Forward

Pro, anti, never

This weekend had me thinking about how our political language has changed in the Trump age.

Fifteen years ago never talked about "never-Bushies." Ten years ago, five years ago, we rarely heard the term "pro-Obama." But these days, stories and segments and arguments and elections are all aligned on a pro-Trump, anti-Trump axis. And "Never Trump" has become an insult and an identity and a badge of honor like we've never quite seen before. Think about it: "Never Nixon" wasn't a thing. "Never Clinton" wasn't a thing. But "Never Trump" is an organizing principle for both the president and his opponents.

Case in point: On Sunday Trump lashed out at Jennifer Williams, a State Department employee and an aide to VP Mike Pence, after the release of her testimony revealed that Trump's push for Biden probes struck her as "unusual and inappropriate." Polling indicates that most Americans agree with Williams. A majority of Americans share her concerns. But her testimony under oath made her, in the mind of the president, a "Never Trumper."

Let's pause and recognize how unusual this is. Presidents always have proponents and detractors, but it's so much more explicit and extreme now. It's affected the way we talk. If there are "Never Trumpers," that must mean there are "Always Trumpers," right? In other words, two tribes with totally closed minds.

Real life is much more complicated... much more nuanced... but the president likes these black and white, with-me or against-me titles. His media allies are on board too.

"Never Trump" was a movement, of course, so it wasn't the president's creation. But there's something really insidious about the suggestion that a person's testimony is tainted or irrelevant simply because they've been labeled "Never Trump." As CNN media analyst Bill Carter wrote on Twitter, "The concept here, initiated by Trump + backed by all the Trumpkins, is that it's not possible for anyone to report any objective truth. If they do not support Trump, no matter their job or background or previous reputation for honesty, they are an enemy and ipso facto lying."

Here's the good news: The public will be able to hear from Williams directly when she testifies in front of cameras on Tuesday morning...

What the "Never Trumpers" say

So just how unprecedented is this constant invocation of "pro-Trump" and "anti-Trump" and "Never Trump" identities? I asked a couple of self-proclaimed "Never Trumpers."

"'Anti' was always around," Bill Kristol pointed out to me, citing "anti-Communist." But "anti-Trump" is unique in that "it's focused on a person not a thing," he added. And "Never seems distinctive" to this time and place.

So why now? What is this about?

Jonah Goldberg said his theory is this: "Trump's erratic behavior makes the personality cult stuff the only safe harbor for Republicans. Infallibility (Trump is always right!) is the only intellectually consistent argument to defend Trump on precisely because there's no ideological or simply logical consistency to the guy." Conservative and liberal have been hijacked by pro-Trump and anti-Trump...

About Trump's surprise trip to the hospital...

There are serious questions about why Trump abruptly went to Walter Reed military hospital on Saturday; why the visit wasn't planned in advance; and whether the White House is telling the whole truth about the trip.

W.H. press secretary Stephanie Grisham said it was a "routine checkup as part of his annual physical." But Trump had a full physical exam last February. Saturday's trip "did not follow the protocol of a routine presidential medical exam," CNN's Jeremy Diamond reported on Sunday, citing "a person familiar with the matter."

This is when Trump needs to have credibility

Here's what I said on Sunday's "Reliable Sources:" It is times like these when the president really needs to have credibility. But the Trump W.H. gives us new reasons to distrust it almost every day. So skepticism is not just understandable – it is necessary. At this point, it's downright irresponsible to just take Trump at his word.

--> Bottom line: Hopefully all is well with the president. Hopefully the W.H. is telling the whole truth about his doctor's visit. But we can't cover these stories like this is business as usual. This is not business as usual...

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- WaPo opinion columnist Karen Tumulty says we can be "fairly certain" that the White House is not telling the truth about Trump's trip to the hospital "because those people lie about pretty much everything..." (WaPo)

-- Quoting from FoxNews.com's story about John Bel Edwards' win in Louisiana: "The result will come as a major disappointment to President Trump..." (Fox)

-- The NYT notes that Trump flew to Louisiana three times to "help Republicans win the governor's race," which makes the loss a "striking setback..." (NYT)

-- The New Gannett -- through a megamerger with Gatehouse -- will take effect on Tuesday, Ken Doctor notes... (Newsonomics)

Media week ahead calendar

Monday: Recode's Code Media conference gets underway in L.A...

