How much of the still raging dumpster fire at 60 Minutes is due to the billionaire Ellisons’ need to keep Trump onside to close their mastodonic media merger, and how much is it their editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss’s mind-boggling management ineptitude?
All roads lead to Trump. Why do you think he picked the most unqualified, even dangerous sycophants for his own cabinet? He doesn't want anyone who reports to him to push back. (BTW, Hitler did the same thing when he came to power in 1933). They are there only to do his bidding and dirty work as he sees fit.) Our democracy has never been more vulnerable since the Civil War.
1. He successfully bankrupted casinos which are the very embodiment of money printing machines.
2. MSM birthed and raised him as a political powerhouse by normalizing everything he says and does, starting in 2015 with his insane campaign, through his devastating handling of Ukraine and Covid to the invasion of the Capitol, to his thievery of top secret documents to his pedophile protecting second term. MSM lost their shit over a Biden debate on old man brain cells and cold meds, but routinely report on this certifiably mentally deranged keeper of the nuke codes like he is acceptable to be around. He is well beyong\d the 'crazy uncle at the holiday table' to being more of a national security hazard yet we are being served milktoast reporting.
That is SO true, we can point to The Apprentice as the point where Trump came out of Law & Order mentions of 35 years ago and into “gee he’s a smart guy”. Relatives by marriage still point to The Apprentice as proof that he is a great businessmen. Although, light shining through clouds, even they recently had to admit that “he doesn’t seem to be doing what he said he would about the economy….” When I pointed out that he was no businessman, inherited (and lost) huge wealth AND bankrupted three Atlantic City casinos in his heyday, they said “Oh, yes, I think I heard about that somewhere….” Sheesh,\.
Another fantastic piece Tina. Everyone was commenting on how solid and professional Welker was in that disgusting interview with Trump. Why didn’t she ask him when he was going on and on about how rigged elections were he seemed to accept with no hesitation the results when he won. Plus why bother interviewing him ever? He wallows in the chance given him to call her or any other journalist names and walk off the set! It’s a cage match to him. Did she really think he was going to answer any question truthfully or not belittle her? He doesn’t care about facts. He only agreed to be interviewed to do exactly what he did on TV. Take down a journalist on “fake news” while his base is watching. He’s reduced everything in his wake to shambles and he’s loving every minute of it. I drove by the White House the other day. It looks like a bomb went off there and you can barely see the actual building any more. It’s a visual representation of what he’s doing to the country writ large.
Jonathan Swan is from Australia. He and Maggie Haberman both work at the NYTs and are apparently working on a book about Trump. I have never seen anyone really challenge Trump in any meaningful way. I guess I missed something
Agreed that Kristen Welker sounded a bit pathetic as Trump did his exit. Trump sounded definitely loony. That is not an exaggeration. The one thing he did say that was noteworthy is that his demands on Iran now include not only a ban on developing a nuclear bomb, but also a ban on buying one. That comes just as North Korea has doubled its nuclear production. The North Koreans are becoming the Walmart of international arms purchases. Obviously, someone in intelligence whispered something into Trump's ear. Meanwhile, with a president who is completely out of it and challenges both in the Middle East and in Asia, the U.S. looks increasingly defenseless, especially since Trump blew the Pentagon's supply of ammunition and supplies on his misbegotten foray into Iran. We are limping towards Armageddon. Expect the unexpected.
I’m surprised that in its story on the Welker MTP interview, the NYT never made a mention — not one word — of the Trump meltdown. Hmmm, is my hallowed NYT pulling its punches too?
I think you were exceedingly hard on Kristen Welker. You know yourself that she could not possibly had stood up and told him to STFU. It might have been highly satisfying but it would have had her drop to his level and likely have cost her her job and reputation. She was the only adult in the room and kept it together while he ranted and raved like a lunatic. All women of a certain age have had to deal with this type of mansplaining and other obnoxious behavior. you of all people know this.
And WHY DIDN'T SHE stand up with an intelligent rebuke as he exited she could have had the last word with a well-placed zinger. How long will women in media tolerate these indignities or are they hoping to become the next Megyn Kelly?
Yes, but mansplaining is one thing (bloviating endlessly in order to appear competent) and impressive), taking abuse from a convicted sociopath felon is quite another. Those to blame are not the on air personalities. They're just the actors here. The blame lies at the feet of the producers, editors, and on - all those responsible for placing the interviewer in the rotten toothed jaws of an old and decrepit, but still dangerous lion.
Next to the day old tea coming from legacy media et al., I cannot express enough my appreciation for tina's triple caffeine pour. Still waiting for the back bone implant surgery urgently needed by Democrats.
Along with Rather, you’re one of the best people to make sense of the nonsense by the kids at Paramount and CBS. Ellison, Bari, and Bilton are all neophytes, playing catch with a priceless piece of tiffany.
