Quotes of the Day:
“Umm can you saw awkward? Per a tipster — currently flying to DC on the same plane — Roger Stone / Rep Debbie Wasserman Shultz / Brad Parscale 2020 Trump campaign manager.”
—John Santucci, senior editorial producer, ABC News.
“Roger Stone is dressed like the character ‘Roger Stone’ today in court. Pocket square, deep tan, etc.”
— Christina Wilkie, White House reporter, CNBC.com.
(RELATED: Mr. Roger Stone’s 13th Annual International Best And Worst Dressed List)
D.C. journo has pink eye
“Sick and didn’t feel like going out so I just got a sub delivered! Excited!@pizzapaisanos Found out today a strep test that had initially been negative actually turned out positive. And I have pink eye. It’s been a fun few days LOL.” — Tom Roussey, reporter, ABC7.
New Yorker writer gets sucked into New York Mag’s Sex Diaries
“Shit I just realized what will finally make me get a New York mag subscription to break that paywall… yes my friends it’s the sex diaries.” — Naomi Fry, staff writer, The New Yorker. “Took the plunge and let me tell you… this week is especially gross and I feel blessed.”
HOW TO MAKE IT ALL ABOUT ME: CNN’s infamous White House reporter Jim Acosta inserts himself into the Tom Brokaw scandal
“Man this son of a Cuban refugee is so assimilated I don’t even speak fluent Spanish. Hope that passes the test Mr. Brokaw!” – Jim Acosta, CNN chief White House correspondent.
Tomi Lahren awaits Sen. Kamala Harris response on affair
“Hey @KamalaHarris given that you’re so vocal about the #MeeToo movement, what are your thoughts on sleeping your way to the top of your political career? I’ll wait.” — Tomi Lahren, Fox News. She links to this story.
Reactions…
“But did she ever throw a fit in studio over a missing butt warmer? ‘Cause I know someone dat did dat.” — Ben Howe, contributing writer, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast.
“Hey, so this is a disgusting lie. And frankly I would think you of all people would be sensitive about this given how many left-wingers troll you with gendered dog whistles, which I imagine can’t be fun for you. Why would you blow one at another woman?” — Matthew Chapman, breaking news reporter, Alternet.
Don Jr. suggests new career for ex-Sen. Flake: ‘Dog Catcher’
“Shocked that Jeff flake who wouldn’t have come close to winning his home district isn’t going to run for president. I thought he was a real contender. Maybe try for dog catcher!” — Donald Trump Jr. on Flake going to work for CBS News.
Atlantic Supreme Court reporter mocks Howard Schultz
HOWARD SCHULTZ, possible presidential contender: “I love our country, and I am seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent.”
Prof. Garrett Epps, SCOTUS correspondent, The Atlantic: “I am seriously considering the kind of self-absorbed jerk I would be if I had enough money to do anything I wanted and was surrounded by lackeys who would tell me I was great and had great ideas no matter what.”
Ann Coulter’s new nemesis : Newt Gingrich
“RIDDLE OF THE DAY: How do you break Newt Gingrich’s nose? (ANSWER: Kick Donald Trump in the ass.)” — Ann Coulter, conservative commentator.
“This article implies that men are afraid to mentor women because #MeToo has made them fear being alone with a female underling. This is BS. I’ve been mentored by many great men, and none of it involved shadowy private alone-time ‘mentoring sessions.'” — Monica Hesse, columnist, Washington Post. She’s referring to this NYT story about men at the Davos World Economic Forum being afraid to mentor women.
Gossip Roundup
Ex-Sen. Flake (R-Ariz.)… won’t run in 2020. He’s going to work for CBS News. Here.
SNL‘s Pete Davidson drinks a beer during interview while talking about rehab. Here.
Splinter News loves Tucker Carlson… but just for today. Writer forces herself to write that the FNC primetime host made a good point. She still manages to be an asshole about it. Sophie Weiner writes, “Tonight, Carlson managed to make an extremely good point when discussing the recent mass of layoffs at BuzzFeed, which have left more than 200 people unemployed: it would have been harder to lay off so many employees with so little regard if they had formed a union.”
A note from Daily Caller‘s Capitol Hill reporter: “Alyssa Milano in the Capitol today for ERA if anybody is interested.”
