The Daily Signal - #494: The Media's Plot to Take Down Trump

Episode Date: June 29, 2019

On today’s episode, Brent Bozell and Tim Graham of the Media Research Center discuss their new book, “Unmasked: Big Media’s War Against Trump.” https://amzn.to/2JdFN6BIt is no secret that some of America’s most notable media personalities dislike President Donald Trump. Bozell and Graham have the research to prove it and break down why it’s so bad. They also reveal who tops the list and how the American people can find other sources of trustworthy news.We also share letters to the editor from our readers about The Heritage Foundation’s Mary Clare Amselem’s article, “Bernie Sanders’ Loan Bailout Would Benefit Colleges, Not Students.” Your letter could be featured on our show; write us at [e-mail] or call 202-608-6205.And finally a follow-up good news story about Janine Stange, also known as “National Anthem Girl.”The Daily Signal podcast is available onRicochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, July 1st. I'm Robert Blewey. And I'm Virginia Allen. Today we are talking with Brent Bozell and Tim Graham, authors of the book Unmask, Big Media's War Against Trump. We also share your letters to the editor, and Virginia has a good news follow-up story about Janine Stang, also known as National Anthem Girl. Stay tuned for today's show.

Coming up next. We are joined on the Daily Signal podcast today by Brent Bozell and Tim Graham. They're the authors of the new book, Unmasked, Big Media's War Against Trump. They're also at the Media Research Center. Brent and Tim, thanks for joining us. Thank you. Well, you can find an excerpt from Unmasked at DailySignal.com, and we'll encourage our listeners to go check it out. It's a great preview of the book, and hopefully they'll pick up a copy of that as well with the link that we've included. We'll also be sure to do that in the show notes so you can find it pretty easily. Brent and Tim, why don't we begin by

telling our listeners why you decided it was necessary to write this book? Well, because the publishers paid us some money. I'll think I first let Tim comment on it. Because we had discussions about this, and our first reaction was, I think it's fair to say, Tim, that we weren't that enthusiastic because we said, ah, everybody knows what's in there. But we decided to take a look at it, and Tim went off. to study the research that had been compiled.

And it came back and we discussed it, and there was a there there. And you think you know everything, but you put it all together, and the narrative becomes very different. Yeah, it's just the whole idea that everyone knows it's negative. They don't know just how tremendously negative it is. And I think for us it was the whole notion of,

the media always tells us that Trump is eroding all of our, political norms. They have thrown every media norm out the window for this president. Well, you know, one of the things that I have some personal experience, having worked at the Media Research Center at CNSNews.com, I'll get to that in a little bit. But one of the things that I think our listeners will appreciate is the fact that you back up the work with their actual research, as you referenced Brent. I mean, since you founded the Media Research Center and Tim in your time there. You go through, varied in detail, what exactly people are saying. So, I mean, you're quoting them directly. And I think that that's one of the advantages that you bring to the

table in this kind of critique of the media. So we certainly appreciate it. Well, you know, there are two kinds of analyses on Trump. There's the quantitative and the qualitative. The quantitative is what you see every month in the studies that Rich Noise comes out with. But that's a function of exhaustive research into every single network news story to determine the numbers where you see the 89 percent, the 92 percent, the 91 percent. These numbers that are astronomical and astonishing because they don't end, no matter what success, this president registers, it's just going to be that kind of negative. Now, that's the quantitative. The qualitative is in the analysis of just how negative it is. And this was Tim's point.

When you look at the examples of that hostility, it's unlike anything any president has undergone before. And it astonishes even us to see the level of vitriol and the personal animus directed not just at him, but at anyone around him who dares, you know, do things like be related to him. I mean, the degree of negativity where they use phrases like Trump's rally, are swallowed by fear, anger, and misinformation. Trump spoke off the cuff and took his campaign off the rails. I mean, it is just intense. It really sounds like a horror movie commercial.

Wow. Yeah. Brent, you opened the book with a great story about meeting then Mr. Trump at his New York City office in Trump Tower in early 2015 before he'd even announced his campaign. and you discussed how surprised you were by the man that you met. Can you talk a little bit about that for a moment and about how that meeting really influenced your view of Trump? Sure. I mean, I think my perception was similar to most people's perception of him.

I went to have lunch with him at his invitation to discuss the race. He knew I had endorsed Cruz, but he wanted to know what my views were on the, on his, the idea of him running. And, you know, unlike everyone else who says, you know, I knew he was going to win, I knew he was going to win. I told him he couldn't win. So I'm being very honest there. But here's what I found. I was prepared, as I write in the book, I was prepared not to like the man.

