| | | | MEDIA WINNER:
Margaret Brennan CBS’ Margaret Brennan put China’s Ambassador to the U.S., Qin Gang, through an intense series of questions over China’s relationship with Russia in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
She started the interview on Sunday’s episode of Face The Nation by asking Gang if China intends to answer Vladimir Putin’s request for aid. Gang deflected by answering, “China stands for peace, opposes war. China is a peace-loving country. We hate to see the situation in Ukraine come to this. We call for immediate cease-fire, and we are promoting peace talks, and we are sending humanitarian assistance.”
Brennan followed up, citing factual examples and putting Gang on the spot with pressing questions about whether China was willing to "condemn" the invasion of Ukraine, and challenging his assertions that China had asked Putin to back down.
She also confronted Gang about the accusations that China is committing genocide against the Uyghurs.
Throughout the interview, Brennan maintained her composure and refused to back down when Gang tried to duck her questions or proffer empty talking points.
It was a phenomenally important interview at a critical time for the entire world, as melodramatic as that may sound. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has the potential to destabilize longstanding geopolitical power structures, and China could be a very influential chess piece. |
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| | MEDIA LOSER:
Bloomberg "Let them eat cake," the aristocratic nutritional recommendation inaccurately attributed to Marie Antoinette, was bad enough. But "let them eat lentils"? All the class warfare and none of the fun.
In a Bloomberg Opinion op-ed titled “Inflation Stings Most If You Earn Less Than $300K. Here’s How to Deal," Teresa Ghilarducci offered some questionable suggestions for combating the "sting" of inflation.
Chief among her ideas was giving up meat for the aforementioned lentils. “When it comes to food, don’t be afraid to explore,” wrote Ghilarducci, admitting that a transition to vegetarian options could be tough: "your palate may not be used to it."
"[Y]ou may want to rethink those costly pet medical needs," she added, acknowledging that it "may sound harsh." Ghilarducci also recommended considering selling your car and opting for public transportation, an option that is simply not practical for vast swaths of our sprawling suburbian country.
In a rare bit of bipartisan condemnation, the column got completely destroyed by observers of all political stripes, exacerbated by a tweet that made Ghilarducci's suggestions sound even preachier.
Were the Bloomberg editors really that clueless about how their "let them eat lentils" sermon would be received, or were they deliberately fishing for hate-clicks? Either way, inflation is a real challenge for millions of Americans, and Bloomberg's approach was so absurd it was borderline mockery of people's real economic struggles. |
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| | Winning the information war Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky is currently fighting two wars: the military effort to fight off the Russian invasion, and the information war. The survival of his country depends not just on the now-legendary chutzpah of the Ukrainian troops, but also on convincing other countries to continue to send military and humanitarian aid. There's also the unending stream of Russian propaganda and misinformation to counter.
By most accounts, Zelensky is succeeding, winning over the hearts and minds of foreign leaders and inspiring his people to be fiercely united against the Russian threat.
In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that aired on Sunday, Zelensky vociferously objected to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s unfounded claim that he had invaded Ukraine in order to rid the country of neo-Nazis, using Russia's own history to show just how ridiculous that claim was.
The Russian accusations were especially offensive, said Zelensky, because it was the Russians who were “acting in the same manner as neo-nazis at the moment," citing the brutal Siege of Leningrad as an illustrative example.
He also announced on Saturday that the country is combining all national TV stations into a singular platform in an effort to combat Russian disinformation. The announcement, which came under martial law, means the suspension of privately owned and operated media outlets in Ukraine. Zelensky described the new platform as critical to “tell the truth about the war.”
Social media posts from within Ukraine continue to shed light on Russia's brutal targeting of civilians. Several videos posted on Monday appeared to show Russian troops firing on peaceful protesters in Kherson.
“What you just saw is terror. What you just saw is brutality. What you just saw is oppression,” said CNN's John Berman after airing the footage.
Zelensky did lose out on one low-stakes opportunity: Amy Schumer tried to work out a way to feature him during the Oscars ceremony (she's one of the night's co-hosts) either through a live video feed or pre-taped segment, but the producers turned her down. 🇺🇦 FOR LATEST UKRAINE COVERAGE CLICK HERE In Other News... ‘We’re Not Deleting Anything’: Babylon Bee Defiant After Twitter Locks Their Account for Tweet Calling Rachel Levine ‘Man of the Year’ Urban Meyer Berated His Players But Didn't Even Know Who Aaron Donald Was, Shocking Report Reveals
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Hospitalized With ‘Flu-Like Symptoms’
Fox News Reveals How Benjamin Hall Was Evacuated From Ukraine — With Help From Ukrainian Military and Biden Administration
WATCH: Tesla Flies Into the Air, Crashes into Multiple Parked Cars After High Speed Stunt Goes Dangerously Wrong 6.5.0 |
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| ‘2022 and 2024 Are All About the 2020 Election? Really?!’ Fox Business’ Stuart Varney pushed back on Donald Trump over the former president’s obsession with the 2020 election and his bogus claims that the contest was fraudulent.
Varney held a lengthy interview with Trump on Monday that he concluded by asking the ex-president what he thinks about his CPAC speeches getting banned on YouTube.
“Well they don’t like the truth,” Trump said before he digressed and started complaining the election was “rigged” (which it wasn’t).
Trump insisted that continuing to obsess about 2020 was "good" for him, and Varney pushed back, hard. It's a noteworthy moment and worth watching, especially with Trump remaining a leading contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Varney also grilled Trump about the situation in Ukraine, repeatedly asking him what military support he would offer that isn't already being done by President Joe Biden's administration. He didn't get a lot of answers. |
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