of tyrants. And proving that he has no sense of shame, he once again unloads on the hosts of Morning Joe:

In Thursday’s tweet, Joe Scarborough was “psycho.” It was Mika who was crazy. But in both tweets Mika’s intelligence was maligned without any examples of her alleged mental deficiencies. Clearly Trump was just throwing another tantrum over having been criticized. His gargantuan ego simply can’t handle it. What’s more, he’s projecting his own stupidity in a pathetic spasm of denial.

And because Trump can’t go two minutes without spewing blatant lies, he again wrote about “their low rated show.” However, Morning Joe is enjoying record high ratings with nine straight quarters of growth. For someone who spent fourteen years on television, he sure doesn’t know anything about the business. Which may explain another of his morning tweets:

This is ignorant on so many levels. First of all, Greta was let go because her show was a complete failure. The program was a virtual sinkhole in the schedule. Based on the performance of the shows before and after, people were obviously changing the channel when it came on and returning when it was over. It was the free market – a concept usually cherished by conservatives – at work. And the notion that her “out of control bosses” fired her for not hating Trump enough is ludicrous. If true, then why have they recently hired or promoted Nicolle Wallace, George Will, Hugh Hewitt, Bret Stephens, and Charlie Sykes, And let’s not forget another Fox News refugee, Megyn Kelly, whose new NBC program is already an epic dud.

The Twitter tantrum continued with a swipe at Trump’s favorite media target, CNN:

This tweet is simply Trump venting his irrational hostilities. CNN has not been exposed as “fake news” by anyone but Trump and his sycophantic minions. As for “garbage Journalism,” that term applies to anything that isn’t sufficiently flattering to Trump. What he regards as legitimate journalism is the National Enquirer and conspiracy crackpot Alex Jones. Trump may be referring to a video by convicted propagandist James O’Keefe. His latest scam featured deceptively edited comments by CNN staffers. But if it proved anything, it’s that CNN has a diverse roster of political opinions and is not the bastion of liberalism that wingnuts like to pretend it is.

The ferocity of Trump’s assault on the media represents a clear and present danger to the free press. His short term goal is to deflect attention from his many policy failures: healthcare, taxes, immigration, etc. But his longer term goal is to denigrate the work of all journalists in order to advance the state as the only “approved” source of information.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The reforms he has made to the White House press office are evidence of this. Press Secretary Sean Spicer no longer holds daily televised press briefings. On some occasions reporters aren’t even allowed to make audio recordings. Apparently the administration doesn’t want a record of what the President’s spokesperson says. Which is surprising since Spicer or his alternates often say nothing at all or claim to not know the answers to critical questions. Even worse, the briefings are now attended by the likes of Breitbart News and Alex Jones’ Infowars. If that isn’t proof that they are trying to kill respect for the media, nothing is.

Trump Press Secretary’s Response to His Gross Tweets About Mika Makes Things Even Worse

It’s mid-morning on Thursday and by now most of the country has heard about Donald Trump’s latest expression of his abhorrent character (or lack thereof). For those who haven’t, he tweeted a grotesque insult aimed at MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski. It was fairly typical of his misogynistic tendencies. For some reason, his most vile comments are usually saved for women.

Huckabee Sanders Trump

Trump’s tweets, as usual, were as riddled with lies as with loathing. For the record, this what he wrote:

Let’s set aside the horrific remarks about Mika Brzezinski. They have been appropriately covered and condemned elsewhere. And not just by Democrats and liberals. Below are some of the responses from prominent Republicans.

However, it also needs to be noted that the parts of Trump’s tweets that weren’t nauseating and childish were untrue. Morning Joe has been enjoying record ratings and nine straight quarters of growth. Trump couldn’t possibly know what Mika’s IQ is, and given his raging ignorance, he’s certainly in no position to talk. At the New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago he did not say “no” to Mika and Joe. They were photographed socializing. And, of course, there was no sign of bleeding or recent surgery. Finally, how does he always know what’s on Morning Joe if he never watches it?