Ex-NYT Exec. Editor and Merchants of Truth author Jill Abramason has a bleak take on today’s media landscape, especially BuzzFeed. Here. (RELATED: BuzzFeed Rebrands Itself By Hiring Cheaper Editorial Fellows)
The Observer
“I don’t want to talk in hypotheticals about what I might do as your president. But it’s gonna be stuff. Things. I will do them. You’ll just have to wait and see. Like a Cracker Jack box.” — Ben White, Politico.
Political journo no longer watches American TV
“I’ve discovered the key to good television. I’ve pretty much exclusively been watching shows from Australia and Asia. They can still make jokes and say awkward shit on tv. It’s so refreshing.” — Cassandra Fairbanks, The Gateway Pundit.
Mediaite editor makes fun of Tom Brokaw
“The working title for my new podcast is ‘My Tweet Portal is Whack.'” — Colby Hall, founding editor, Mediaite.
Convo Between Two Political Observers
Ari Fleischer, former WH Press Sec.: “It’s day three of the government being open. Has Speaker Pelosi invited President Trump to deliver the State of the Union yet?”
Maria Cardona, CNN commentator: “She said it would be this week but that they are working on a mutually agreeable date. If she hasn’t invited him publicly yet, its because they haven’t settled on a date yet.”
The tweet Mike Cernovich won’t walk back
“Christianity has given us a country where 11 year olds dance for adult men who throw dollars on the stage. Christianity gave us a church that molested children and sold out their flock (Covington) to the left. A moderated form of Islam is probably the West’s only hope.” — Mike Cernovich. He added, “If you think I’m ‘walking it back,’ nope, you are unhinged dead beats who got triggered, please stay away.” See The Mirror‘s Top 10 interview with Cernovich.
The White House briefing that MSNBC, CNN wouldn’t cover
“CNN, MSNBC not running with WH press briefing.” — Greg Pollowitz, editor, Twitchy.
“Sarah Sanders is at the White House podium and the only network taking her live is Fox News. CNN & MSNBC both sticking with regular programming.” —Oliver Darcy, media writer, CNN.
“Huh. CNN and MSNBC not taking the White House press briefing that just started.” — Michael Grynbaum, NYT. “…Lighter moment as @johnrobertsFox & Sanders joke about the president insulting him on Twitter the other night.”
“CNN and MSNBC bitch all the time about no briefings, and then cut away while major policy announcement briefing underway.” — Caleb Howe, Washington Free Beacon.
Reporter whines about being ignored at White House briefing
“Ignored again today by @PressSec and no other reporter asked about the Ginni Thomas meeting. I guess questions about the discussion will have to go unanswered.” — Chris Johnson, chief political and White House reporter, Washington Blade.
Note to readers: Other reporters were “ignored” too.
On Roger Stone getting a presidential pardon…
“‘I’m not going to get into that at this point,’ Sarah Sanders says about a possible Roger Stone pardon. Says she’s not aware of conversations about that happening.” — Josh Dawsey, White House reporter, The Washington Post.
NY Mag‘s Olivia Nuzzi: White House is being callous
“This strikes me as both inappropriate and callous, telling government workers their options are to support or encourage lawmakers to support the construction of a border wall, or miss their paychecks. As if this predicament is their fault, or their responsibility to fix.”
“Asked what her message is to federal workers afraid they’ll miss another paycheck if the government shuts down again, Sarah Huckabee Sanders says they should engage in political activism and call Democratic members of Congress to tell them to ‘fix’ the problem.”
Mediaite writer mocks CNN’s Jim Acosta
“After bravely writing a book on how it’s ‘a dangerous time to tell the truth in America,’ Acosta heroically enters the White House. Stunning and brave.” — Julio Rosas, writer, Mediaite.
Ex-BuzzFeeder talks about finding safe space at work
“BuzzFeed has been my dream job. I felt seen and contributed to a space that made people feel safe. If you watched one second of anything I worked on, thank you. On to the next chapter.” —Niki Ang, former producer, BuzzFeed Video.
Brian Stelter worries that SOTU will disrupt networks: WTF?
“After all the drama, the SOTU will just take place one week later than originally scheduled — now it’s Feb. 5 — still on a Tuesday, which minimizes the disruption to the broadcast networks.” — Brian Stelter, somehow chief media correspondent, CNN.