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NBC News Chair Andy Lack Gives Hyper-Partisan Right Wing Pundit Hugh Hewitt His Own MSNBC Show

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Viewers and Loyalty to MSNBC’s Base Mean Nothing to Andy Lack

Andy Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, has been on a very personal crusade to turn both networks into Fox News. Over the past two years he’s made sure Republican politicians are given a tremendous amount of air time, and right wing, hyper-partisan pundits are brought on as contributors and even hosts of their own shows. 

Lack hired Megyn Kelly from Fox News. After months of creating a new news show for NBC to compete directly with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Kelly’s show has gone from poor ratings to very bad ratings, in just three weeks. Her disastrous interview with Vladimir Putin kicked of her first episode. Her disastrous interview with Alex Jones her third. The outrage from all sides has been palpable.

Lack also hired former Fox News host Greta Van Susteren. Even a personal plea and endorsement from Rachel Maddow has not been able to get Van Susteren decent ratings. That’s likely because she’s just not good at her job. Van Susteren repeatedly hosts conservatives, and then engages in casual and apparently unscripted conversation with them on air, leading to frequent false claims from the journalist who is expected to know basic facts about the issues she’s reporting. 

There’s also former Bush 43 communications chief and McCain-Palin ’08 senior advisor Nicolle Wallace, who has her own daytime show at 4 PM. Of the three, she’s hands down the best.

And now, Andy Lack has bagged himself another hyper-partisan right wing hack and given him his own show.

Hugh Hewitt, whose analysis is just embarrassingly bad – he went from “Never Trump” to “Trump! Trump! Trump!” – will be getting his own show on MSNBC, thanks to Andy Lack and his dream of re-creating Fox News.

Hewitt will not get his dream job, a weeknight gig on MSNBC, but rather a 30-minute show Saturday mornings.

Expect that to grow to an hour, then to include Sundays, and then to weekdays or even weeknights. 

In April, New York magazine reported, “the fact that he’s on the verge of getting his own program is alarming to some staffers at MSNBC. Among their concerns is that Hewitt, a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and Trump supporter, doesn’t represent the values of the liberal network. While Hewitt flirted with never-Trumpism during the campaign — most notably when then-candidate Trump attacked Mexican-American judge Gonzalo Curiel, and after the infamous Access Hollywoodtape was leaked to the Washington Post — he always came back to Trump, and ultimately cast a ballot for him in the November election.”

Some staffers have inferred a link between Lack’s directive and the decision to pull Today’s first black woman host, Tamron Hall, off the show to make room for former Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Ultimately, Hall chose to leave both NBC and MSNBC — where she had her own 11 a.m. program — rather than accept a diminished role. Lack also hired former Fox News host Greta Van Susteren and gave her the 6 p.m. slot on MSNBC’s weekday schedule. Since Van Susteren’s show debuted in January, the ratings have been, by any objective measure, abysmal. In a rare occurrence for that spot, her numbers have actually been lower than those of her lead-in program, Chuck Todd’s Meet the Press Daily. Van Susteren’s hire was not well-received internally at MSNBC, with Chris Matthews being especially frustrated by the decision, according to two network sources.

Last month, HuffPost explained Lack’s desire to jump to the right, and why it is a problem.

Lack, in seeking to make this vision a reality, has an unusual problem for a TV executive: sky-high ratings. Since the election of Trump, MSNBC’s liberal primetime programs hosted by Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell have surged not just in ratings but in the share of the cable news audience they’re capturing. In its earnings call on Thursday, NBCUniversal specifically cited the boost in ratings to “The Rachel Maddow Show” for a spike in profits. Maddow has been the top show on cable news in the key demographic for two months running, an inconceivable achievement at MSNBC.

Tossing those primetime hosts overboard while they’re raking in viewership and revenue has so far proved an elusive task. 

“Hayes, Maddow, O’Donnell ― the entire primetime lineup is doing record numbers and Lack can’t stand it. It makes him furious,” said one senior MSNBC source, echoing the sentiment of many other insiders who spoke to HuffPost only on the condition of anonymity. (An NBC spokesman said Lack is happy with the high ratings.)

Apparently, viewers and loyalty to its base mean nothing to Andy Lack. And that’s a problem.