The perception of him, loud, gregarious, bombastic, self-centered, arrogant, you know, aloof, all those things put together to me spelled J-E-R-K. But then you visit with the fella, and I was just stunned. It was the exact opposite. He was soft-spoken. He was courteous. He was genuinely inquisitive. He was laser-focused in his questions, listening to his guest. intently, pushing back where he felt necessary, taking in what he needed to take in. A true gentleman, I'll tell you something else that I noticed that, to me, it was very telling. We went down that escalator, you know, that famous Trump Tower escalator from whence he declared his candidacy. And you would expect that the vicissitudes of celebrity would be such that we would be dining in his private dining room or some fancy restaurant.

Instead, he went right to Trump Diner, or whatever the restaurant is at the bottom, and along the way stopped to meet with staff, the people at the kiosk, the security guards and whatnot. He wanted to talk to them. I made note of that. So the man that I spent an hour with was completely different from the man you see in public, and I was really taken by it. Well, Brent, it's interesting that you share that story, you know, in times when Virginia, and I on this podcast have interviewed other journalists, they often describe how in Trump, many

in the same way. And yet their coverage really reflects something entirely different. And it makes you wonder why. He's somebody who's had a compelling life story. He grew up in Queens. He became an entrepreneur, then a Hollywood star, ultimately president of the United States. He wasn't always despised by the media. And then something changed.

Why do you believe the media turned on him the way that they did? Well, I'll take one crack and then let Tim give his thoughts on it. I see it as a consequence of three different things. One was that he declared war on the Obama legacy. He ran directly with the proposition that if elected, I'm going to dismantle what this guy did. The media saw that as a threat to all they believed in, and they felt that Hillary, with all of her warts, was going to solicit. that fundamental transformation that Obama had promised, especially if she got eight years. That was one.

Number two, the fact that they believe they created this monster. He was a celebrity from the apprentice. They gave him unlimited coverage during the campaign, but it was ridicule him, and it was dismissing him, and I think they thought they could hang him around the neck of the Republican Party, and then saw it wasn't working, and it was having the... the exact opposite effect. And the third one, and perhaps most of the important one, he declared war on them. No one's ever declared war in the media before. You've had the hostility, Nixon v. Media, Reagan v. Media, to another degree, the Bush's v. Media. But it's never been a situation where the

Republican declared war on the media. He did. And these people are just so arrogant. They're such elitist. They couldn't stand it. So you put those three things together, and you've got the perfect storm, I think, are the greatest animus toward any political candidate than president in the history of the republic. I would just add, it's so funny when we look at this and we think George W. Bush, what did he do to wage war on the media? He was photographed holding a copy of Bernie Goldberg's book bias on the lawn. I mean, that was shocking in his anti-media turn.

I mean, Republican consultants have told people for years don't pick a fight with the media. And I think not only Trump, but other people started picking this up like in the 2012 primaries. Like, no, actually taking on the media is what the base likes because the media are so dramatically unfair. I think if Trump had been more like a Michael Bloomberg, like this moderate to liberal businessman, which he was, they would have been much less hostile to him. They probably would have enjoyed the idea of him trolling all the conservatives in the race if he'd run that way. Instead, he ran as an anti-immigration populist, which they could not stand. You know, Trump is a master marketer, and he knows that he may be unpopular,

but he is the Dalai Lama compared to the news media. I mean, they are despised by the public. So he knew he could win that fight. He also knew that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And he knew the more he attacked them, the stronger he got with his base. It's akin to Ronald Reagan. Same thing. With Reagan, he was the Teflon president.

Now, he did it in a very optimistic, positive way. He might say just the opposite way. But it was the same thing. He also knew that in a war with the press, they declared war on him. But that was fine. He knew he was going to win. You all have a list in the book titled The Top Ten, Who Hates Trump the Most? Can you tell us a little bit about some of the journalists who made that list and why?

Well, this was probably the toughest thing we had to do was give us the top 10 anti-Trump journalists. It's like, how do you do that? It's like opening a fire hydrant. But obviously, we looked at each other and said Jim Acosta, because, he really represents to many people, that whole mentality of, I'm not here to report the news. I'm here to scream at Trump. I'm here to be a protester. And that's really kind of the way that CNN has been. But, yeah, so we kind of focused in on the cable news people the first, you know, Joe and Mika, Chris Cuomo, Chris Matthews.

These are all people who come on. and they're really not in any way giving you the news of the day. They're coming on saying, Donald Trump is Hitler. Donald Trump is mentally unstable. Donald Trump is going to kill us all. And that kind of tone, this is where people say, ultimately, it's fake news. You can find that full list in the book we're discussing. It's called Unmasked Big Media's War Against Trump.