Monday: Disney marks Mickey Mouse's birthday...

Tuesday: Michelle Obama comes out with a "guided journal" companion to "Becoming..."

Tuesday: "A Warning," by "Anonymous," hits bookshelves...

Tuesday: Google launches Stadia... Scroll down for details...

Wednesday morning: Grammy noms are announced live on "CBS This Morning..."

Wednesday night: Dem debate night on MSNBC and the WaPo website...

Thursday: CPJ's International Press Freedom Awards and benefit dinner takes place in NYC, hosted by Shep Smith...

Friday: "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood" and "Frozen 2" arrive in theaters...

The national medals of arts and humanities...

Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating the National Medal of Arts in 1984, "and every president since has given it out, honoring the work of painters, writers, actors, architects, dancers, and musicians," The Atlantic's Peter Nicholas wrote last week.

Trump hasn't handed out any of the medals yet. It's "the longest drought in the past 35 years." This Thursday, the drought will end with a ceremony in DC. And Trump's first slate of winners "only includes names that seem, in part, to be tailored to the president's personal preferences — namely, the actor and MAGA enthusiast Jon Voight and all five U.S. military bands." Per Nicholas, Trump also chose "the bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and Sharon Percy Rockefeller, the president and chief executive officer of WETA..."

Trump will also present the National Humanities Medal to The Claremont Institute, Teresa Lozano Long, Patrick J. O'Connell, and James Patterson...

Eight witnesses this week

The live coverage will resume on Tuesday morning...

Here's the problem I see...

With all the talk of "dueling narratives" about the impeachment inquiries. Yes, there are competing narratives... But they are not equally accurate, equally valid.

One narrative is grounded in facts: witnesses, transcripts, receipts. The other narrative is propped up by conspiracy theories and grievances and distortions. I started off Sunday's "Reliable Sources" telecast by calling out this false equivalence...

Trump's defense tactics

Right-wing media stars are calling the impeachment hearings "boring;" claiming no one is watching; and attacking the witnesses. On Sunday's "Reliable," Nicole Hemmer said they're "relying on ad hominem because you can't do anything about the facts to counter them." Here's the full segment on CNN.com...

Dan Rather: "Facts are closing in"

Dan Rather's takeaway after the first two days of televised impeachment hearings: "Truth is closing in, facts are closing in."

But Rather expressed doubt that Senate Republicans will break with Trump, despite all the damning evidence. This led me to ask Rather if Mitch McConnell is part of the Trump "cult." Rather said yes... He believes that Trump's support seems "increasingly" cultish...

What happened in Denver?

Craig Silverman, a well-known attorney and 710 KNUS radio host, was yanked off the air on Saturday. Why? Well, there's a dispute about that. But Silverman says it's emblematic of a broader problem with right-wing radio: A crackdown on Trump dissenters.

On Sunday's "Reliable," in his first extensive interview about the matter, Silverman said he was "frustrated that we couldn't talk about the facts of the impeachment case" on the air. He's troubled by the other radio hosts who are downplaying and dismissing the impeachment inquiry.

Here's the video of our interview, and the story by Clare Duffy. KNUS station manager Brian Taylor told Duffy that this dispute isn't about Trump, it's about Silverman's recent appearance on a competing station: "The notion that he was relieved of his program because he criticized President Trump is absolutely untrue," Taylor said. "We have never told Mr. Silverman the position to take on Trump and impeachment." But Silverman suggested that he felt suffocated by the editorial slant of KNUS and its parent Salem Media Group. Full story here...

--> Late Sunday, Silverman said he just heard from KNUS, and the station "wants me back!" Updates to come...

The Atlantic's new issue: 'How to Stop a Civil War'

On Sunday's "Reliable," Jeffrey Goldberg, the top editor of The Atlantic, talked with me about the magazine's December issue, which is titled "How to Stop a Civil War." Goldberg said "something has gone off the rails" in America. "To acknowledge that is not to exacerbate it. To acknowledge it is to actually begin to deal with the underlying causes." Watch...

