Newsworthy

You would think insane unhinged rants by the president - in this case on the flagship public affairs/news show! - would be newsworthy, but instead it is always something to be smoothed over and hidden.

CBS News’s 60 Minutes cut out large portions of its interview with President Trump in which he rambled about his ballroom, how hot his Secret Service agents are, and how the No Kings protests are just like the Ku Klux Klan.

An analysis by Decoding Fox News revealed that many portions of the interview, which took place Sunday following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, simply never made it to air.

As has been the case since I have been blogging, other top journalists are strangely quiet on clearly indefensible practices by their colleagues.  

That's one aspect of the news ecosystem that I think has become worse over the years.  There used to be more "internal" media criticism.  Much of it was bad, of course, but there was at least some insider reflection on what was happening.

Now there are plenty of critical voices (good!) but they are all outside the room, not in it, making it easier to just ignore them.

TNR (linked) used to be inside the room, when it was right-wing-masquerading-as-center-left, and now it isn't. Funny how things work.

Morning

Every single day.

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Popularity and The Press

Have the hacks started referring to Trump as "unpopular" yet? I haven't seen it.

Soon he will announce more and more shit and they will treat each bit of vaporware as his comeback kid moment.

L

America's greatest president.

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's approval rating ‌fell to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The four-day poll completed on Monday showed 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White ​House, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was conducted from April 15 to 20.

The Only Thing Americans Care About

I don't think that's true, really, but it probably is true of the generally confused group of "swing voters" that have a big impact on election outcomes.

Gasoline prices in the United States rose on Tuesday to their highest level in four years as peace talks between the United States and Iran appeared at an impasse.

The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.18, according to the AAA motor club. The price at the pump has not been that high since April 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Tuesday’s jump of 1.6 percent was the highest percentage increase in more than a month.

Of course if they come down soon enough, they'll remember how that nasty Biden caused them to jump in the first place. Such are swing voters.

Georgetown Law's Finest

 The connection between Barry Jr. and Cole Allen is an exercise left to the reader.

Randy's 74. Back in Ye Old Blogosphere Days he was one of the Good Conservatives.

I'm sure this will be defended because it's a "joke" which "references" when Obama said, "If I had a son, he could have looked like Trayvon Martin." But what's the joke? WHAT'S THE JOKE, MOTHERFUCKER???

It's just proving Obama's point, of course. 

Sus

 Is he lying, or are they feeding him nonsense to calm him down? 

It Is 2006... It is 2026...

Criticism of the White House press and their annual dinner has been going on for decades.  The criticisms remain basically the same, even as the details change somewhat:

They are the highest paid and most celebrated journalists, even though their journalism is entirely access journalism which produces no genuine scoops. Whoever sucks up the most gets the press releases first.

They identify with the people and the institutions they cover. It is "we" not "us and them." They are on Team White House, and they rise and fall together.

They are quite defensive of the people they cover, both because of access reasons and in the same way that I can criticize Philadelphia but you had better fucking not. Their home, not yours.

They tend to be incredibly thin skinned about their own work, of course.

As journalists at the top of the food chain - salaries, status, fame - they are often quite dismissive of "lesser" journalists. You know, the ones with actual "scoops" which they are often unable to read or remember.

Access journalism includes a lot of "save it for the book" stuff. Aside from the obvious, a problem with failing to publish what you know is that you end up talking and writing around it. "Peter Hegseth says [lie which is refuted in my book out in 18 months]." It's a version of "catch and kill."  Tell journalists the truth but embargo it.  They have to pretend they don't know it.

They often run cover for their sources. Way too obvious case: Maggie Haberman with Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

For various reasons, these tendencies are much worse and less hidden during Republican administrations.  Arguably this is mostly because Republican administrations are "better" at manipulating them, better at their care and feeding (and corrective punishments at times), and not because of ideological affinity, but that is not preferable!

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 Taco Tuesday.

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As Long As What Happens Is Funny

I have probably been a bit flippant lately, as I'm not especially optimistic that anything good is going to happen in the next few months. At best we can get some stuff which is funny. You know, something like the humiliation of Kash Patel.

Developments like that aren't likely to actually improve anything, but at least we can laugh a bit.

Awkward

Also funny, or would be if it all wasn't so consequential.

“We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty,” Putin told Araghchi saying he hoped they can get through what he called a “difficult period” and peace will prevail.

“For our part we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible,” he added.

Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes, which Moscow has strongly condemned.

Some Are Held For Charity And Some For Fancy Dress

I don't know why Trump is so obsessed with his ballroom. I do know that a promise to get Godzilla on loan from Japan to stomp the shit out of it as soon as he leaves office is the right response.

Enrage Him

Insult his binky.

dems should start ripping the ballroom just to keep him distracted, say the renderings are tacky and itll be the only thing he talks about for a week

— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) April 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM

'MAHA Moms'

I'm mildly annoyed that every part of MAGA Extended Universe gets treated as a crucial voting constituency, instead of a mostly marginal internet subculture with an elevated sense of their own righteousness and importance. Still, there is value in pointing out that even within his own expressed crackpot framework, RFK JR. is hardly "MAHA."

But the Trump administration has since ordered more domestic production of the chemical, backed away from suggestions it may be harmful, and thrown its support behind Bayer by arguing that it is up to the Environmental Protection Agency, not the courts, to decide the safety and risks of agricultural chemicals.

The positions on glyphosate have sparked tension between traditional conservatives and the MAHA voters who argue they provided pivotal votes to secure Trump’s 2024 win.

If you guys did provide the pivotal votes, I hope you're proud of yourselves. 

At Least The War Is Over

The DC press fully seizing the opportunity to make themselves the protagonists of The Politics Story at the expense of all other news is bringing back memories.

Generally that aspect has improved somewhat since the peak Mark Halperin/Gang of 500 days, though I am not surprised to see they can still take the opportunity to turn the focus onto themselves.

A new attack on the rituals that define US democracy

No your annual dinner is not one of the rituals that define US democracy. Jesus fucking christ.

Morning

Oh what a glorious morning.

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Winning

I don't know what happens next, but this is probably true no matter what!

“We will by no means return the Strait of Hormuz to its previous state, because this is an order from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution”, Ali Nikzad, second deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, told the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

If the US somehow takes control, "we" will start charging.