Quote of the Day:

“The president of the United States is a threat to the physical safety of journalists.”

— Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief, The Atlantic.

NBC’s Dylan Byers is the new adviser for Democrats, media 

Thanks Dylan for this note of caution! 

“Cautionary note to Democrats and the media: The golf simulator that President Trump installed in the White House to replace the less sophisticated one President Obama installed in the White House is not the hill you want to die on.” — Dylan Byers, media reporter, NBC. If you’ve never seen The Daily Caller‘s “And the Wondering” video, you must.

Scarborough. Sanders. Larry David. 

“You can’t watch Bernie Sanders without thinking Larry David!” — MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has announced that he’s running for president in 2020.

Naval warfare reporter thinks Jussie Smollett may need help 

“What if this guy actually needs help? I’m not saying it would excuse his actions, if what is being alleged is true, but man it seems he could use maybe a LITTLE compassion as he reckons with it through our system.” — David Larter, naval warfare reporter, Defense News.

Journo LOVES Sen. Sherrod Brown 

“I do think it would be great to have a non white guys as president but *I LOVE SHERROD SO MUCH*” — Katie MacBride, writer, associate editor, Anxy Mag. Also: Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast. 

Lay off Malia Obama?  

“Malia Obama stays surrounded by snitches.” — Roxane Gay, contributing opinion writer, NYT, feminist.

The Daily Mail captures her drinking wine in Miami over the weekend.

Journo wonders about guys who lie about their age while dating 

“I love guys who lie about their age on dating apps. Like wtf is their plan for when you meet them? Benjamin Button Disease?” — Shoshana Weissmann, digital media manager, R Street Institute.

Eric Bolling says Alec Baldwin is full of sh*t 

“Oh come the HELL on @AlecBaldwin The only threat to your safety is your tired Trump @nbcsnl gig. It likely threatens the safety of your career, that is. #StephenAndBillyBetterBaldwins.” — Eric Bolling, TV host, TheBlaze. (RELATED: Alec Baldwin Opens Up About That Parking Spot Arrest) 

And a Hollywood director salutes SNL and Baldwin 

“I SALUTE SNL FOR SECURING THE SERVICES OF ALEC BALDWIN WHO SUCCESSFULLY SKEWERED TRUMP’S IMPRESSION OF A SITTING PRESIDENT.” — Carl Reiner, Hollywood director.

Reporter’s dad gets on his case for those towel tweets 

“My dad later today (not kidding): ‘Yashar, I did not leave Iran and move to America so my son could tweet about towels. What is this nonsense? If you were my student I would give you a D minus. I don’t have a son, I have a silly goose!'”  —Yashar Ali, HuffPost, New York Mag.

In other Ali news… “I swear to god if I’m responsible for a surge in towel sales/bath sheet sales the elephants better get a cut.”

CNN Brian Stelter: ‘It’s very complicated’ 

His initials are B.S. for a good reason. 

Asked why he didn’t have local Chicago reporters on his program to discuss the Jussie Smollett story, CNN “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter replied:

“Local stations frequently say no to our booking requests. It’s very complicated for reasons that will probably bore you, network relationships, etc. But we regularly try anyway. Yesterday I purposefully booked a diverse group of guests — a libertarian, a progressive, etc. if you have suggestions for other guests to book, I’m all ears. …We also book local reporters on a regular basis. I had a local radio host on yesterday. But if he has specific Chicago reporters to suggest, he’s welcome to do so.”

You know what Stelter didn’t cover Sunday? 

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) threatening to call the cops on a Daily Caller Capitol Hill reporter and an intern for asking a question about the “Green New Deal.” CNN’s chief media correspondent still hasn’t replied to a request for comment on that one. (RELATED: Journalists Eating Their Own Is Pathetic) 

In other bizarre Stelter news… He’s live-tweeting The Price is Right 

“I wasn’t planning on live-tweeting ‘The Price Is Right’ again today, but two contestants BOTH spun and hit $1! Then the dude spun again and hit $1 AGAIN! He won $25,000 just for spinning a wheel. What a world.” — B.S. 

Weiner’s former sexting partner says kids would screw up her boob jobs 

“One of my friends just asked if I want children. I explained that I don’t think having kids lines up with the timing of my future boob jobs. She’s like, “you’d choose nice boobs over kids?” Technically I can take the tits with me when I die, but you can’t take the kids.” — Sydney Elaine Leathers.

Speaking of Weiner…

“BREAKING NEWS: NY POST RUNS A HEADLINE ABOUT ANTHONY WEINER WITHOUT A PENILE PUN; SEVEN COPY EDITORS FIRED.” — Jeff Greenfield, longtime political analyst. The headline was: “Anthony Weiner is still texting away — inside his halfway house.

Gossip Roundup

Mediaite‘s Tommy Christopher actually writes a decent piece about Monday’s towel saga. Here.

Mother Jones journo… bites the dust on Twitter? “I need to change the way I use social media and I am not good at doing that so I am going to set off a nuke and unfollow everyone with an automated script. RIP me. Xoxox.” — Ben Dreyfuss, editorial director, Mother Jones, Soul Cycle aficionado.

DELETE! Daily Beast reporter deletes Jussie Smollett remarks — and admits it. “I deleted previous inaccurate tweets as more reports about Jussie Smollett come out. What a despicable act if updates are true: exploiting & amplifying the hate, division, & politicization; abusing media & police resources; and making it all the harder for victims to report.” — Kevin Fallon, senior entertainment reporter, The Daily Beast.

The son of Trump’s next expected AG William Barr gets a job in Trump’s White House. Here.

Former CBS “60Minutes” correspondent Lara Logan says she committed professional suicide. She gives Breitbart News a shocking plug Here.