We're with Brent Bozell and Tim Graham of the Media Research Center. I want to ask you, gentlemen, about, a situation that we've seen developed on the U.S. Mexico border, the crisis, the situation that we find ourselves in. You know, for the past few months, we've heard from people like Jim Acosta say there is no sign of the national emergency that the president's been talking about. I quote him, he says, it's quote, pretty tranquil down there. Chris Cuomo says, here's a matter of fact. There is no invasion crisis at the border. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said it was an imaginary border crisis. I could go on and on. Now, you started to see that change, though, in recent days.

You know, the House and Senate both finally approved a rather modest amount for humanitarian aid. Do you think that things have become so bad with their treatment of Trump that they are just willing to ignore reality in terms of what we actually are facing on our U.S. Mexico border? Rob, I think they're so blinded by hatred of this man and everything he's standing. for and everything he's doing, that everything he says, it becomes opposite time so that he said there was a crisis and they said there was no crisis. Then you see the crisis and they say there's a crisis while he's trying to calm people down. They've done this on everything. No matter what he attempts to do, they fight it. He's been trying to do something about this crisis since he was a candidate

and they've been dismissing it. Well, now there is the crisis, and they're saying there's a crisis, and it's his fault. And we just have this bizarre thing now, where they're saying, we have a crisis that we have massive illegal immigration, and the news media's response is to hold debates and ask all the Democrats if they're going to, you know,

insist on open borders and making sure every illegal immigrant gets government health care. You don't know the story that's missing here. whatever happened to those caravans. Remember all the coverage about those thousands of people that were coming, and it was all done in a very positive light by the media. This is kind of transformative. How exciting. Here they come. This is going to be wonderful.

Well, guess what? Those are the caravans. Those are the people now who are coming into this country, who are wreaking havoc on the border, who are getting sick, who are dying, who are committing crimes. It's mayhem. down there. The border authorities are pleading for assistance on them. National Guard is having to be sent down. It's an absolute calamity. And this is what they said was such a wonderful thing

that was going to happen. They never connected the dots. So what is your advice to Americans who are looking for news that is credible? They need to listen to podcasts from the Daily Signal. Thank you. No, you know, in all seriousness, in all seriousness, well, I do believe that the news media's credibility, and we write about this in the pocket, that they set out to destroy a president and destroyed themselves instead. I think, look at CNN, you will never see that as a credible network ever again. I think it has committed suicide. It's ratings, you know, 729,000.

You know, as we've written about this, do you know that there are more people with pet chickens, in America, the view CNN, it now reaches two-tenths of one percent of the American people. I mean, it's collapsed. You'll never watch MSNBC again. Look at the debate the other night and last night. Did anyone believe that NBC or MSNBC was an impartial observer? Everyone saw them for what they are. They've done it to themselves.

Yeah, Rich Noise has this morning wrote up and he said, And these debates looked like they were actually the moderators were Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer. That was sort of the tilt of the questioning. It's very in-house DNC, what do we all think type of debate. So I always tell people get the raw data, get the C-SPAN. You know, the problem we have, one of the things we write about in the book is they won't even do stats. We have unemployment now at 3.6%. it's the lowest in 50 years.

We can't get these networks to give that 15 seconds. In April, 3.2% growth in the first quarter. You know, a surprise, a shock. 10 seconds on NBC, ABC and CBS Zero. They're not doing news now. That's the problem, is you have to hunt down the facts from people other than the so-called news networks. And, Tim, I appreciate you citing those statistics. We love when the Media Research Center comes out.

with that analysis because you are actually taking the time to watch those programs and report back to your supporters and people all across the world what these news networks are actually doing. Within the last 10 years, we have seen so many new conservative media outlets emerge, including The Daily Signal, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. I had the opportunity to work for one of the first, which you, Brent, founded back in 1998. CNSNews.com is where I got my start in 2002. It was a great experience. Put me in the center of the action on the U.S. Capitol or the Supreme Court.

And I got to see firsthand what it was like to rub shoulders with some of these journalists that we're talking about today and just how they do go about approaching their job. I want to ask you, though, how conservative media have helped to change the landscape and what role that you see them playing in the future to maybe give Mary a member. Americans another option and are alternative from some of the mainstream outlets? Oh, I think it's been dramatic. And I think this is something that the media see as a direct threat to them, which is why they are so low to give credibility to so many conservative outlets. Look, you know, a news outlet like CNS News has a simple proposition, which is that you don't have a story unless you have two sources.