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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

 

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‘They Tried to Kill’: Fox Host Explodes When Pushed on Unity With Left If Harris Wins

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Co-hosts on Fox News’ “The Five” discussed the possibility of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris winning the election, and were asked if they would work with the left for the good of the country. Jeanine Pirro, a former judge and district attorney refused, appeared to suggest Democrats tried to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

“And you know,” Pirro said, “wouldn’t it have been better for them to at least spend some time saying, ‘we’re going to do this to better all of us, as opposed to just going after [him or them]?”

“But no, they’re, they’re medically, they’re medically insane,” co-host Greg Gutfeld responded, appearing to talk about Democrats.

“But if Democrats do win tonight, a House or the Senate or even the presidency, can we say we’re all gonna try to work together?” co-host and Democratic former U.S. Congressman Harold Ford Jr. asked.

“If it’ll make you feel better,” one co-host replied, as Gutfeld snarked, “You’re sleeping on the couch.”

Then Pirro interjected:  “You know what? There’s only one guy that they tried to kill,” she said, apparently referring to the two assassination attempts on Donald Trump.

READ MORE: ‘I’m Waving at You’: Kamala Harris Phone Banks, Gets Voter Watching Her Live on TV

Republicans, including Donald Trump, have baselessly tried to blame the attempted assassinations on Democrats’ “rhetoric.” In September Trump said, “I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me,” referring to Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

One of the attempted assassins, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who bloodied Trump’s ear and shot one audience member to death at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July, was a registered Republican who once donated $15 to ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform.

Ryan Wesley Routh, an alleged attempted assassin, had been a Trump supporter in 2016 but by 2020 had turned against the Republican president. USA Today reported Routh is an unaffiliated voter who supported Democrats at times but “may have once voted for Trump.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Closes Campaign With Misogynistic Slur, Violent Rhetoric Against Women

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‘I’m Waving at You’: Kamala Harris Phone Banks, Gets Voter Watching Her Live on TV

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While Donald Trump spent part of Election Day with Melania at the polls, questioning the integrity of the vote, Vice President Kamala Harris took some time to reach out to voters by phone banking at a Democratic National Committee event where she made a surprise entrance to talk with volunteers.

“Are you fired up? Ready to go?” an apparent DNC operative asked volunteers, who cheered both times, “yes!”

“I would like to introduce a very, very special guest who wanted to drop by,” he said.

When the door opened and Vice President Haris walked in, the group cheered.

She brought with her a gift: a big box of her favorite food, Doritos.

RELATED: Trump Pledges to Concede ‘Fair’ Loss Before Quickly Casting Doubt on Election Integrity

Thanking them, Harris said they “truly represent the best of who we are, just reaching out to folks, letting them all know we’re all in it together, reminding them of the power of their vote.”

The Vice President then got on the phone with one woman, telling her she just called to “reach out to our fellow Americans.”

“How are you doing? Have you voted already? You did? Thank you!” Harris said as the roomful of volunteers cheered. After thinking her for taking time out of her day to vote, the Vice President said, “you enjoy your day, OK?”

Harris then spoke to another voter, asked them if they had voted and thanked them for doing so.

Another person on the phone turned out to be an eight-year old girl.

READ MORE: Trump Closes Campaign With Misogynistic Slur, Violent Rhetoric Against Women

“I can tell you’re really smart, and you’re working really hard…You are still a leader at every age,” Harris told the young girl. “OK sweetheart, I thank you, and thanks for the time, please take care.”

She spoke to another caller for several minutes, thanking them and at one point saying, “Oh, I’m so excited about that, oh you are!” Harris said with a big smile before appearing to share what the voter said with a volunteer. She then talked with the voter, saying, “the Milwaukee small business, the community, is just thriving! So I’m looking forward to paying attention to your work…Thank you, we have all these volunteers here…Tell them I said hello.”

Harris was handed another phone, and said, “Carolyn?” apparently having been told the voter’s name. “Hi Carolyn. It’s Kamala—hi, how are you?”

“I’m looking at you and you’re looking at me? Oh, there’s a live camera somewhere here?” the Voce President said, laughing.