Lobbying for pardons on Fox News and Infowars

This is how it works nowadays: Fox's Pete Hegseth successfully pushed Trump to pardon service members accused of war crimes. He celebrated Trump's actions over the weekend. Meanwhile, guests on Fox and Infowars are urging Trump to pardon Roger Stone. I talked about this trend with Rather, Hemmer, and Abigail Tracy...

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Chris Wallace rightly challenged Steve Scalise on Sunday morning, and Trump responded by insulting Wallace, which just reaffirmed that Wallace was on to something... (USA Today)

-- Talk radio, Fox News and the "conservative information universe" portray "a forever war with The Libs, who are always just on the verge of destroying America," David Roberts writes in this new piece about "America's epistemic crisis..." (Vox)

-- "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a letter Sunday to ABC News demanding answers surrounding allegations that the network killed a 2015 story" about Jeffrey Epstein. ABC has not yet responded to requests for comment about the letter... (Daily Caller)

What was Prince Andrew thinking?

Hadas Gold writes from London: Kudos to the BBC and anchor Emily Maitlis — who managed to secure an extensive interview with Prince Andrew about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations that the Duke of York himself had sexual relations with one of Epstein's victims.

The interview was a forensic dissection -- and if Prince Andrew thought it would put to rest the controversy surrounding him, it only seemed to make things worse. Not only because of the alibis -- but also because of how seemingly out of touch he seemed. He barely seemed to express concern or remorse for Epstein's victims. Many Q's remain -- including how and why Prince Andrew thought this was a good idea...

McFadden's report from Madagascar

"NBC News will air an expose on children in Madagascar as young as three who are working in slave-like conditions to mine the mica that powers phones and cars," The Daily Mail's Chris Spargo reports.

Cynthia McFadden's report will roll out on Monday's "Today" show -- which has carved out nine minutes for the story, an incredible amount of time by morning TV standards -- and "NBC Nightly News."

"I pray that when people see our story, they will demand that companies clean this up," McFadden told Spargo...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Jake Tapper's closing comment on Sunday's "SOTU:" What would Mr. Rogers make of the tone of today's politics? (Video via Twitter)

-- ICYMI: Tom Junod's essay about "My Friend Mister Rogers..." (The Atlantic)

-- Jeff Bezos, Anna Wintour, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Indra Nooyi, Frances Arnold, and Earth Wind & Fire were awarded the Portrait of a Nation Prize in DC on Sunday night... (Smithsonian)

-- At the chilly red carpet arrivals location, Jose Andres walked the carpet and then came back with soup for members of the press corps... CNNers Casey Riddle and Dave Brooks sent along this pic...

SNEAK PEEK

Knight and Gallup's new report

There is a "market failure" in the local news business, this new report suggests, because "even though Americans tend to view local news as a community asset, most are not personally helping to keep it viable."

Knight Foundation and Gallup's survey comes with both encouraging and discouraging signs about the state of local news. I wrote about the survey here. On the one hand, "Americans take pride in their local newspapers." On the other hand, "just one in five Americans have supported local news in the past year by subscribing to, donating to or purchasing a membership to a local news organization."

>> On Sunday's show, Knight VP (and my former NYT cubiclemate) Jennifer Preston joined me to talk about solutions... She gave a shoutout to NewsMatch...

Medill dean: Time for a 'campaign of media literacy'

As I mentioned in Friday's newsletter, I interviewed Charles Whitaker, dean of Northwestern University's Medill School, about the recent Daily Northwestern controversy. This episode "underscores the need for us to embark on a campaign of media literacy," he said. Listen to the full podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your pod player of choice... Or read the recap by yours truly and Katie Pellico on CNN Business...

Trump has Fox, Boris Johnson has The Telegraph

Hadas Gold writes: In the United Kingdom, there's no TV equivalent of Fox News because of rules requiring impartiality and accuracy from broadcasters, particularly during election campaigns. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson does have a cheerleader in print and online: The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

The relationship goes back decades and has been mutually beneficial -- especially recently when Johnson was paid more than $300,000 a year for a column he said he spent less than 10 hours on a month. In return the Telegraph could boast it was Johnson's "home." Though he's no longer paid now that he's prime minister, the relationship continues. But internally not everyone at the paper is happy with the arrangement -- especially the paper's respected news reporters. Sources told me even though there was no official edict, critical coverage of Johnson wasn't welcome. And then there were the finances -- sources questioned the rationale and ethics of paying a public figure so much when the paper could've hired several reporters for the same price.