I mean, that's just journalism 101. Now, if you look at what is reported today by the news media, and you follow that rule, you would have a dead signal on television half the evenings because you'd have to cancel half the stories, beginning with the collusion, the entire collusion narrative. You never had two sources with evidence of collusion. You never did. Why? because there was no collusion.

We now know there was no collusion. And yet, thousands of stories were coming out about this collusion. It continues. Thousands of stories continue about collusion, even though the Mueller report has come out. So you need other voices. And I think the conservative news media today is akin to conservative talk radio in 1990. When Rush burst into the scene, he filled this great void. And the reason that he took all.

off so much besides being as eloquent as he is, is because he started telling a story where the public said to themselves, this is a, oh, there's a cell phone going, where the public said to themselves, this is something I believe was true, and nobody was saying it. Now with the conservative news, what's happening is when people read the daily signal. They're saying this makes sense. This is something I'm not getting from CBS. And the same thing happens with the whole litany, of conservative news outlets. And so to your earlier question, I would say that you have to look at other sources of information. Just acknowledge what you're getting on CBS News is not trustworthy, from the Washington Post is not trustworthy.

A lot of it will be very good. Hardbreaking news will be very good. But ultimately, you can't trust those sources. I would go, Rob, to one way that Rob Bluey at CNS News changed the landfew. and that is exposing the fakery of Dan Rather. I hope you tell your young people over there the stories about how you help take down Dan Rather for faking everything. And that, I think, is one of the most important things conservative media does.

It questions the liberal media. And it can suggest to people that some of the news you're getting is not authentic. And when we can force them to actually have to retract stories and apologize. for stories. You know, that's a big thing. Let's look at you, Rob, and what you did with the Dan Rather story, because it's just journalism 101. So somebody had in the middle of the night blogged, probably in his underwear, that that

didn't, that when the Dan Rather story about the National Guard came out, that the piece of evidence that was being shown looked like it was a computerized piece of paper, not something that was typewritten in 1971. You saw it, and first thing in the morning, you went to, I believe it was, the top three typography experts, and you asked them, and they all said, on the record, this doesn't look real, and you did a story, and it took off like wildfire, and it became that piece which was then reported by everyone, and which made the media suddenly half their head for the Hills because they knew they'd been had and then right and cast cause Dan rather his job this was this

was CBS's attempt at an October surprise to to Sambag a president and and you expose them you weren't on a jihad you weren't advancing an opinion you weren't that you didn't have an agenda you were simply a reporter and that's what reporters are supposed to do well thank you for sharing that story it's it was uh certainly a tremendous experience to to work at cns news News.com during that period of time. And you're absolutely right. I mean, I think it's just those basic fundamentals of reporting that reporters should get back to doing. And if they did, we wouldn't necessarily find ourselves in the situation that we do today. So thank you for the opportunity to relive that exciting time in my life. And certainly yours, it was a great

team that we had at CNSNews.com. And I commend the work that you continue to do today. We certainly need more voices out there. And I absolutely concur with your conclusion and solution for what Americans should do. Look at multiple outlets when you're consuming news. That is critical, I think, to having an understanding of what's happening in the world. Brent and Tim, how can our listeners follow your work? Well, we're at newsbusters.org, which is our news analysis blog that's constantly updating. We talked about cnsnus.com.

We have videos going up all the time at mcTV.org. Did I leave anything out? Yes, there's a, our book en masse. And I'll tell you why what's important about this book. You know, normally when Tim and I do these books, these are retrospectives looking at a campaign just concluded. But this one is forward thinking because it's a, it's a preface for what is about to happen between now and next November, where this is going to be, and you're already seeing it, a nonstop jihad. They tried to prevent him from being elected. They tried to have him removed. They know they can't remove him now.

But what they can do is inflict as much damage on him to maybe cost those two or three points that could cost him the election. On the other hand, this campaign against them ultimately could backfire because I think that there are enough people, and you're looking at the bleeding audiences from MSNBC and CNN. And I wonder if there aren't that 2 to 3 percent of people who are moving in the opposite direction because of the media, that could be his margin of victory. So ironically, either way you look at it, I think the news media will decide the election next year. Well, the book is called Unmasked Big Media's War Against Trump. We thank Brent Bozell and Tim Graham for joining us on the Daily Signal podcast today.

We'll be sure to leave a link in the show notes to learn more about the book and their work. Thank you, gentlemen. It was great to have you on. Thank you so much. Sure. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205 or email us at letters at daily signal.com. Yours could be featured on the Daily Signal podcast.