“Which camera? OK, I’m waving at you,” Harris said, as she waved.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘A Lot of Empty Seats’: What Reporters Are Seeing and Saying About Trump’s Final Rallies

 

 

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‘Look It Up’: Buttigieg Busts ‘Agitated and Aggressive’ Fox News Host in Heated Interview

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U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg appears to have schooled Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, explaining that due to Donald Trump’s policies during his presidency China was able to establish itself as the leading producer of electric vehicles, in a rancorous interview Tuesday.

“The manufacturing recession is in your head,” Kilmeade falsely declared to the Secretary of Transportation. “It never happened.”

Secretary Buttigieg invited Kilmeade to “look it up on Politifact,” and “maybe bring it up on screen right now because there was a Trump manufacturing recession. Look it up.”

“Mr. Mayor,” Kilmeade, ignoring Buttigieg’s request and his current job title, then said, “Michigan matters a lot. That’s why you’re there, right?”

“That’s right—that, and because I live here.”

READ MORE: Trump Pledges to Concede ‘Fair’ Loss Before Quickly Casting Doubt on Election Integrity

“How much did the EV [electric vehicle] mandate hurt the uh, the Kamala Harris quest to be the next president?” Kilmeade asked, mispronouncing the name of the Vice President of the United States.

“Well, first of all,” Buttigieg responded, “the statement that there is an EV mandate is a lie. You can buy a gas car right now if you want one, you can buy an EV car if you want one, and we’ll help make it cheaper.”

“Really, an incredulous Kilmeade asked. “For how long?”

“As long as you want,” Buttigieg replied. “Now, our goal with the tax supports—and by the way, you you admit, right, that you can buy a gas car if you want right now, which means by definition there’s no mandate.”

“But if he has a goal by 2035, California is gone. By 2035, New York’s gone. And do you get any incentive, Mr. Mayor—” Kilmeade said as Buttigieg talked over him.

“But you admit you don’t have to, we’re not making you buy this car or that car, right?” the Secretary asked. “Now, the goal, and I gotta be careful, right, because I can’t get into the administration side, but what I’ll say is, the goal has been to be about half and half by the end of the decade.”

After some cross talk, Kilmeade asked, “if you had your druthers, would there be combustion engines?”

“If I had my druthers, every car would be made in America,” Buttigieg replied. “Now, we know that EV technology is coming. Whether people are ready for it or not, it is coming, it’s happening around the world and Donald Trump allowed China to take the lead on EVs. I want those EVs made in America.”

“Allowing China?” Kilmeade interjected, “you guys won’t ’em mine. You will not let ’em mine in Minnesota, where the governor wants to be vice president.”

“Let’s be super clear right now,” Buttigieg said.  “Let’s be very clear—Sorry, is this an interview or a debate? Can I at least finish?”

“Well, I just can’t let you throw out fallacies,” Kilmeade said. “It’s important.”

“Can I at least— excuse me? Name one statement that I just made that you would say is factually inaccurate.”

“The statement you just made that Donald Trump let China take the lead?” Kilmeade charged. “If somebody wants an EV, they should be able to get it, not get a rebate if they buy one.”

“If somebody wants an EV, they can get it,” Buttigieg replied. “And if somebody wants a gas car, they can get it, but what we’re doing is we’re making sure more of those are built in the US and here.”

READ MORE: Trump Closes Campaign With Misogynistic Slur, Violent Rhetoric Against Women

Zeteo News media columnist Justin Baragona observed, “What stands out here is that Kilmeade comes across as harried, agitated and aggressive — while Buttigieg remains calm and unflustered amid the Fox host’s constant agenda-driven haranguing.”

Business Insider in December of 2019 reported: “President Donald Trump won over Rust Belt states in 2016 on pledges to revive American manufacturing. But the sector slipped deeper into a recession in November, with a key gauge of factory activity falling for a fourth straight month.”

ABC News last month reported that experts say Donald Trump’s “tariff proposals would all but certainly trigger a global trade war.”

An October, 2024 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) appears to show that by the number of vehicles produced (“registered,”), China is by far the leading global producer. And in 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported, “China [has] managed to build a world-leading industry in electric vehicles,” and, “dominate the world of electric cars.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘A Lot of Empty Seats’: What Reporters Are Seeing and Saying About Trump’s Final Rallies

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