During her 9:00 a.m. ET hour show on Wednesday, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle and her panel of anti-Trump guests cheered Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti as “a beast” who was “brilliant” at garnering media attention, even hailing him as “the savior of the republic” for his latest revelations that the pundits thought could take down the President.
After a lengthy segment discussing Avenatti’s allegation that Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen received $500,000 from a company with ties to a Russian oligarch, left-wing Princeton University professor and frequent MSNBC guest Eddie Glaude enthusiastically proclaimed: “Michael Avenatti is a beast....He’s a beast and he keeps popping Donald Trump and all of his folks in the mouth repeatedly, he’s a beast.”
Ruhle agreed: “Okay, that’s true. He’s a beast....He is.”
Seeming to allude to an off-air conversation with presidential historian Jon Meacham, a fellow guest during the previous segment, Glaude declared: “And so, Jon Meacham says he [Avenatti] may be the savior of the republic, it’s really interesting.”
Moments later, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Goldman eagerly chimed in: “He has been brilliant at slowly rolling out a lot of things over a period of time to keep this at the top of the news, as we’re discussing. And so my guess is, you’re absolutely right, Eddie, there’s more that’s coming on this front.”
Political analyst Elise Jordan gushed over Avenatti’s supposed media prowess: “He really is a master of the media cycle in a way that I think Donald Trump probably respects him on some level.”
Ruhle wrapped up the hero worship by offering an apology to porn star’s legal counsel:
And you know what? I owe Michael Avenatti an apology. For the last few weeks, I’ve been saying, “Enough, already, Michael, I’ve seen you everywhere. What do you have left to say?” I was wrong, brother. You have a lot to say. The Democrats could learn something from you. You are messing with Trump a lot more than they are.
Her previous exhaustion over Avenatti’s avalanche of media appearances was well-founded. Just last week, the lawyer showed up on MSNBC eight times in four days, a number which then increased as the week went on. In addition to that, a Media Research Center study found that Avenatti appeared on CNN 59 times in less than two months. And again, that number has already risen significantly since the study was completed.
It doesn’t require any special brilliance to get lots of media attention when the press is already infatuated with you.
Here are excerpts of the May 9 exchange on MSNBC:
9:34 AM ET
(...)
EDDIE GLAUDE: Michael Avenatti is a beast.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Okay, that’s true. He’s a beast.
GLAUDE: He’s a beast and he keeps popping Donald Trump and all of his folks in the mouth repeatedly, he’s a beast.
RUHLE: He is.
GLAUDE: And so, Jon Meacham says he may be the savior of the republic, it’s really interesting.
(...)
DANIEL GOLDMAN [FMR. ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY]: He has been brilliant at slowly rolling out a lot of things over a period of time to keep this at the top of the news, as we’re discussing. And so my guess is, you’re absolutely right, Eddie, there’s more that’s coming on this front.
ELISE JORDAN [FORMER AIDE, GEORGE W. BUSH WHITE HOUSE]: And I would point out, too, look at the timing of what he did yesterday.
RUHLE: True beast.
JORDAN: I mean, he killed the news of the Iran deal, practically, in one big stroke. He really is a master of the media cycle in a way that I think Donald Trump probably respects him on some level.
RUHLE: I am intrigued, I’m excited, I’m scared, I’m a little grossed out. And you know what? I owe Michael Avenatti an apology. For the last few weeks, I’ve been saying, “Enough, already, Michael, I’ve seen you everywhere. What do you have left to say?” I was wrong, brother. You have a lot to say. The Democrats could learn something from you. You are messing with Trump a lot more than they are.
(...)
