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Trump Had America’s Top TV News Anchors Over for Lunch—and Ate Them Alive
thedailybeast.com ^

Posted on 02/05/2020 9:46:22 AM PST by Conserv

Donald Trump served various television news personalities a lunch described by one White House guest as soup and filet of sole Tuesday—but soon the assembled anchorpeople were eating out of his hand.

Much to the disappointment of folks at CNN, nobody at the long table—who included NBC’s Lester Holt and Chuck Todd, ABC’s David Muir and George Stephanopoulos, and CBS’s Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan—bothered to ask why the president had gone out of his way to exclude the cable network run by Trump’s former friend Jeff Zucker.

“MSDNC isn’t here as well,” Trump quipped—to polite chuckles but zero protests (not even by Meet the Press and MSNBC anchor Todd) from his captive audience, who were there ostensibly for a briefing on tonight’s State of the Union address but instead were treated to a lot of presidential boasting about his poll numbers and the “through-the-roof” stock market, and a lot of gloating about the “fiasco” of Iowa’s Democratic caucuses and the general disarray in the out-of-power party.

Trump made sure to criticize his Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for declining to lower interest rates further. Asked about the exploding trillion-dollar deficits his administration has created, the president claimed that lower interest rates will allow him to reduce the red ink in his second term.

“He was chill,” said a lunch guest. “He wasn’t angry at all. He was friendly, outgoing, and relaxed. He was confident that he’ll be re-elected.”

Trump also was sanguine about his participation in the fall presidential debates, saying, ”Yeah, I’ll do it,” even though, he claimed, “the debate commission is filled with a bunch of Never Trumpers.”

Trump and his lovingly admiring vice president, Mike Pence, sat directly across from each other. The president was flanked by O’Donnell and Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum; Pence, meanwhile, drew Todd and Fox News’ Bret Baier as his lunch partners. Also enjoying the cuisine—but staying away from the offered Chardonnay—were PBS’ Judy Woodruff, C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, CBN’s David Brody, and Newsmax’s Emerald Robinson, formerly a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist at Trump’s favorite media outlet, One America News Network.

Trump indicated that tonight’s speech will run to one-and-a-half hours, and he planned to mention but spend little time talking about the ongoing impeachment proceedings. That, he said, will be reserved for the barn-burner he plans to deliver on Wednesday after the Senate acquits him.

“It’s going to be low-key,” Trump said.

“Are you sure you want to call it ‘low-key?’” Chuck Todd demanded—which was about as hardball as the questioning got.

While Trump fielded earnest queries about troop deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the United States’ recent confrontation with Iran (“Nobody knows how close we came to war,” the president confided in an answer to Holt), nobody saw fit to challenge him on his regular attacks on members of the press the “enemy of the people,” “scum,” and other choice epithets.

At one point Trump recalled that he had been an early donor to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s first House race, and added: “AOC is gonna run against him in the primary and she’s gonna kick his ass,” a lunch guest quoted the president as predicting.

As for his potential Democratic opponents, he said that Bernie Sanders “is the nastiest and the smartest”—a compliment of sorts—and said he didn’t understand the appeal of former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, the nation’s first out-gay major presidential candidate. Meanwhile he vowed to hammer Joe Biden “on Ukraine and Burisma.”

Trump also promised that the White House will spare no effort in blocking his former national security adviser John Bolton’s book from publication; he noted that he took a chance and hired Bolton “when nobody else wanted him,” and mocked Bolton’s use of the honorific “ambassador” because “he couldn’t even get confirmed; he was a recess appointment” to be George W. Bush’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Trump pointed out.

He said their relationship soured early on, in the midst of Trump’s meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, after Bolton went on TV to announce that the U.S. favored “the Libyan model” in its dealings with Kim—that is, a scenario where North Korea’s tyrant gives up his nuclear weapons, only to be killed anyway, like Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.

In sum, at this White House lunch, a good time was had by all.


TOPICS: Extended News
KEYWORDS: 116th; lunch; media; msdnc; msm; trump; trumpmedia; trumpsotu
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I know it's a liberal site, but I love how Trump excluded cnn and msdnc.
1 posted on 02/05/2020 9:46:22 AM PST by Conserv
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To: Conserv

“Low-key.” Last night’s SOTU speech was “low-key”, according to Trump, vs the “barn-burner” he’ll deliver tonight.

Popcorn?


2 posted on 02/05/2020 9:48:53 AM PST by ctdonath2 (Democrats oppose democracy.)
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To: Conserv
There is SO MUCH in that article:

At one point Trump recalled that he had been an early donor to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s first House race, and added: “AOC is gonna run against him in the primary and she’s gonna kick his ass,” a lunch guest quoted the president as predicting.

