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Pre-Written Field Reports – CNN
Jake needs to bone up on the basics of court activity.
If it is Sunday, that means there was a case of a Republican shaming a pundit by delivering inconvenient truths. For this latest iteration, it was Jake Tapper’s turn to run into a buzz saw of inconvenient facts, as he spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson on the James Comey developments. Since Jake is in the press, that means he is by default deeply bothered by this development, and it strung him up.
Jake took the condescending approach by trying to pin down Johnson for being the Speaker as well as a constitutional lawyer, and therefore, would be unable to squirm out of Jake's withering accusation that Comey was being prosecuted by a corrupt and vengeful president.
You get the sense that Johnson held back the boisterous laughter as he dug into this question. He calmly disassembled Jake’s accusation by explaining that Trump and the DOJ did not bring these charges forward, but that a Grand Jury of citizens found there was just cause to bring these charges. Tapper’s little trap was dispelled faster than yanking the string on a party popper.
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CNN’s Jake Tapper: “As a constitutional attorney and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, do you believe it's acceptable for any president to publicly or privately instruct their Attorney General to prosecute a political opponent and go as far as firing a US attorney if… pic.twitter.com/8fE3Fk04pi
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) September 28, 2025
News Avoidance Syndrome – THE ATLANTIC
For many in the press, history began in January during the inauguration.
Adam Serwer is also bothered by the Comey indictment (again, journalist, so naturally…), and he looks ahead at how to thwart this effort from the administration. His dream is that juries hearing cases brought by the current DOJ will see the trouble in the cases and nullify the charges. But his entire wishcasting argument is itself nullified by using a lone word.
Serwer argues that “Now” that we see President Trump perverting the legal system (his estimation), this jury rescue could take place. Except that, once again, this relies on ignoring all of the lawfare that Joe Biden employed for four years. (Specifics shown in the next entry.)
“Now that President Donald Trump is perverting the Justice Department into an instrument of political persecution, jury nullification may be one of the only mechanisms that everyday Americans have to protect the rule of law,” @AdamSerwer argues: https://t.co/7FSCVksbhM
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 29, 2025
Low-Octane Gaslighting – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Now, Pete, when you use the word “unprecedented,” do you actually understand the term?
The New York Times’ entrenched anti-Trump Washington correspondent, Peter Baker, pretends that he was not around for the past four years. Behold, as he looks over the current move to have charges brought against “Trump opponents,” Peter pretends that this is all uncharted territory.
Trump’s campaign to imprison, fire or otherwise punish his political foes and use government power to crack down on free speech he does not like is setting precedents that even some conservatives worry may come back to bite them. https://t.co/mXjsrXeurL
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) September 28, 2025
So, you say that these lawfare efforts could backfire on Republicans? Pete, let’s look over this list: Trump was indicted four times, Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, and Roger Stone were all sent to prison, and we even saw journalist Steve Baker arrested. As for crackdowns on free speech, the Twitter Files and last week’s admission by Google showed Biden was more than willing to silence citizens opposing his agenda.
In other words, what you are witnessing today is the ACTUAL backlash.
DNC PR Firm – ABC NEWS
We don’t need to speak to the other side; we already know this is bad news.
As the current budget battle has us on the brink of a government shutdown, the press, in all its full-throated glory, is telling us how dire this will be for the country. At ABC News “World News Tonight,” David Muir set the table for this promise of doom, and his correspondent, Rachel Scott, stepped in to deliver plenty of comments of negativity.
Entirely from Democrats:
“Democrats say they're trying to protect Medicaid and prevent health insurance premiums from going up for millions. The administration is directing agencies to consider firing employees from programs that are not consistent with the president's priorities. Democrats call that intimidation, insisting they won't back off their demands. Tonight, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries knocking Trump. And he does not appear willing to meet with them again at all, with the shutdown only five days away.
And as far as explaining things from the Republican side…that was not necessary. We assume this, given that Scott and Muir had no quotes or comments from the other side of the aisle.
Pres. Trump refused to meet with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown just days away as the White House threatens mass layoffs of federal workers. Democrats say they want to protect Medicaid and prevent rising healthcare premiums. @RachelvScott reports https://t.co/cw3n7roPFK pic.twitter.com/9GMA2pSDNs
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) September 27, 2025
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CNN
Proof there is no such thing as positive economic news in the Trump 2.0 era.
In financial news, there was a report that the GDP numbers have been revised, and the numbers were impressively even better than the initial positive returns. That is, unless you rely upon CNN for your national economic updates.
Despite inflation besting estimates by being essentially flat and other income metrics looking solid, when detailing that the second quarter growth rate was raised from a robust 3.3% to an impressive 3.8%, this meant the figure beat even the most positive estimates. The stock then reacted positively to these details.
But CNN’s Economic correspondent, Alicia Wallace, had to find the negative aspect in the news that Americans are spending at a much better clip than expected:
Still, although the spending trajectory appears strong on the aggregate, the US economy is being increasingly powered by the few: Through the second quarter of this year, the top 20% of earners accounted for roughly half of all spending.
This led to the rather sour headline: “Trump’s tariffs are driving a wedge through the US economy, further separating the haves from the have-nots.”
Inflation was nearly flat, salaries were increasing faster, and the revised GDP for Q2 jumped even higher, sending the markets higher.
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) September 29, 2025
Leave it to @CNN to
Spin all of this as a negative. pic.twitter.com/OsRTd8e2dE
Hoax & Change – THE NEW YORK TIMES
If there is a switch to Zinfandel, we’ll KNOW there is trouble!
As President Trump is pledging to send troops into Oregon to quell attacks on ICE facilities, there has been a spate of lying politicians and journalists who show bucolic images of Portland, suggesting there is no proof whatsoever of Antifa-fed social unrest. Of course, all of these images are shot at daybreak, with no crowds and chirping birds all that is heard, instead of the regular nighttime riot crowds and firebomb attacks taking place.
Joining in on this deception effort is Nicholas Kristoff, who strained mightily to deny what transpires in that city. He actually turned Marie Antoinette, invoking the high quality of wine in that berg to offset the regular uprisings seen in the streets.
President Trump has dispatched federal troops to what he calls "war-ravaged Portland." Portland has its problems but it is not the "hell" Trump claims; it remains a food-and-wine heaven. "Hell" does not serve Pinot Noir this good. I suspect Trump is sending troops mainly to see…
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) September 27, 2025
