JAMM: Trump Turns Lindsey Graham's Death Into Promo — Media Rolls Over Edition
It's Not Surprising But Still Shocking
Time to kick off the week with toast and JAMM, as the Jim Acosta Morning Memo takes you through a jam-packed weekend that will be driving a hot summer week.
The big news — the shocking death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — sparked a lot of very unfortunate news.
Media Rollover Part 1 — Trump Puts CNN ‘On A Normal Path’: Trump called in to a pair of Sunday shows, neither of which covered itself in glory.
Jake Tapper is getting roasted for his Trump interview, especially over the moment Trump literally demanded “don’t talk about” the Strait of Hormuz…:
TAPPER: Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. Is that true, Mr. President?
TRUMP: It's open as far as we're concerned. Don't talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak.
TAPPER: OK.
We appreciate your time, sir.
… and the moment Tapper asked for, and got, the Trump seal of approval:
TAPPER: Well, I know you don't want to talk about any other issues out of respect for Lindsey Graham, but we would love to have you back some time, because I do have a lot of other questions for you, sir.
TRUMP: Sure. We will do that. We will do that.
TAPPER: Thank you for calling in.
TRUMP: We're trying to...
TAPPER: Yes?
TRUMP: ... have CNN go on a normal path. And we will do that.
TAPPER: Well, I'm on a normal path right here, sir, and I appreciate your time.
TRUMP: Good. You are.
In the context of the Paramount/WBD merger, “We’re trying” is an especially disturbing phrase, and while Tapper may have meant something else, the exchange was a bad look.
He’s also taking heat for the volumes of insanity he ignored, after spilling gallons of ink calling the widely-known aging of President Biden “a cover-up.”
Tapper needn’t have tracked his way back through time to find a relevant issue — just hours earlier, Trump threatened a one-year missile campaign to destroy an entire country and blurted “PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”
He also attacked a close colleague of Tapper, calling Maggie Haberman “Maggot Hagerman” in a pair of Truth Social posts — lashing out over reporting on his health.
Speaking Of Trump Pal David Ellison: Paramount is reportedly considering/threatening/trial-ballooning an exit from California — you know, where Hollywood is? — over the state’s participation in a lawsuit to block the merger.
Is it a real threat, or coercion by leak? Even Semafor notes, of their own scoop, the maneiver “may just be a show of brinkmanship.”
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‘I Told You That Before The Call!’: On Meet the Press, the mask slipped in a bombshell moment that didn’t get nearly enough attention — and shed more light on the Tapper interview.
Welker did a looong windup about why she was asking Trump about Iran “in honor of” Lindsey Graham. Seemed a little weird, until Trump outed NBC News and CNN for a stunning lapse. See if you can spot it:
