CNN hosts Brianna Keilar and Brian Stelter criticized Fox News in a Friday segment of “CNN Newsroom,” claiming the network was taking a hard right politically to drive ratings. Keilar and Stelter argued Fox was allowing opinion shows to drive the network — in an effort to continue to provide viewers with “red meat” — as straight news journalists become irrelevant. (RELATED: CNN’s Brian Stelter Says Andrew Cuomo Has Resorted To ‘Media Bashing’, Compares Him To Trump) WATCH: “In January, Fox had its worst ratings in two decades, and now it’s going even further off the anti-truth rails in an effort to remedy that. Fox is going full Tucker: more outrageousness, more opinion, and consider what that means,” Keilar said. She cited a court case in which attorneys had successfully defended Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a defamation case by arguing his show was “exaggeration and nonliteral commentary.” “And yet still, what he dishes out is what a huge chunk of the country is consuming as if it’s the gospel. Clearly, Fox is, to quote Demi Lovato, ‘Sorry, not sorry,'” Keilar continued, introducing Stelter as her guest. (RELATED: ‘It Is Consequence Culture’: Brian Stelter Says Lou Dobbs Was Not A Victim Of ‘Cancel Culture’) “It is an anti-Democrat network. That’s the agenda,” Stelter said, arguing the opinion shows were the ones driving the network. “The opinion shows are what define Fox News. All of the newscasts have been shrinking and the audience for those news programs have been shrinking as well.” Stelter went on to say Fox was increasingly becoming the “Tucker Carlson Channel” because the viewers wanted the kind of “red meat” Carlson’s show and others like it would provide. Keilar noted there were some straight news journalists at Fox but claimed the “shrinking” group were not usually the ones who hosted their own shows. “Murdoch admitted that the Fox audience, Brian, is disappointed in the election results. How much does ...
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‘More BS Fuel For The Culture War’: Brian Stelter Blows Off Donald Trump Jr’s Comparison Of Him To A Gender Neutral Potato
CNN host Brian Stelter called Donald Trump Jr.’s comparison of him to a gender-neutral Mr. Potato Head “more BS fuel for the culture war” during a Sunday morning “Reliable Sources” monologue. “If Hasbro really wanted a gender-neutral Mr. Potato Head so badly, they should just slap a picture of CNN’s Brian Stelter on the cover of their next potato,” Trump Jr. said during his Friday Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) speech . “What? They don’t call him Mr. Potato Head for nothing!” “On Friday I was about to go get dinner for my kids when Donald Trump Jr. attacked me in his speech at CPAC,” Stelter said. “Something about me looking like a gender-neutral potato head.” WATCH: Hasbro announced last week that the company would be dropping the conventional title “Mr.” from its Potato Head line of toys in an effort to be gender-inclusive. Stelter related how he thought of “some really clever ways to replay, some way to go viral” as tweets about Trump Jr.’s comments “started rolling in on my computer.” (RELATED: GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger Predicts ‘Self-Congratulations’ And ‘A Lot Of Fear’ When Trump Takes Stage At CPAC) “But then I stopped,” the CNN host said. “I didn’t post anything. It was just another distraction. He wanted me to respond. This was just more BS fuel for the culture war, and it does not matter. No, the best thing we can do for each other in this world of tweet storms is to refuse to be confused by that noise, is to refuse to be distracted. There is too much real news going on. There’s no time for potato heads.” ...
Biden Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Confirms Trump’s China Tariffs ‘Have Been Effective’
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo confirmed Thursday that former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products “have been effective.” In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, Raimondo discussed how President Joe Biden’s administration plans on dealing with China in terms of a “whole of government response,” and whether or not they would continue any of the policies Trump put in place. “Former President Trump got a lot of credit from a headline basis for taking on China. But go beneath the headline, we didn’t win any trade war. How are you going to address China?” Ruhle began. “We have to be honest, which is to say China’s behavior is anti-competitive, coercive, their human rights abuses are horrific, and they need to be held to account for that,” Raimondo responded. “So, unlike President Trump’s approach of, you know, tweeting out a policy, President Biden’s been very clear, we’re going to be tough on China in a whole of government response.” She went on to explain that the “Entities List is a powerful tool” that can be used to fight the “behavior” of Chinese telecommunications companies that “is a threat to American economic and national security.” She added that the Chinese also “can’t dump excessive amounts of cheap steel and aluminum” into the United States either. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Calls Out AT&T For Lobbying To Protect Chinese Corporation Accused Of Supporting Human Rights Abuses) “There’s no one tool in our tool box, but we have to recognize the magnitude that China’s behavior — the threat that it poses,” she continued. “We need to invest in America. So everything I just said is defense. How about offense? How about investing in research and development in America, having an r&d strategy, making semiconductors in America, having the most trained workforce in the world in America?… I think that’s just as important as the defense. ” Ruhle then asked Raimondo if she planned to keep the tariffs in ...
