Guess who’s hanging round Donald Trump nearer than ever today?
X-man Elon Musk — the proprietor of Tesla, SpaceX and, extra importantly with regards to this election, X — has been a daily at Mar-a-Lago and is clearly pushing for affect contained in the Trump administration.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported, “The tech billionaire has been seen on the resort in Palm Seaside, Florida, nearly day by day since Trump gained the election final week, eating with him on the patio some evenings and hanging out along with his household Sunday on the golf course. Musk has been within the room when a number of world leaders have phoned Trump, and he’s weighed in on staffing selections, with the SpaceX and Tesla CEO even making clear his desire for sure roles.”
Collins wrote, “Musk is just not solely near Trump but additionally along with his transition co-chair, Howard Lutnick — the billionaire CEO of monetary providers agency Cantor Fitzgerald who’s main the personnel aspect of the transition.”
She added, “Sources have described Trump as enamored with Musk.”
Nonetheless, David Nasaw — writer of biographies of William Randolph Hearst, Andrew Carnegie and Joseph P. Kennedy — wrote a guest essay for The New York Times warning Musk that he shouldn’t anticipate his bromance with Trump to final.
Nasaw wrote, “Because the president-elect has advised us repeatedly, he’s one good fellow and a ‘very steady genius.’ He isn’t going to share his victory and middle stage with anybody. And why ought to he? What extra would it’s important to supply, having spent in extra of $100 million to assist safe his election? Mr. Trump could also be mercurial, however on this state of affairs he’s extremely unlikely to interrupt historic precedent. I predict that you’ll in all probability be part of the lengthy checklist of genius businessmen donors who had been casually discarded after that they had served their objective.”
CNN contributor and tech reporter Kara Swisher, who has coated Musk extensively and is aware of him properly, stated one thing comparable. Speaking on CNN, Swisher stated, “(Musk) is just not going wherever till Trump throws him out, which may occur as a result of each have actually robust personalities who prefer to be on the focus.”
Swisher added, “They’re each narcissists, and there might be just one narcissist as head of the nation and that’s Donald Trump, who simply gained the election.”
Swisher stated she already has heard from folks inside Trump’s camp who’re questioning about Musk and his want to have affect — one thing which may not finally sit properly with Trump ought to Musk overstep his bounds or achieve an excessive amount of reputation.
Collins writes that Musk doubtless gained’t have an official place with Trump, however nonetheless doubtless could have some affect — till Trump grows uninterested in him.
Quartz’s William Gavin wrote “Elon Musk is already flexing his influence with Donald Trump. Here’s how.”
In his “Dependable Sources” e-newsletter, CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote, “A lot of Musk’s immense wealth comes straight from the federal authorities, which has handed billions of {dollars} in contracts and subsidies to Tesla and SpaceX, elevating the potential for big conflicts of curiosity as Musk helps Trump create winners and losers of his new administration. His possession and clear help for Trump on X additionally raises considerations he’ll use the social platform to push political narratives that additional his enterprise pursuits, intertwining the US authorities and the world’s richest man like by no means earlier than.”
The large query is: Will it final?
Chris Wallace is leaving CNN, according to The Daily Beast’s Hugh Dougherty.
Dougherty wrote, “The 77-year-old broadcaster stated he’ll as a substitute discover a new dwelling on an unbiased platform corresponding to streaming or podcasting, which he described as ‘the place the motion appears to be.’ He highlighted how podcasters together with Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God had set the agenda in the course of the presidential election, however added, ‘I don’t flatter myself to assume I’ll have that kind of attain.’”
Wallace has had a spectacular and revered profession in broadcast information, having labored at CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox Information and CNN. In 2020, Wallace was acknowledged with the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism.
Wallace joined CNN in 2021 after 18 years at Fox Information. Simply final week, Wallace was part of CNN’s election night time protection. His three-year contract is up on the finish of the yr, and stories are that Wallace is the one who determined to stroll away.
He advised Dougherty, “That is the primary time in 55 years I‘ve been between jobs. I’m really excited and liberated by that.”
Wallace is not sure precisely what he’ll do subsequent, whether or not it’s streaming or a podcast, telling Dougherty, “Not realizing is a part of the problem. I‘m ready to see what comes over the transom. It could be one thing that I haven’t considered in any respect.”
Dougherty wrote, “CNN needed to retain Wallace however his choice to give up forward of contract talks shall be seen as an indication of CNN’s waning affect within the media panorama.”
Nonetheless, Wallace did say, “I’ve nothing however constructive issues to say. CNN has been superb to me.”
This could come as no shock. Final Thursday, two days after the election during which Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris, scores for Fox Information had massively jumped, whereas scores for MSNBC headed south.
In accordance with Nielsen, the entire common every day viewers on Fox Information was 2.6 million. That’s a 60% leap from one yr earlier on the identical day.
In the meantime, MSNBC had solely 596,000 complete viewers. That was a 23% drop from the earlier yr.
CNN didn’t fare significantly better. They common 419,000 complete viewers — a 40% drop.
That raises an fascinating query about cable information TV scores to return. There’s some thought that we may see a “Trump bump,” which means the always newsmaking Trump could possibly be good for newspaper and web site subscriptions and cable information scores.
Fox Information, whose viewers (for essentially the most half) are usually Trump supporters, is more likely to see strong TV scores for some time, nevertheless it wouldn’t be stunning to see the scores keep down on MSNBC, which tends to be watched by extra left-leaning viewers. It could possibly be that devoted MSNBC viewers may keep away from the information for some time.
