#MIKA BRZEZINSKI

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Keith Edwards at No Lies Detected:

Last Monday morning, I endured the spectacle of MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski defending their post-election pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, marking their first meeting with Donald Trump in seven years. As they sat there reading from a prepared script, blissfully arrogant and hypocritical, a now-familiar nausea washed over me. It began in late October, when Jeff Bezos — with billions of dollars of business before the federal government — instructed the Washington Post’s publisher to break 36 years of precedent and make no endorsement in the most consequential election of our lives. I felt it again last week when CNN’s Dana Bash bizarrely both-sidesed the somehow unknowable politics of neo-Nazis on the march in Columbus. It was clear to me, as I’m sure it was to you, that Joe and Mika were afraid of what Trump 2.0 would do to them, which Brian Stelter’s CNN later confirmed. (See my YouTube video for my initial reaction).

[...]

Powerful media figures' craven capitulation to government power — before that power is even inaugurated — surely smacks of the preemptive compliance Snyder describes. Since we as Americans have no experience of authoritarian rule, speculating about what comes next is a challenge. To imagine what a returned Trump might do once in power, consider Russia’s experience during Vladimir Putin’s rise:  Four days after Putin’s inauguration as Russia’s president in May 2000, Russian federal tax agents raided the offices of NTV, one of the country’s few independent media outlets. NTV had pitilessly mocked the notoriously thin-skinned Putin; once he got to power, he wasted no time deploying the full force of the Russian federal government against it. Under the guise of financial crimes, NTV’s owner was swiftly arrested, imprisoned, and coerced into selling NTV to a pro-government conglomerate who would replace NTV’s journalists and make it a Kremlin mouthpiece. The following month, Putin summoned Russia’s most powerful business figures to the Kremlin where he made clear their new reality: Stay out of politics, and you all can keep your businesses, your wealth, and your freedom. In one fell swoop, the Russian state had cowed its media elites.

If you’re saying, “Well, that’s Russia and this is the United States,” compare the parallels between our country today and the Russia of 2000. Trump of course is pathetically sensitive to media criticism, and he has repeatedly made plain his intention to continue his weaponization of the federal government against his perceived enemies. Senate Republicans are eager to grant him his loyalist hacks as law enforcement officials (so long as they aren't generationally loathsome accused sexual predators!) who will unleash prosecutions against his enemies. As recently as today, Elon Musk — whose willingness to light money on fire extends from Twitter to Trump-Vance 2024  — has menaced MSNBC with a pro-Trump takeover. Meanwhile, social media and tech moguls fell over themselves to ingratiate themselves with Trump after his victory, having essentially shadowbanned political content prior to it. Trump moreover enters office with advantages Putin did not. He will be the first U.S. president with a media company of his own, which before Trump took a sledgehammer to our norms would have been unthinkable (though it worked out in Italy!). He enjoys the unlimited support of Elon Musk and his wholly owned and radicalized X, as well as of an emerging army of Gen Z podcast bros. Lastly, a rightwing legacy media propaganda machine consisting of Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN stands at the ready. A cinematic universe of Made-in-America state-run media served from your TV to your browser to your phone.

Dear Media: Do Nor Obey In Advance.

[hayquetenerpatience]

"A few weeks ago ... somebody who was going to be voting for Kamala Harris came up to me and said, 'Oh my God, Trump's going to win. ... I go to the grocery store, [and] butter is over $3.'"

- Joe Scarborough, host of 'The Morning Joe.' At that point, Scarborough's wife and co-host, Mika Brzezinski, interrupted to tell him that the butter she buys is actually more than double that price.

"It's $7. ... I'm just saying it's 7,” she stated as they somewhat spoke over each other.

"What's that?" Scarborough asked.

Finally cluing in to what he heard, Scarborough looked shocked as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Butter is $7?!" he asked.

"Yeah," Brzezinski calmly replied.

"What, is it framed in gold?" Scarborough said as his panel laughed.

"Yeah, it depends on where you go," his wife reiterated.

---

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA DOESN'T KNOW BECAUSE THEY DON'T CARE! THEY LIVE IN ELISTIST BUBBLES POPULATED BY MOVIE ACTORS, TV SHOW ACTORS, CELEBRITY "JOURNALISTS," AND ASSORTED MEDIA FAVORITE GLITTERATI.

