| A Crazy Briefing White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was confronted by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl over the Trump administration’s decision to send federal law enforcement into Portland to protect federal property from violent protesters.
"Where in the Constitution does the president derive the authority to send federal law enforcement officers to the streets of American cities against the will of the elected officials in those cities?" Karl asked.
NBC’s Kristen Welker pressed McEnany on Trump and the mask. And Brian Karem shouted at McEnany to put one on.
[Watch the full briefing here.]
McEnany, meanwhile, took some time to bash the New York Times for an "appalling" attack on Dr. Deborah Birx over the coronavirus response.
But maybe the most controversial moment was the one still being debated: Whether or not a reporter called the White House press secretary a “lying b*tch.”
Seems to be that kind of day, doesn't it?
Out to Gaetz Cheney
A closed-door congressional meeting among House Republicans reportedly went wild on Tuesday when Rep. Liz Cheney’s colleagues reportedly ganged up on her for diverging from the GOP over the coronavirus pandemic.
This culminated with Congressman Matt Gaetz demanding Cheney to step down as Conference Chair, and blasting her on Twitter, claiming she "has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against" Trump.
Federal Law Enforcement in the streets
It wasn't just Jon Karl at the briefing, the Trump administration has been hit from all sides in the last day or so over the use of federal forces in American cities. That includes Fox News' Andrew Napolitano, who said the move by Trump "was not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it’s just plain wrong."
On Twitter, GOP Senator Rand Paul said "We cannot give up liberty for security" in his criticism.
On MSNBC, Jon Heilemann said that the president's "unmarked paramilitary units" are a "trial run" for how he'll steal the 2020 election.
Fox News lawsuit
CNN's Alisyn Camerota (formerly of Fox News Channel) delivered a fiery condemnation of the network on Tuesday over the spate of allegations, including an accusation of rape leveled at Fox's Ed Henry (formerly of CNN.)
Accuser Jennifer Eckhart, a former associate producer for the network, spoke out on Tuesday in disturbing detail on the allegation.
Dr. Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci is rejecting President Trump's claim that he is an “alarmist.” Appearing on Instagram Live with Maria Shriver on Monday, the infectious disease expert was asked whether Trump’s description of him as “a little bit of an alarmist” is fair.“I consider myself a realist, as opposed to an alarmist,” Fauci said.
Chris Cuomo Tops All of Cable News
Cuomo Prime Time soared to a rare, best-in-cable-news victory on Friday in the coveted 25 – 54 age demographic, thanks to an in-depth interview with Mary Trump about her scathing, tell-all book on her uncle.
That performance also pushed CNN to a rare weekday sweep of both total day and primetime ratings in the demo.
Get the numbers, and the top shows, from Mediaite+ here!
That seems like a problem
Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace offered a brutal postmortem on his media-dominating interview with the president that aired on Sunday. Speaking with Fox News colleague Bret Baier, Wallace said that his main takeaway from the hour is that Trump doesn’t “have a handle on” the coronavirus pandemic — on the policy and the politics.
Arrested
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, was arrested Tuesday on charges of taking part in a $60 million bribery scheme. He was arrested alongside former Ohio Chairman Matt Borges, Householder’s adviser Jeff Longstreth, and two lobbyists over the stunning scheme.
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