Hasbro Announces Mr. Potato Head Brand Name Will Drop ‘Mr.’
Hasbro announced Thursday that the Mr. Potato Head brand will be dropping the “Mr.” from its name in an effort by the company to try to be more gender-inclusive and later assured that the Mr. and Mrs. Potato toys were not going anywhere. Hasbro announced that they will be dropping the “Mr.” from the Potato Head brand to shift away from gender normalities, Triblive reported. Starting this fall, the name change for the toy will appear on boxes. This move by the company provides kids with an opportunity to move away from having to create the traditional “Potato Head families” which are limited by gender, according to Fast Company . Hasbro later released a statement assuring customers that their “Mr.” potato head toy would not be disappearing. “Launching this fall, the CREATE YOUR POTATO HEAD FAMILY is a celebration of the many faces of families allowing kids to imagine and create their own Potato Head family with 2 large potato bodies, 1 small potato body, and 42 accessories. The possibilities to create your own families are endless with mixing and mashing all the parts and pieces,” the company said in their statement. Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD pic.twitter.com/6I84KrxOLQ — Hasbro (@Hasbro) February 25, 2021 This will allow for children to have the opportunity to create “Potato Head families” which include same-sex parents, or even single-sex parents, Fast Company reported. (RELATED: Kids Don’t Actually Like ‘Gendered’ Toy, Barbie-Maker Mattel Says) “The sweet spot for the toy is two to three years old,” Kimberly Boyd, an SVP and GM with Hasbro who works specifically on branding the Potato Head toy, said. “Kids like dressing up the toy, then playing out scenarios from their life. ...
Meghan McCain Says Biden Crossed Hillary Clinton’s ‘Deplorable’ Line With ‘Neanderthal Thinking’ Comment
Meghan McCain said Friday that President Joe Biden had crossed a line when he accused Republican leaders of “Neanderthal thinking” for rolling back coronavirus restrictions and mask mandates. Calling it a “self-inflicted wound,” McCain compared Biden’s comments to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s claim that half of Trump’s supporters could be classified as a “basket of deplorables.” (RELATED: ‘You Are Joe Biden And You’re Losing The New York Times’: Meghan McCain Says It’s Time For Biden To Work ‘With The Other Side’) WATCH: “Is this a real problem, Meghan?” Cohost Joy Behar began the segment by asking McCain whether the response to Biden’s comment was “manufactured.” “It really reminds me of Hillary Clinton’s deplorable comment which I think a lot of people on the left wrote off, and it really ended up hurting her. And I think unfortunately, it’s a self-inflicted wounded,” McCain replied. “You guys can laugh and say, ‘oh, it’s a joke, whatever,’ but Republicans across the country already feel like people on the left think they’re dumb rednecks, they’re just stupid deplorables in baskets, nobody cares with their trucks and flags. That’s what Republicans think the media thinks of them, I was actually surprised to hear him throw around that language.” McCain went on to criticize Biden for his failure to hold a press conference , arguing that White House press secretary Jen Psaki was compounding the problem by “blowing off Republican questions and Republican talking points.” “All it does is going to help Republicans be more tribal and think that we’re just deplorable Neanderthals. The left has no place for us, so there’s no unity whatsoever, and I think it’s — I think it’s really unfortunate. I don’t like it at all,” McCain continued. Behar pushed back, saying Clinton’s comment had predated Americans learning “how deplorable” former President Donald Trump really was. “So in reaction to Trump, nothing sounds that ...