[randgugotur-6]

[tomorrowusa]

A serial sex offender who cheated on all three of his wives is claiming to be a protector of women.

[msclaritea]

ENDEAVOR founder (the guy who is threatening to withhold money from the Dems) REPRESENTS ALL THE NEWS ANCHORS, through WME!

[madamspeaker]

[loveboatinsanity]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[bloghrexach]

Dean Obeidallah ...

"Again, Garland and Scarborough have chosen to surrender to Trump — just as we can expect others will going forward. We must not. As Prof. Snyder tells us: “Do not obey in advance.”

Instead, we must take the fight to Trump. That is the way we protect our freedoms, our self-determination and our Republic."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Walter Einenkel at Daily Kos:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday to talk about why Donald Trump’s candidacy poses a continued threat to democracy—and the media’s crucial role in pointing that out.  "I don't think the press has done enough to basically say, okay, the circus is here, you can watch the circus, but let's tell you what that means,” Clinton said. “Let's talk to people who have a real understanding of how dictatorships evolve."  She also gave an easy-to-understand breakdown of how the MAGA movement’s fascism could become normalized. “People did not take the kind of threats that we saw in the 1930s as seriously as they should,” Clinton said, pointing out that institutional checks and balances can only provide so much protection from “a determined demagogue” who enjoys the support of his political party and the richest members of society who are most interested in getting even richer. Clinton, whose warnings about Trump went largely unheeded by media outlets in 2016, said she understood why people didn’t take her words “as gospel,” but that we now have years of evidence exposing Trump as a danger to our democratic processes. 

On Thursday's edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, Hillary Clinton rightly noted that Donald Trump's threat to democracy would be disastrous.

Vote Biden/Harris 2024 to save America!

From the 05.09.2024 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

[trendynewsnow]

Reflections on Trump's Latest Victory and Its Impact on Political Dynamics

Reflections on Trump’s Latest Victory Donald Trump’s recent electoral win has brought about a markedly different atmosphere compared to his previous victories. This time, there is no seismic jolt reverberating through society. Polling indicates that this election outcome is among the most widely recognized as legitimate in the past quarter-century. The responses from those who opposed him appear…

[mylionheart2]

[tomorrowusa]

Republican Party leaders are physically fighting with each other in Michigan. 🍿

"He kicked me in my balls": Michigan Republicans brawl at local meeting GOP gone wild: "When you see me taking my glasses off, I’m ready to rock"

As reported by The Detroit News, Wayne County Republican James Chapman was trying to get into the state party's meeting room at the Doherty Hotel by jiggling the door handle when Clare County Republican Party Chair Mark DeYoung opened the door from inside.  "He kicked me in my balls as soon as I opened the door,"  DeYoung told the outlet while being interviewed in the ER, adding that he had suffered a broken rib and intended to press charges against Chapman.  Chapman, however, said DeYoung was the one who swung first after threatening to kick Chapman's ass. DeYoung denied that, though, claiming Chapman squared up first — rushing DeYoung and slamming him into a chair. One of the individuals involved in the fight gave Detroit News' Craig Mauger a warning for any would-be future Michigan brawlers:  "When you see me taking my glasses off, I'm ready to rock," Chapman said. 

It's easy to see why Republicans are no longer running Michigan.

Although the dust-up took place outside the actual meeting room, members inside got an eye full.   "From my clear vantage point a kerfuffle occurred outside our meeting room. We recessed for 5 minutes. It had nothing to do with the content of our meeting," said committee member Kristin Lee. 

Donald Trump says that he may not take part in the first GOP debate. That's a shame because it would be great fun to see him and DeSantis get into a ball kicking and face scratching melee on live TV.

[thekylemeredith]

Today's Rewind stretches back to 2017 when Joe Scarborough dropped by the series. The Morning Joe host had just officially released his debut EP after years of playing solo and in bands. The fact that this talk led to a friendship makes it even better.

Listen: https://link.chtbl.com/KyleMeredithW

[basedbushido]

Track day with my big brother, crazy to have someone so close growing up up never crossed paths untill a few years ago. Just glad at this point in my life to have a real brother/ friend. We’ve all grown out and past certain situations and friendships just to see we really never had a lot in common we were all just in the same space together, some longer than others…. 🛜