Thank you for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday we feature our favorites on this show and in the Morning Bell email newsletter. Virginia, who do you have first? In response to Mary Claire Amslam's article, Bernie Sanders' loan bailout would benefit colleges, not students, Wayne Petterkin writes, I oppose any kind of loan bailout for any purpose. If we take out a loan for any reason, it is our legal and moral obligation to pay it back. It's called being personally responsible for our decisions. Don't want the obligation?

Don't borrow the money. Furthermore, college administrators should be forced to testify publicly before Congress about the cost of college tuition, which has risen for many years far faster than. inflation. The huge rise in college costs should be publicly justified or denounced. That is the scandal, not the loans. And Derek Dubassick writes, this is what I love about the Daily Signal. The authors bring facts, documented facts, to the forefront of their positions. And you can find mostly honest takes on the news. At least there appears to be a more fair and balanced approach to reporting than you see at MSNBC or CNN.

In an ever-growing field of right-of-center news organizations, the Daily Signal is my first stop of the day. Your letter can be featured on next week's show. Send an email to letters at daily signal.com or leave a voicemail message at 202-608-6205. Do you own an Amazon Echo? You can now get the Daily Signal podcast every day as part of your daily Alexa

Flash briefing. It's easy to do. Just open your Amazon Alexa app, go to settings, and select Flash Briefing. From there, you can search for the Daily Signal podcast and add it to your flash briefing

so you can stay up to date with the top news of the day that the liberal media isn't covering. Before we get to our good news story this week, Virginia and I wanted to mention one of our other shows at the Heritage Foundation. That's right, Rob.

It's called Heritage Explains, and it is a weekly podcast that explains all the policy issues we hear about in the news in a way that's easy to understand. Each week, our host, Michelle Cordero and Tim Desher, pick a topic that you've been hearing about in the news and help explain why it matters with the help of a Heritage Foundation expert. If you want to know why protesters are marching in Hong Kong or if you'll ever get your social security benefits, then subscribe to Heritage Explains. It answers the tough questions

on the topics making headlines. They are quick and entertaining too. In about 10 minutes, you'll be up to speed and in the know. And I certainly appreciate that as somebody who doesn't have a whole lot of time. Virginia, I really do think it is one of the best policy podcasts out there. And it's brought to you from right here, the world's leading conservative think tank. That's right. You can find Heritage Explains on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. They even put the full episode on YouTube.

Well, up next, Virginia, let's go to your good news story. you have a follow-up for us. We covered Janine Stang in February. Our former colleague, Michaela Stedman, brought us a great report on what she was doing. So what's the latest? Thank you, Rob. Well, Janine Stang is someone that, as you say,

we've followed closely at the Daily Signal. We've interviewed her. We've highlighted her work in our articles. But today, we have a great update. If you're not familiar with Janine Stang, she gained national attention several years ago when she set out to sing the Star-Spangled banner in all 50 states, earning the title National Anthem Girl.

Janine accomplished her goal, and now Kelly's Filmwork Studios has created a documentary to tell Janine's story and share her patriotism with the world. Take a listen to a portion of the movie trailer. I'm going to do what I can with what I have from where I am. And the one song that I love to sing was the National Anthem. It was a song that I believed in, and I was a song that I believed in. I'd been singing it practically all my life. Nobody's ever sung the National Anthem in all 50 states.

I could use that song to promote a dialogue about patriotism and pride. This was not my song. It was our song. The film is titled National Anthem Girl and is set to release on Amazon Prime tomorrow just in time for July 4th. I was privileged to preview the film a few days ago and it really is excellent. What I love most about the documentary is that it really is. really shows all the highs and lows that Janine went through as she literally journeyed across America to sing the national anthem in all 50 states. You know, it wasn't always a glamorous

journey, but it was something that she truly believed that she needed to do. So over the holiday weekend, I encourage you to, you know, gather your family around the TV and watch this incredible story of grit and patriotism. Well, thank you, Virginia. That is truly fabulous that she's doing that. You know, at a time when it seems that even the National Anthem has proved to be controversial, whether it's with Megan Rapino or Colin Kaepernick, it's nice to see somebody like Janine step forward and take the bold stand that she is. She should be honored for her patriotism. Yeah, it's really powerful. We're going to leave it there for today. The Daily Signal podcast comes to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. You can find it on the

Rurkishay Audio Network, along with our other podcasts. All our shows can be found at Daily signal.com slash podcast. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. And be sure to listen every weekday by adding the Daily Signal podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing. If you like what you hear, please leave us a review or give us feedback. It means a lot to us and helps us spread the word to others. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Daily Signal and Facebook.com slash the Daily Signal News. Have a great week. You've been listening to the Daily Signal podcast. Executive produced by Kate Trinco and Daniel Davis. Sound design by Michael Gooden,

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