Welcome to the Jim Acosta Morning Memo on a Tuesday morning after Trump’s press ban blew up in his face and he bro-manced Mayor Mamdani once again, while his ICE goons ran wild. Let’s JAMM!
Pool Trouble: Major news outlets reacted to Trump’s ban of MS NOW, CNN, and Politico by boycotting the TV pool, which had immediate and hilarious consequences when Trump tried to hold a photo op for his new helipad.
Without the TV pool, there were no microphones to pick up what Trump was saying. Even pro-Trump NewsMax anchors had to admit this thing is not going great. Take a look.
This is not the movement from the pool cameras. It’s on the White House. Let’s see if we can pick up some of the sound from President Trump here in the new helipad.
…
Okay, so there is no microphone because there’s no microphone because the pool cameras aren’t there. So maybe, Tim, this is one example of it backfiring just a little bit.
Wrong Kind Of Buzz: The White House feed was even worse, with Trump sounding like he was addressing a crowd made up of killer bees. Here’s a quick taste.
Visitors to the White House website could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled on a rerun of VEEP.
Bad News, Bare: In an even more surreal moment, those same Newsmax announcers then broke the bad news that Trump drew Judge Timothy Kelly, the same Trump-appointed judge who ordered him to reinstate the last reporter he tried to ban — one Jim Acosta.
TIM: I think it’s not gonna work out well if we look at the first-term example of Jim Acosta. You take away his press pass, and it goes to the courts, and the courts say you have to put it back in, and you go back to square one.
ANCHOR: And that’s the judge who’s handling this case now.
TIM: So I wouldn’t expect it to be a successful resolution if what you want is to keep them out of the White House.
Trump wandering around while Newmax anchors discuss his failure is just chef’s kiss, as the kids say.
Picky, Picky: Trump reacted to Judge Kelly’s selection with a lengthy and incoherent Truth Social rant in which he blurted “They have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta, who now seems to have disappeared from the Planet. The Judge’s name is Tim Kelly, and he was, sadly, appointed by ‘TRUMP.’”
Yeah, who let THAT idiot pick a judge?
Losing Kernen: The ban also didn’t go over well with Trump fan and CNBC host Joe Kernen. When he challenged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the ban, Bessent claimed he hadn’t heard much about it because quote, “I’ve been traveling.”
Traveling where? In caves?
Kernen tried to keep it friendly, but he told Bessent “We don’t do that in this country.”
Joe Kernen: Things that sets the United States apart, I think, is that our leaders have to answer difficult questions, sometimes even hostile questions, and we see the alternative, and it’s a badge of honor. I watch you answer hostile questions, and I think that’s when you’re in your element.
How is this going to play out with this ban, and then what do you think of it?
Scott Bessent: Joe, I’ve been traveling. I don’t know much about it…
…
Joe Kernen: …I will grant you that I think maybe Republican presidents historically have had maybe a tougher time with mainstream media, but you’ve got Fox News that has been all over Democratic presidents. I just don’t think this is something that will last in this country. We don’t do this in this country.
Whatzit News: Bessent was so rattled that seconds later, he completely forgot the name of Trump’s biggest media allies.
Scott Bessent: One thing I am sure is that this will be covered by the press, and I think we could get back to something that is a little more, I can’t even remember which network it is, fair and balanced.
Ouch! That’s Foxxed up!
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Speaking of Trump TV:
