| | | | This is what non-'fake news' looks like | | On Wednesday night, Fox Business Network's Lou Dobbs interviewed President Donald Trump. As CNN's Brian Stelter noted in his "Reliable Sources" newsletter, it was the 19th interview Trump has done with Fox since being inaugurated. That's almost five times as many interviews as he has done with any other news outlet over that time.
Fox, as Trump has said many times, is the only really "good" news organization out there. They are real news -- unlike the "fake news" of places like CNN and The Washington Post.
After reading through the transcript of Trump's interview with Dobbs, you can see why Trump likes the network so much -- and why he thinks it's non-fake news. (Important reminder: Trump calls news "fake" when it is not favorable -- or favorable enough -- to him.)
These are REAL "questions" Dobbs asked the President. Not kidding. Real.
1. "In nine months in office, you've already accomplished more in the way of job creation. The move in the equities markets has been extraordinary and record-setting. All of the indexes, at or near record levels. You have accomplished so much in that nine months. ... How do you move from here?"
2. "A lot of love and a lot to get done."
3. "Well you're the first President to talk openly and honestly about offshoring of production, the outsourcing of jobs."
4. "But business has taken such a voice in this town, in this swamp that you are the only countervailing influence to that dominance of US multinationals in this country. And it's -- the country owes you a great debt on so much."
5. "You've got to be immensely gratified at what you've been able to do, often with a recalcitrant Congress and Senate."
6. "I really appreciate your time, as does our audience -- you came into this job fighting like hell. And you are fighting like hell every day."
There's more like that but you get the idea.
To be clear: Not every question asked by a reporter interviewing the President has to be, by default, adversarial. But the "questions" Dobbs asked aren't even in the universe of objective.
Which is why Trump likes them. And why Dobbs will get another interview with the President. Which was probably his point all along.
-- Chris | | Things just keep getting more interesting in Sen. Bob Menendez's trial. CNN's Laura Jarrett sent us another great dispatch from New Jersey, where she continues to cover his corruption trial.
The eighth week of Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial came to a fiery close Thursday with two sitting senators on the witness stand, shouting and finger-pointing from the judge, and defense lawyers ultimately demanding a mistrial.
It started off glowingly for Menendez -- with fellow Democrat from New Jersey, Sen. Cory Booker, and GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham telling jurors he's a good, honest guy, and dropping a few anecdotes along the way.
But then things took a turn for the defense after Judge William Walls precluded former Menendez attorney Marc Elias (in a political firestorm of his own this week) from taking the stand, finding his testimony irrelevant and hearsay.
After a lengthy sparring match, the lawyer for Menendez's co-defendant jumped up and said they need to move for a mistrial based on a variety of evidentiary rulings the judge has made against the defense.
"This is what we call a 'come to Jesus' meeting," Walls told attorney Kirk Ogrosky.
The judge isn't buying that the defense has been harmed, and the saga will continue Monday.
More from Laura here. | | After months of promising to take action to combat opioids, President Trump declared the crisis a public health emergency in a press conference Thursday afternoon.
"We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic," Trump said. "We can do it."
CNN's Liz Landers sent us this dispatch from the White House:
The President declared the opioid abuse epidemic a public health emergency today as he stood with about 30 victims who have been affected by the drug epidemic. The East Room of the White House was quite the scene and who's who of the administration: Almost the entire Cabinet sat in the front row, though Ivanka Trump was posted in the very last row. In his speech, Trump praised his Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who he had publicly ridiculed on Twitter more than once) for cracking down on illegal Chinese drug traffickers, and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, who he said has led the way for veterans struggling with addiction. The President went off script a few times -- one notable moment was when he shared his personal story of losing his brother Fred to alcoholism. President Trump said of his brother: He was the "best looking guy, best personality, better than mine." Oh, and Trump insisted a great national advertising campaign was coming back to educate the public -- and youth -- on drug abuse. "Just Say No" 2.0?
Read more in the full story by CNN's Dan Merica here. | | SPEAKING OF THE OPIOD EPIDEMIC... | | | Photo courtesy: Screengrab/UNH | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
Perhaps nowhere in the country will Trump's action this afternoon mean more than in New Hampshire. According to a new UNH poll, a majority of residents -- 52% -- say drugs are the most important problem facing the state. (That's an astronomical number for a poll question like this.) It has skyrocketed over the last few years, from 3% in October 2014, to 25% in October 2015, to 44% in October 2016, to 52% right now. And it's bipartisan: It's the top issue for 48% of Republicans, 60% of independents and 51% of Democrats. Topics like the economy, health care, education and the state budget are all down in the single digits. | | Forget about #2020 for a second, CNN's Greg Krieg has us thinking about #2018. In his latest article, he outlines nine Democratic primaries to watch next year. Here's the list:
1. California: Feinstein vs. de León vs. the field
2. Illinois governor: Two familiar names and one outsider
3. Iowa governor: A big, rowdy tent
4. Illinois-3: Blue dog under attack
5. Oklahoma governor: It's not impossible!
6. New York: Who's going to take a run at Cuomo?
7. Rhode Island: Progressives keep chipping away
8. Maryland governor: Slow start to a big race
9. Florida: A lefty longshot
Read more in Greg's full story on CNN's website. | | | For those of you who miss the daily Biden GIF, this one's for you. The former VP and artist Lady Gaga on Wednesday released a sexual assault awareness PSA. The duo teamed up to advocate against sexual assault for the "It's On Us" campaign, which Biden and former President Barack Obama co-founded in 2014. Thanks for reading The Point! As always, please tell your friends, family, significant others, etc. to subscribe. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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