Quote of the Day:
“I think it’s terrible. I cannot imagine any president of the United States saying anything so terrible …It demeans the United States. It demeans our constitution and it’s wrong.”
— Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), on CNN Friday afternoon, reacting to President Trump praising Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) body-slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in the summer of 2017. Trump was giving a speech at a rally in Missoula, Mont. Gianforte apologized for the assault and a court ordered him to do community service take anger management classes.
The Daily Beast‘s EIC Noah Schactman: “Endorsing dictators that kill journalists, calling reporters ‘enemies of the people,’ pulling stunts like these … we all know where this is heading, right?” He links to this story about Trump praising Gianforte.
Atlantic reporter writes a blistering story on Newt Gingrich
The author is McKay Coppins, who did not seem to enjoy his interview with the former House Speaker. The interview mostly transpired at the Philadelphia Zoo. Here he talks about why he found it so hard to talk to Gingrich.
“One of the hard things about talking with Gingrich is that he weaves partisan attack lines into casual conversation so matter-of-factly — and so frequently — that after a while they begin to take on a white-noise quality. He will say something like “I mean, the party of socialism and anti-Semitism is probably not very desirable as a governing party,” and you won’t bother challenging him, or fact-checking him, or arching an eyebrow—in fact, you might not even notice. His smarter-than-thou persona seems so impenetrable, his mind so unchangeable, that after a while you just give up on anything approaching a regular human conversation.”
Is Paul Manafort’s health in jeopardy?
“[Former Trump Campaign Chairman] Paul Manafort appears in court in a wheelchair. Attorney Kevin Downing says ‘there are significant issues with Mr. Manafort’s health right now that have to do with his confinement.’ Wants him sentenced as soon as possible so he can be moved.” — Rachel Weiner, reporter, WaPo.
More on Manafort’s health…
“Manafort’s right foot appeared to be in a thick white sock or wrapping, it was hard to see into the courtroom well. A source familiar with his condition said he has a serious medical condition related to his diet, and that is related to inflammation in his foot.” — Zoe Tillman, reporter, BuzzFeed News.
Day in the Life of a Reporter
“A nice summation of the life of a reporter on the trail: ‘Now waiting in a conference room for an estimated two hours.'” — Robert Donachie, White House reporter, The Washington Examiner.
A Georgetown Law prof weighs in on Twitter blocking
“It’s totally cool man. I block anybody I find sufficiently annoying.” — Randy Barnett, law professor, Georgetown.
He was reacting to a follower who asked, “Granted I do not know the context, don’t you think it is ‘uncool’ to block people on a social platform?”
BuzzFeed reporter: Trump is ‘petty, racist, sexist and small’
“On a serious note. It’s really sad to come home from celebrating the life of San Romero, who gave up everything and defied the most powerful forces on earth, who gave his life for the least … to find the president of my country is still petty, racist, sexist and small.”
“I’m not naive, so I didn’t expect to leave for a few days and San Romero would perform an Uber miracle on his canonization and teach our president humility or grace. Not even god could pull that off.”
“But still. From the looks of things on twitter, it’s been an especially insane couple of days. Or day. Or hours. It’s hard to tell anymore.”
— John Stanton, senior national correspondent, BuzzFeed.
American University creates a ‘safe space’ for students
“The American University Student Government is holding a ‘safe space’ during my speech on Tuesday. Absolutely pathetic that college students need a safe space from a speech about the right to due process. Do they cower in fear when they have to read the Constitution?” — Amber Athey, The Daily Caller.
The Observer
“A Trump crowd cheering violence is…a mob.” — Bill Kristol, editor-at-large, The Weekly Standard.
The Observer II
“I’m always amazed at Cohen’s perpetual resting mobster face.” — Lachlan Markay, reporter, The Daily Beast.
The Observer III
“Forget an anonymous NYT op-ed. These Trump officials are doing it in broad daylight.” — Amber Phillips, reporter for WaPo’s The Fix. She was tweeting a story she wrote about now former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley criticizing Trump on her way out the door.
Read the full story here.
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski Highlights… a recording from a Rep. Jason Lewis (R) radio show in which the topic of sexual harassment was discussed. On the show, Lewis, the host, questioned why men hitting on women — touching a shoulder or a thigh — is so hard on women and later requires therapy.
And then…
“After CNN’s KFile contacted Lewis’ campaign for comment, a law firm representing Genesis Communications Network, the radio network that produced Lewis’ show, sent a letter demanding that CNN ‘cease and desist’ from using the copyrighted radio show owned by the company.” — Oliver Darcy, media writer, CNN.
CNN’s Jim Acosta does a live shot at a Trump rally in Montana amid impossibly loud music. He suggests the White House did this on purpose.
Tonight the Trump campaign/WH turned up the music so loud the press risers were vibrating. Nearly impossible to do live TV. I suppose the WH loves those kinds of shenanigans. But I wonder if it’s a security concern for USSS or local law enforcement. They can’t hear either.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 19, 2018
Sen. Graham’s nickname: ‘Republican Liberace’
“Republican Liberace is hitting the road.” — Andy Lassner, executive producer, The Ellen Show, on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) going on the campaign trail for a 12-day tour to support Republicans.
Gossip Roundup
TMZ: Police arrest a Long Island man for threatening to kill senators who voted for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The senators are not named. Here.
New York Post‘s Page Six: A supermodel gets sued for posting paparazzi snaps on Instagram. Here.
Variety: Natalie Portman insists she has lost sleep because of Brett Kavanaugh. Here.
Splinter News: Reporter says house in Beverly Hills is available for just the right “major asshole.” Here.
Politico: “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Hillary?” Here.