The paper is now reportedly up for sale -- one interested buyer is said to be Steve Bannon -- who would likely keep the Johnson love-in alive. Read on...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- Rob Picheta's piece for CNN.com: "The flat-Earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core?" (CNN)

-- Axios tech editor Scott Rosenberg writes: "Ad targeting is how Facebook, Google and other online giants won the internet. It's also key to understanding why these companies are being held responsible for warping elections and undermining democracy..." (Axios)

-- Mike Murphy's feature about a new app called Mixhalo: "The future of live music lives on your smartphone..." (QZ)

-- "Two female writers quit Patricia Heaton's CBS show after making complaints," Rachel Abrams and John Koblin report... And that headline merely scratches the surface... (NYT)

"Ford v. Ferrari" races to first place

Brian Lowry emails: "Ford v. Ferrari" finally offered some good news for Disney since its Fox acquisition, as the Fox release cruised to a $31 million opening, and earned the kind of reviews that should generate some awards consideration – an area where Disney, for all its box-office might, has notably lagged with its reliance on blockbusters. That follows a string of underperforming Fox titles, among them "Dark Phoenix."

"Charlie's Angels" crashes

While "Ford v Ferrari" performed better-than-expected, "Sony's Charlie's Angels crashed and burned in its domestic opening with an estimated $8.6 million, becoming the third high-profile reboot or sequel in a row to bomb after Terminator: Dark Fate two weeks ago and Doctor Sleep last weekend," THR's Pamela McClintock wrote Sunday...

--> Lucas Shaw's takeaway: "Hollywood is making a lot of sequels that nobody wants."

"Amazon has joined the no box-office numbers club with 'The Report'"

That's the word from Indiewire...

Brian Lowry writes: Taking a page from Netflix, Amazon is opting not to report box-office totals for its new release "The Report," a strategy that merely underscores the perception that while these streaming services chase awards prestige, they're viewing theatrical distribution as a secondary consideration and refusing to play by the rules that govern traditional studios...

Olivia Colman assumes the throne

Brian Lowry writes: "The Crown" began its third season with a new cast and on a new night (Sunday). But it offers the same regal mix of British history as filtered through the lives of the Royal Family, examining shifting burdens and obligations through the turbulent 1960s. Here's my review...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

-- Kara Swisher gives some credit to Bob Iger and Disney... (NYT)

-- Alex Sherman's latest: "Disney+ isn't really the beginning of the streaming wars — the next year is just a warm-up..." (CNBC)

-- Rich Greenfield notes that the Disney+ app is holding steady at No. 1 in the Apple and Android app stores... (Twitter)

-- This Rebecca Keegan tweet intrigued me: "I don't know what it was like to be on the star-packed MGM lot in the 1930s but Ted Sarandos's back yard in 2019 feels as close as I've experienced since I came to Hollywood in 2005..." (Twitter)

Stadia comes out on Tuesday

"Google is about to take a big step into the video game market with a service that some have likened to a Netflix for games," Shannon Liao reports for CNN Business. "On Tuesday, Google will officially launch Stadia, a service for streaming and playing games without needing to own a hard copy or even a console."

--> Details: "People will have to buy a special subscription bundle if they want to play on Stadia this year. The $129.99 Premiere Edition will include a Stadia controller, a Chromecast dongle, three months of a Stadia streaming subscription and a free pass so a friend can also play for three months. The company is currently taking pre-orders for the Premiere Edition. Next year, Google will release another streaming subscription option called Stadia Pro, which will cost $9.99 a month and include a rotating free game, as well as discounts for purchasing select individual titles..."

--> Games available at launch include: "Red Dead Redemption 2," "Assassin's Creed Odyssey," "Just Dance 2020," and three "Tomb Raider" games...

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

ICYMI, here is the cold open from "SNL," titled "Days of our Impeachment..."

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