Bernie’s Weekly Q&A (6/28)
Liz Cheney, intelligence officials' letter on Hunter Biden's laptop, Tucker Carlson, and more!
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And a quick note
This week’s Q&A was finalized before Thursday night’s debate.
Let’s get started:
So you're keyed into the psyches of enough Manhattanites to know that any jury in Manhattan would be infected by Trump haters who would not only lie during jury selection but whose unbridled hatred of Trump would escape the judge AND Trump's attorneys? You said they're unapologetic about their hatred. I guess you know them well enough to know that they'd stow it enough during jury selection. But you didn't answer these questions - Do you hate Trump? Could you be fair to Trump? You dump on Trump (with justification). Maybe you think that you're just passionate while Manhattanites who dump on Trump (with justification) are haters. — Bob H.
Bob, I’m having trouble believing that you’re as naive as you seem to be. Would a jury pool in rural Alabama be the same as a jury pool in Manhattan? We can agree the answer is NO. Let’s move on: Could each jury be fair? Theoretically, yes. But would you conclude that MAGA Republicans who think Joe Biden is a threat to democracy merely disagree with him, or is there something more visceral at work — something akin to hatred. I’m not going to dance with you about what I believe about Manhattan progressives and liberals whom I personally know. Let me repeat: They hate him.
Because I came up as a hard news reporter, I think I can be fair to Trump. I’m not suggesting I’m better than anyone else, just that because I had to look at both sides and consider their merits, I think I’m different than partisans. Now that I’m an opinion journalist, of course, I’m entitled to weigh in on how I feel, based on facts as I see them. Again, not better, just different because of many years as a hard news journalist. Also, I have been on the stories I’ve done about him (his golf course in Scotland, was one such story). Do I hate him? No. Because I’ve seen another side of him, a gracious side. My conservative friend’s sister who won’t visit him because he lives in a red state and she’s from blue blue blue New York … does she hate Trump? Yup. And she’s hardly alone.
Bernie: Like you, I am an avid and regular reader of the Wall Street Journal. In Tuesday’s on-line edition, there was a revealing opinion piece on the insurrection at the Washington Post. Part of me is enjoying the schadenfreude of Post management's revelation that they lost $77MM and half their readership in 2023. But Schadenfreude is generally bad for the soul and, in this case, specifically bad for journalism. What are your thoughts on employees' throwing their boss under the bus, the future of the Post, and Bezos's generally hands-off support of his current management? — Steve R.
In the old days, the idea that staff would call the shots was pretty much unheard of. That said, Steve, you may recall that in 1996 I threw CBS News — where I worked as a correspondent — under the bus with an op-ed about liberal bias in the WSJ. They circled the wagons and didn’t take the lesson to heart. As for Bezos, generally, I think it’s a good idea if the boss lets the journalists run the show — with input when he deems it necessary.
If the moderators do the right thing, they will ask both candidates tough questions not toss softballs. Therefore they will likely be criticized particularly by the MAGA crowd. Thoughts? — lensattic
The MAGA crowd wouldn’t be satisfied unless Don Jr. asked the questions.
Bernie and John: Adam Kinzinger has officially endorsed Joe Biden for president. Do you think Liz Cheney will do the same? — Ben G.
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