How the hell did we get here? The news tribe has A LOT to answer for. Trump turns every news conference and interview into a personally abusive lying circus? He calls your female colleagues ugly, he calls them pigs? Stand up folks. WALK OUT. Don't subject your public to this horror anymore. The gods of truth and decency will restore themselves in time. But we must all help them.
I’m torn. I want to watch (what’s left of) 60 Minutes to support the show and its survivors. But I don’t want to do anything that looks like I support Weiss’s wrecking-ball management style. I watched the entire hour-long video of the interview with Pelley (something I never do, don’t have time for, Tina’s interviews being the exception). The old journalist in me knew empires collapse when they put Caligula in charge.
As far as the WHCD do-over, I thought that the great comic Michelle Wolf left it in smoking ruins years ago. It’s always been a whorehouse throwing a party for its best suppliers and customers and any journalist who voluntarily attends is deserving of nothing but contempt.
Just pointing out that Trump very possibly planned this stunt at Meet the Press with his media people to make him seem manly and tough and outraged and to further the idea that all elections he doesn’t win are fraudulent
You tell 'em, Tina! And in your fabuloso inimitable scythe-them-down-at-the-knees way! We're standing right here behind you and if they keep on bludgeoning everything we cherish, there will be lots more soon joining us. We'd all be happy to be on your Christmas card list! ❤️
For Scott Pelley to have gone off the rails like that in his first meeting with his new boss, things must have gotten pretty bad under Bari Weiss. I can only surmise that, as often happens with unexpected regime change in high-strung media environments, there was a massive failure on the part of the new regime to sit down with the old regime and air the changes they hoped to achieve. Bari Weiss arrived 9 months ago - plenty of time to come to mutual understanding with the 60 MInutes crew. Clearly, it didn't happen - just as it didn't happen when Jeff Bezos brought in an alien species to run the Washington Post. It's all in keeping with the Trump Era's elevation of misfits to unearned positions of power - a return to the age of the Know Nothings.
"Any member of the press who accepts an invitation to the do-over is off my Christmas card list forever."
Mine, too. Terrific column.
All roads lead to Trump. Why do you think he picked the most unqualified, even dangerous sycophants for his own cabinet? He doesn't want anyone who reports to him to push back. (BTW, Hitler did the same thing when he came to power in 1933). They are there only to do his bidding and dirty work as he sees fit.) Our democracy has never been more vulnerable since the Civil War.
1. He successfully bankrupted casinos which are the very embodiment of money printing machines.
2. MSM birthed and raised him as a political powerhouse by normalizing everything he says and does, starting in 2015 with his insane campaign, through his devastating handling of Ukraine and Covid to the invasion of the Capitol, to his thievery of top secret documents to his pedophile protecting second term. MSM lost their shit over a Biden debate on old man brain cells and cold meds, but routinely report on this certifiably mentally deranged keeper of the nuke codes like he is acceptable to be around. He is well beyong\d the 'crazy uncle at the holiday table' to being more of a national security hazard yet we are being served milktoast reporting.
That TV show The Apprentice launched him. To this day some deluded fools think he’s a talented businessman!
That is SO true, we can point to The Apprentice as the point where Trump came out of Law & Order mentions of 35 years ago and into “gee he’s a smart guy”. Relatives by marriage still point to The Apprentice as proof that he is a great businessmen. Although, light shining through clouds, even they recently had to admit that “he doesn’t seem to be doing what he said he would about the economy….” When I pointed out that he was no businessman, inherited (and lost) huge wealth AND bankrupted three Atlantic City casinos in his heyday, they said “Oh, yes, I think I heard about that somewhere….” Sheesh,\.
Another fantastic piece Tina. Everyone was commenting on how solid and professional Welker was in that disgusting interview with Trump. Why didn’t she ask him when he was going on and on about how rigged elections were he seemed to accept with no hesitation the results when he won. Plus why bother interviewing him ever? He wallows in the chance given him to call her or any other journalist names and walk off the set! It’s a cage match to him. Did she really think he was going to answer any question truthfully or not belittle her? He doesn’t care about facts. He only agreed to be interviewed to do exactly what he did on TV. Take down a journalist on “fake news” while his base is watching. He’s reduced everything in his wake to shambles and he’s loving every minute of it. I drove by the White House the other day. It looks like a bomb went off there and you can barely see the actual building any more. It’s a visual representation of what he’s doing to the country writ large.
Jonathan Swan, that English journalist, managed to take him down quite tidily. Where is that man?
Jonathan Swan is from Australia. He and Maggie Haberman both work at the NYTs and are apparently working on a book about Trump. I have never seen anyone really challenge Trump in any meaningful way. I guess I missed something
He left pretty quickly.