There’s additionally this. As Mediaite’s Alex Griffing points out, “Total tv viewership of election night time was down considerably from 2020, some 25 % throughout the 18 main information networks measured by Nielsen. The 42.3 million viewers who tuned into both broadcast or cable information on Tuesday night time characterize these Individuals who’ve but to fall prey to cord-cutting and different traits shifting viewers away from linear TV.”
So far as CNN, the newest from Puck’s Dylan Byers is “CNN’s Existential Post-Election Season.”
You usually see cable information networks choosing up on-air personalities from the White Home. (Suppose Jen Psaki, Kayleigh McEnany, Nicolle Wallace and Dana Perino, simply to call a number of.)
Effectively, right here’s a swap the opposite approach.
Fox Information contributor Tom Homan has been named “border czar” by President-elect Donald Trump. Truly, Homan was in politics earlier than becoming a member of Fox Information as a contributor. He was Trump’s former appearing head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Wall Street Journal’s Michelle Hackman, Andrew Restuccia and Gareth Vipers wrote that Trump is “choosing a key determine from his first time period who makes no apologies for a few of its most controversial insurance policies, together with the separation of migrant mother and father from their kids.”
The Journal added, “Although Homan’s company didn’t play a direct position in separating households, he was one of many coverage’s most fervent advocates, each in public and in non-public, in keeping with individuals who labored with him. … Homan, in a Monday morning interview with Fox Information, stated that he plans to as soon as extra concern steerage making all immigrants within the nation illegally targets for arrest, and as soon as once more improve office raids.”
In the identical Fox Information interview, Homan had a warning for blue-state governors who stated they might not cooperate with the Trump administration on this: “In case you’re not going to assist us, get the hell out of the best way (as a result of) we’re going to do it. So, if we will’t get help from New York Metropolis … we might should double the variety of brokers we ship to New York Metropolis as a result of we’re going to do the job.”
Jonathan Chait is becoming a member of The Atlantic as a employees author. He has been a political columnist at New York journal since 2011. Earlier than that, he labored at The New Republic for 16 years.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, stated in a press release, “Jon Chait is a journalist of immense items who writes within the custom of Michael Kinsley. He’s fearless, indefatigable, humorous, acutely analytical, and well (which is to say, not axiomatically) contrarian. Our time requires fact tellers like Jon, and The Atlantic’s readers will profit drastically from his writing.”
In a farewell piece for New York, Chait wrote, “My time at New York went higher than I may have presumably hoped. After I take into consideration why I’m making this modification now, the phrase that retains popping again into my head is, ‘It’s time for me to return to my dwelling planet now.’ As I depart with fondness, I hope and consider this journal’s finest days are nonetheless forward of it, and so are mine.”
“Good Morning America” and “Fox NFL Sunday” co-host Michael Strahan, proven right here at an NFL sport in New Jersey in September. (AP Picture/Adam Starvation)
From the vault of “Everybody must relax,” Michael Strahan, co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and an analyst on the “Fox NFL Sunday” pregame present, is getting criticized on social media for not holding his hand over his coronary heart in the course of the enjoying of the nationwide anthem on Sunday.
Severely?
In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Fox NFL pregame present was broadcasting from Naval Base San Diego. The published performed the nationwide anthem and whereas the opposite members of the Fox crew — host Curt Menefee, analysts Howie Lengthy, Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Rob Gronkowski, and reporter Jay Glazer — all stood with their fingers over their hearts, Strahan stood, respectfully I ought to add, along with his proper hand over his left wrist in entrance of him.
Strahan took a bunch of grief on social media from those that look to be offended about any little factor — together with this second, which wasn’t disrespectful in any respect. One snowflake Newsmax host even ridiculously known as Strahan’s actions “repugnant” and “downright cowardly.”
As For the Win’s Charles Curtis noted, “That is ridiculous for therefore many causes, however the largest one? Strahan’s late father was Main Gene W. Strahan, Sr., whom the youthful Strahan stated served 23 years within the military ‘and was a proud member of the 82nd Airborne Division.’ What’s extra: Strahan grew up in Germany on an Military base the place his dad was stationed.”
Whether or not it was in response to the absurd criticism or if he was merely honoring veterans on Veterans’ Day, Strahan posted a photo of his father on Instagram, and wrote, partly, “Thanks to all veterans and lively service members who courageously threat their lives to guard us day by day. Your selfless service is past measure.”
In the meantime, Glazer jumped to Strahan’s protection, writing on X, “I’ve simply seen the criticism of @michaelstrahan. Let me inform you this, I don’t know if I’ve a buddy who’s extra happy with his navy roots than Michael, rising up on a military base always speaking about what he discovered from his dad Main Gene Strahan and the way his time there formed him. I heard it CONSTANTLY, nonetheless do! But additionally, with no fanfare I personally noticed him donate hundreds of {dollars} of garments to veterans, together with many homeless veterans as properly garments for veterans to go on job interviews. I do know today folks need to be offended quick however perhaps first, how is THIS for a novel concept. ASK him if he’s protesting one thing. Whenever you protest you need folks to know, don’t ya? He was NOT, simply acquired caught up in how lovely the entire second was in the course of the anthem and didn’t give it some thought. Ask the dude earlier than forming an offended mob, but additionally perhaps discover out all he’s achieved for our veterans through the years.”
Have suggestions or a tip? E-mail Poynter senior media author Tom Jones at [email protected].
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