... but spend little time talking about the ongoing impeachment proceedings. That, he said, will be reserved for the barn-burner he plans to deliver on Wednesday after the Senate acquits him.

3 posted on 02/05/2020 9:49:54 AM PST by 11th_VA
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To: Conserv

And also Fox News.


4 posted on 02/05/2020 9:50:31 AM PST by nwrep
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To: Conserv

Maybe the new meds are doing the trick.

Post impeachment he may have a 6 month honeymoon to win some new friends after Pelosi’s meltdown last night.


5 posted on 02/05/2020 9:54:08 AM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie (All I know is The I read in the papers.)
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To: Conserv

Someone attending leaked what was said to a colleague. Because some info about the speech was printed before speech. A no no.


6 posted on 02/05/2020 9:55:05 AM PST by gcparent (Justice Brett Kavanaugh)
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To: nwrep

HUH? McCallum and Beir/bier/bare/bear were there.


7 posted on 02/05/2020 9:57:10 AM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: Conserv

Buh bye


8 posted on 02/05/2020 9:58:49 AM PST by KC_Conspirator
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To: Conserv

It’s a bit contrarian but I think he should do things like this more often. “Friends close, enemies closer” sure, but there’s an inescapable psychology at work also. Of course it depends on him being on his best behavior and allowing them to see the thoughtful and intellectual side that they minimize otherwise.

If any of us were to sit down for a meal with someone we don’t like (short of Schiff, Nadless or Pelosi) - say a person like Steny Hoyer - we might well come away with a little more respect for that person. Not because we agreed any more with their ideas but because we’d seen them as a person, had a few laughs over meaningless crap, and came away having seen a side to them we weren’t aware of.

It’s how dating works, how kids make new friends in a new town, etc. Just human nature. Trump could gain maybe not new friends, but knock the edges of the sharp elbows off a bit.


9 posted on 02/05/2020 10:01:54 AM PST by bigbob (Trust Trump. Trust the Plan.)
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To: rktman

Why was Martha wearing white last night?


10 posted on 02/05/2020 10:04:49 AM PST by FrdmLvr (They never thought she would lose.)
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To: Conserv

barn-burner he plans to deliver on Wednesday after the Senate acquits him.


loookiing forward to it.


11 posted on 02/05/2020 10:08:26 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: FrdmLvr

Never saw her. Was she doing an undercover into the demodrone cabal!


12 posted on 02/05/2020 10:10:46 AM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

What kind did they switch you to?


13 posted on 02/05/2020 10:16:58 AM PST by jacknhoo (Luke 12:51; Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation.)
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To: Conserv

At one point Trump recalled that he had been an early donor to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s first House race, and added: “AOC is gonna run against him in the primary and she’s gonna kick his ass,” a lunch guest quoted the president as predicting.


I can see Trump making a contribution to AOC just to get revenge on schumer.

What would the fake news do with that? Another opportunity for Trump to talk about the issues. Trump will do it in a way to frame and mold AOC, put words in her mouth.


14 posted on 02/05/2020 10:18:56 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: bigbob

It’s a bit contrarian but I think he should do things like this more often.


it keeps your enemies off balance.

Nancy was expecting a MAGA speech and prepared for that, what we got was a VERY PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH.


15 posted on 02/05/2020 10:21:58 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: Conserv

Chuck Schumer’s ... “AOC is gonna run against him in the primary and she’s gonna kick his ass,” a lunch guest quoted the president as predicting.

THAT is an interesting prediction. I’m trying to reduce by carb intake, but the Democrats are providing too many popcorn-eating opportunities. AOC against Schumer would be hilarious.


16 posted on 02/05/2020 10:24:19 AM PST by cdcdawg (Cornpop was a bad dude!)
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To: Conserv

Trump must have a strong stomach to eat them alive.

I doubt I could do it even if they were butchered, marinated for days and barbecued.

Maybe fully processed into Soylent Green, they would be edible.


17 posted on 02/05/2020 10:25:03 AM PST by LegendHasIt
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To: Conserv

I went to the SOTU and all I got was this ripped-up t-shirt.


18 posted on 02/05/2020 10:28:17 AM PST by JusPasenThru (KAG 2020.)
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To: FrdmLvr

Why was Martha wearing white last night?

To make us think she is a Vestal Virgin like the rest?


19 posted on 02/05/2020 10:36:32 AM PST by CARTOUCHE (Pelosi has been tearing-up the truth for the longest time. It's what she does.)
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To: Conserv

It’s good to be King.


20 posted on 02/05/2020 10:40:14 AM PST by Sequoyah101 (We are governed by the consent of the governed and we are fools for allowing it.)
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