Trump’s tweets were received with both disgust and disbelief. Except, that is, from within his own camp. Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders rushed over to Fox News to try to address the erupting crisis. Her efforts were pathetic and even viewed skeptically by host Bill Hemmer. Her position was that Trump is the victim and he was merely defending himself:

“I don’t think that the president’s ever been someone who gets attacked and doesn’t push back. There have been an outrageous number of personal attacks, not just to him, but to frankly everyone around him.

“People on that show have personally attacked me many times. This is a president who fights fire with fire. And certainly will not be allowed to be bullied by a liberal media and the liberal elites within the media or Hollywood or anywhere else.”

This prompted Hemmer to ask “Look, I get it. But is that necessary?’ Sanders just robotically repeated her prearranged talking points. What she apparently doesn’t understand is that, even if the program was critical of Trump, there’s a big difference. They are television pundits. He’s the President of the United States. And for him to lash out in such an infantile manner is disgraceful and embarrassing to the nation. Whenever he launches these odious tweetstorms he is avoiding his duty as president. The fact that he took the time to compose and post these tweets means that he wasn’t working on healthcare, North Korea, the economy, or terrorism. Well, that may actually be good news considering the harm he would likely cause.

Here is a collection of responses from Republicans who were rightfully disturbed by Trump’s hateful messaging:


https://twitter.com/RepLynnJenkins/status/880433829856542721
https://twitter.com/DaniellaMicaela/status/880452357653282816

And for good measure, here is the response from First Lady Melania Trump. Recall that she was going to make a campaign against cyberbullying her White House project.

No one should really be all that surprised by any of this. This is who a minority of the country elected. And he let us all know the rancidness of his character throughout his campaign. He’s a misogynist, racist, ignorant, bullying, narcissistic, pussy-grabbing, wannabe dictator. He’s also a corrupt, anti-constitution, Russian collaborating traitor. And for all of these substantive criticisms that warrant his immediate impeachment, he would likely only reply that I’m a goofy nobody with bad hair.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

WATCH: Everyone on Morning Joe Agrees That Donald Trump’s ‘Behavior is Crazy’

It doesn’t take a professional psychiatrist to observe that Donald Trump has a severe personality disorder. Although dozens of such professionals have already weighed in on the matter and regard him as both sick and dangerous. The symptoms of what some are calling malignant narcissism have become painfully obvious.

Donald Trump

Trump’s recent behavior has done little to mitigate those warnings. He can’t seem to recall from one day to the next what he has said about critical issues. He is sabotaging his own agenda with tweets that contradict prior statements or chastise his own administration. He insults our international allies and praises hostile adversaries.

The mental condition of a president is something that is rarely discussed publicly. While partisans often mock political opponents as “nuts,” that’s generally a snide put-down that isn’t meant literally. But what makes the Trump presidency so extraordinary is that these observations are now being made by prominent people in the media. And they mean it. For example, a discussion took place Tuesday morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that encapsulated this trend:

Joe Scarborough: How you can tell that somebody is not well and that there’s a serious issue, is when they continually do things against self-interest. […]
Donny Deutsch: As to why he does things that seem to be self-destructive and seem to go against him, I think he clearly has a personality disorder. […]
Elise Jordan: The behavior pattern that he’s demonstrating right now is not normal. And I kind of want to dispense with political correctness for a bit and just say what everyone is thinking. This behavior is crazy. […]
Eugene Robinson: We must wonder about his emotional stability, his grasp of reality, or both.

These commentaries cannot be characterized as partisan attacks by anti-Trump activists. Scarborough is a conservative Republican and a longtime personal friend of Trump. Jordan is a right-winger and a was a Rand Paul staffer. Robinson is a liberal columnist, but he’s also a Pulitzer Prize winner, which speaks to his credentials. And they are only the tip of the iceberg.

The fact that so many people are willing to speak so openly about Trump’s mental health is telling in itself. The only historical parallel to this would be the insider talk about Ronald Reagan’s progressing Alzheimer’s. But that was all behind the scenes while he was in office and never addressed on a network news program. Donald Trump has changed all of that. And for good reason.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.