Agreed that Kristen Welker sounded a bit pathetic as Trump did his exit. Trump sounded definitely loony. That is not an exaggeration. The one thing he did say that was noteworthy is that his demands on Iran now include not only a ban on developing a nuclear bomb, but also a ban on buying one. That comes just as North Korea has doubled its nuclear production. The North Koreans are becoming the Walmart of international arms purchases. Obviously, someone in intelligence whispered something into Trump's ear. Meanwhile, with a president who is completely out of it and challenges both in the Middle East and in Asia, the U.S. looks increasingly defenseless, especially since Trump blew the Pentagon's supply of ammunition and supplies on his misbegotten foray into Iran. We are limping towards Armageddon. Expect the unexpected.
I’m surprised that in its story on the Welker MTP interview, the NYT never made a mention — not one word — of the Trump meltdown. Hmmm, is my hallowed NYT pulling its punches too?
They constantly pull their punches. I’ve just canceled.
I think you were exceedingly hard on Kristen Welker. You know yourself that she could not possibly had stood up and told him to STFU. It might have been highly satisfying but it would have had her drop to his level and likely have cost her her job and reputation. She was the only adult in the room and kept it together while he ranted and raved like a lunatic. All women of a certain age have had to deal with this type of mansplaining and other obnoxious behavior. you of all people know this.
And WHY DIDN'T SHE stand up with an intelligent rebuke as he exited she could have had the last word with a well-placed zinger. How long will women in media tolerate these indignities or are they hoping to become the next Megyn Kelly?
Yes, but mansplaining is one thing (bloviating endlessly in order to appear competent) and impressive), taking abuse from a convicted sociopath felon is quite another. Those to blame are not the on air personalities. They're just the actors here. The blame lies at the feet of the producers, editors, and on - all those responsible for placing the interviewer in the rotten toothed jaws of an old and decrepit, but still dangerous lion.
Next to the day old tea coming from legacy media et al., I cannot express enough my appreciation for tina's triple caffeine pour. Still waiting for the back bone implant surgery urgently needed by Democrats.
How does one stand up to a rambling loudmouth? Welker seemed to be doing a fine job, based on the fact that Trump got up and left.
Agree, and I am SO tired of people shouting over each other on TV. It’s a verbal cage fight with no information or opinon reaching the viewer.
Along with Rather, you’re one of the best people to make sense of the nonsense by the kids at Paramount and CBS. Ellison, Bari, and Bilton are all neophytes, playing catch with a priceless piece of tiffany.
How the hell did we get here? The news tribe has A LOT to answer for. Trump turns every news conference and interview into a personally abusive lying circus? He calls your female colleagues ugly, he calls them pigs? Stand up folks. WALK OUT. Don't subject your public to this horror anymore. The gods of truth and decency will restore themselves in time. But we must all help them.
According to an Australian clairvoyant who I find fascinating on YouTube, the chaos is soon to give way, before his term is up. . .
What do you mean, give way? Will it get worse? Or will it relent?
I’m torn. I want to watch (what’s left of) 60 Minutes to support the show and its survivors. But I don’t want to do anything that looks like I support Weiss’s wrecking-ball management style. I watched the entire hour-long video of the interview with Pelley (something I never do, don’t have time for, Tina’s interviews being the exception). The old journalist in me knew empires collapse when they put Caligula in charge.
I chose to keep my subscription to the Washington Post, despite Jeff Bezos interfering with it. Partly to support the remaining journalists.
As far as the WHCD do-over, I thought that the great comic Michelle Wolf left it in smoking ruins years ago. It’s always been a whorehouse throwing a party for its best suppliers and customers and any journalist who voluntarily attends is deserving of nothing but contempt.
Just pointing out that Trump very possibly planned this stunt at Meet the Press with his media people to make him seem manly and tough and outraged and to further the idea that all elections he doesn’t win are fraudulent
Possibly. But she questioned his belief that the 2020 election was stolen. That’s one of his bedrock beliefs.
You tell 'em, Tina! And in your fabuloso inimitable scythe-them-down-at-the-knees way! We're standing right here behind you and if they keep on bludgeoning everything we cherish, there will be lots more soon joining us. We'd all be happy to be on your Christmas card list! ❤️
For Scott Pelley to have gone off the rails like that in his first meeting with his new boss, things must have gotten pretty bad under Bari Weiss. I can only surmise that, as often happens with unexpected regime change in high-strung media environments, there was a massive failure on the part of the new regime to sit down with the old regime and air the changes they hoped to achieve. Bari Weiss arrived 9 months ago - plenty of time to come to mutual understanding with the 60 MInutes crew. Clearly, it didn't happen - just as it didn't happen when Jeff Bezos brought in an alien species to run the Washington Post. It's all in keeping with the Trump Era's elevation of misfits to unearned positions of power - a return to the age of the Know Nothings.
The problem is that Weiss was brought to please Trump, to make CBS Trump-friendly news. Just like Bezos at WaPo.