Huh, you don’t say, Eugene Scott? During a panel discussion on Thursday’s Hardball about the President’s continued attacks against the liberal media and his less-than-ideal use of the phrase “enemy of the people,” The Washington Post’s Scott conceded that the media puffing its chest and focusing on themselves “is distracting” to more than a few people.
Scott told host Chris Matthews that he “care[s] deeply about the free press,” but stipulated that “journalists need to be careful without — about centering so much of this conversation on ourselves.”
“Many voters do not like how Trump is responding to the media, but the amount of attention we're putting on our fight with Trump, I think is distracting to a lot of voters,” he added.
If only CNN would take Scott’s advice. However, the Jeffrey Zucker-led circus isn’t interested in that because there’s nothing more important to CNN than CNN.
Earlier Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod got the first crack, attacking Trump for his “disgusting” and “very dangerous” rhetoric that “puts journalists in danger” even though “there’s a lot of people in America, especially a lot of Trump voters who think that the media is this elite entity that has not been on their side” and walled off in New York and Washington.
Pennsylvania Republican congressional candidate Dan David responded that he’s “a freedom of speech activist,” so he’ll “always...be for the First Amendment and the freedom of speech” even though media bias has been around “since the first cave man started talking about the cave man next to him.”
David added that it’s something “you have to get past,” but emphasized that “freedom of speech is what separates us from China.”
Earlier in the show, Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti took a shot at voters for stating in a poll that the media are more divisive than the President (click “expand”):
[B]ut if you look at that poll, Republicans, half of them, by the way, blame the media for the violence against the media. It’s mind-boggling, so that you have a President who has stoked these fears of saying the enemy of the people is a free press and when asked in that poll specifically, were these pipe bombs and the coverage of these pipe bombs, were they the result of media coverage? The media was attacked, according to half of Republicans who said that because of themselves. That's how crazy things have gotten. So it is time for civility[.]
Unless he was citing a separate poll from the one released Thursday by Morning Consult and Politico, there was no such question about whether the media should be blamed for having been sent pipe bombs.
Sad!
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on November 1, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Hardball
November 1, 2018
7:12 p.m. EasternERIC GARCETTI: And, you know, as much as I'm working hard for and hoping for a blue wave, I want a civil wave to come over this country again. I want leaders in our White House and in our Congress to bring people together, to do things like we're doing, like going to synagogues. I'll be in synagogue this Friday, as a Jew, and as an American, with my Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters, as we've done when they've been attacked. I’ll be heading out to do things like campaign for candidates, who have been attacked because of their religious or ethnic backgrounds, like Ammar Campa-Najjar who has a chance of beating Duncan Hunter. It is time for us — we took a poll, by the way —
CHRIS MATTHEWS: I hope he wins that one.
GARCETTI: — thank you. Republicans — he’s only three points out in the latest poll, but if you look at that poll, Republicans, half of them, by the way, blame the media for the violence against the media. It’s mind-boggling, so that you have a President who has stoked these fears of saying the enemy of the people is a free press and when asked in that poll specifically, were these pipe bombs and the coverage of these pipe bombs, were they the result of media coverage? The media was attacked, according to half of Republicans who said that because of themselves. That's how crazy things have gotten. So it is time for civility and by the way, it’s time to get things done in Washington. Enough of the distraction, enough of the promises. I'm a mayor. I want an infrastructure bill and this President promised me won. I still don't have one. He promised better health care. I don’t have it. He promised a less of a trade deficit. It's bigger under him with China. Our national deficit — our debt is almost going to be the size of our GDP. Let's get back to work, stop yelling, stop distracting with, and get things done.
(....)
7:46 p.m. Eastern
ADIRENNE ELROD: Well, because look, there's a lot of people in America, especially a lot of trump voters who think that the media is this elite entity that has not been on their side. It’s — you know, you've got the New York and Washington, D.C. elite media, so they like this, but it's — again, it's disgusting and it puts journalists in danger. You know, it's a rallying cry for him toward his supporters, but it’s — it's very dangerous.
MATTHEWS: Dan? You think it's okay for him to trash us?
PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE DAN DAVID: I'm a freedom of speech activist. That's my job. That’s my history. So I'm always going to be for the First Amendment and for the freedom of speech. Is the media biased? The media has been biased since the first cave man started talking about the cave man next to him. It's been going on forever. You have to get through it. You have to get past it, but freedom of speech is what separates us from China, what separates us from communist countries who oppress people and I will never be against freedom of speech.
ELROD: But do you think it’s okay?
MATTHEWS: I used — I used to serve the newspaper, the Philadelphia Bulletin in the afternoon. I was a paper boy. I think it was the biggest paper in the northeast. I used to take that around and that was filled with opinion, you're right. All the columns in the afternoon paper.
DAVID: Always.
EUGENE SCOTT: Yeah. My dad was a paper boy for The Washington Post and I'm a reporter for The Washington Post and I care deeply about the free press. However, I think journalists need to be careful without — about centering so much of this conversation on ourselves. Many voters do not like how Trump is responding to the media, but the amount of attention we're putting on our fight with Trump, I think is distracting to a lot of voters.
MATTHEWS: Yeah, except the big lie works.
