Newsbusters

Being on the West Coast, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel had the ability to react to President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on his Tuesday show. Naturally, Kimmel’s reaction included plenty of insults directed Trump’s way, but he also suggested Speaker Mike Johnson got an erection when he kicked Rep. Al Green out of the chamber for disruptive behavior.

Kimmel observed how, “this is the fifth time Trump has addressed Congress, and he got quite an introduction from the sergeant at arms.”

In the following clip, a satirical sergeant of arms was shown introducing Trump how Kimmel wished the real one would have, “Mr. Speaker, members of Congress, please welcome Diaper Donnie, Manboob Mussolini, Captain Bone Spurs, Mar-a-Lardo, The Notorious P.I.G., General Von Shitzenpants, Putin’s Corn Bucket, His Flatulency, the president of the United States, Donald ‘Jelly Belly’ Trump.”

 

 

After the video, Kimmel continued, “Yeah, there you see members of the Trump family, Eric, Lara, Don Jr., Jared, Ivanka, even Melania showed up, so Democrats weren’t the only people who hate him there.”

Turning to Trump’s approval ratings, Kimmel declared, “According to a new poll from CNN, 52 percent of Americans do not approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president. The other 48 percent responded in Russian.”

Staying on the theme of polls, Kimmel continued, “I don’t know if you saw this, but kind of a funny poll. Ninety percent of Democrats disapprove of Trump; 90 percent of Republicans approve. First of all, who are these crazy 10 percent of Democrats who approve of what he’s doing? And who are these crazy 90 percent of Republicans who approve of what he’s doing? And why is this happening to us again? It’s like we remarried an ex-husband and now we’re like, ‘Oh, right, he cheats and steals and farts and snores all the time.’”

As for the speech itself, Kimmel proclaimed, “It was a ridiculous speech. He talked about a guy hitting a woman in the face with a volleyball. He bragged about his $5 million immigrant gold card. He said he’s put an end to transgender mice. He told our farmers to have a lot of fun and said the days of unelected bureaucrats are over, with Elon standing right there clapping like an imbecile. Yay for unelected bureaucrats. Trump touted many of his executive orders, including an order he issued on Saturday that makes English the official language of the United States. Finally, we can speak English again in this country.”

When it came to Democrats’ histrionics, Kimmel decided to focus on Johnson’s response, “Some Democrats were yelling at Trump, to the point where a very unhappy Keebler elf bobblehead doll jumped out of his booster seat to throw Texas Congressman Al Green out of the House.”

 

 

Following a video of the incident, Kimmel added, “Oh, man. Little Mike’s Johnson is going to be standing up very proud tonight when he gets home. ‘Remove this gentleman from the chamber. And bring me my pouch of nuts.’” 

Yup, ABC’s funny man decided there was no comedic material in Democrats’ juvenile behavior but thought insisting on professional decorum gave Johnson an erection.

 As it was, Kimmel then played a clip of Trump declaring, “And once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do.”

Kimmel followed with a suggestion, “You could quit. You could go back to Mar-a-Lago and shove your head down that gold toilet for a few months, we’d like that, maybe you’ll find those secret documents you flushed.”

At the same time, maybe Kimmel can find some unique material, as both he and Stephen Colbert had the same sad reaction to that part of Trump’s speech.

Here is a transcript for the March 4 show:

ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!

3/4/2024

11:59 PM ET

JIMMY KIMMEL: But this is the fifth time Trump has addressed Congress, and he got quite an introduction from the sergeant at arms.

MALE VOICE: Mr. Speaker, members of Congress, please welcome Diaper Donnie, Manboob Mussolini, Captain Bone Spurs, Mar-a-Lardo, The Notorious P.I.G., General Von Shitzenpants, Putin’s Corn Bucket, His Flatulency, the president of the United States, Donald “Jelly Belly” Trump!

KIMMEL: Yeah, there you see members of the Trump family, Eric, Lara, Don Jr., Jared, Ivanka, even Melania showed up, so Democrats weren’t the only people who hate him there.

Trump went into the speech tonight with a negative approval rating, which is rare for a new president. According to a new poll from CNN, 52 percent of Americans do not approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president. The other 48 percent responded in Russian, so we don’t know exactly— 

It is kind of — I don’t know if you saw this, but kind of a funny poll. Ninety percent of Democrats disapprove of Trump; 90 percent of Republicans approve. First of all, who are these crazy 10 percent of Democrats who approve of what he’s doing? And who are these crazy 90 percent of Republicans who approve of what he’s doing? And why is this happening to us again? It’s like we remarried an ex-husband and now we’re like, “Oh, right, he cheats and steals and farts and snores all the time.”

…

It was a ridiculous speech. He talked about a guy hitting a woman in the face with a volleyball. He bragged about his $5 million immigrant gold card. He said he’s put an end to transgender mice. He told our farmers to have a lot of fun and said the days of unelected bureaucrats are over, with Elon standing right there clapping like an imbecile. Yay for unelected bureaucrats. Trump touted many of his executive orders, including an order he issued on Saturday that makes English the official language of the United States. Finally, we can speak English again in this country.

…

Some Democrats were yelling at Trump, to the point where a very unhappy Keebler elf bobblehead doll jumped out of his booster seat to throw Texas Congressman Al Green out of the House.

MIKE JOHNSON: Mr. Green, take your seat. Take your seat, sir. Take your seat. Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chairman directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber.

KIMMEL: Oh, man. Little Mike’s Johnson is going to be standing up very proud tonight when he gets home. “Remove this gentleman from the chamber. And bring me my pouch of nuts.” Trump did reach across the aisle to whine that no matter how much good he does for Democrats, it’s never good enough.

DONALD TRUMP: And once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do.

KIMMEL: You could quit. You could go back to Mar-a-Lago and shove your head down that gold toilet for a few months, we’d like that, maybe you’ll find those secret documents you flushed.

Tuesday on ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host George Stephanopoulos interviewed Stephen A. Smith of ESPN on his interview of disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who launched a comeback by running for mayor of New York City. Smith was ready to downplay the long trail of scandal and sleaze that had followed Cuomo, and extolled him as a fine leader and capable administrator who withstood the test of time and “knows how to get things done.”

Stephanopoulos summed up that “Cuomo was the governor of New York, forced out, and now trying to make a political comeback as mayor of New York City,” before asking Smith,“what’s your impression?”

Smith enthusiastically replied:

Well, my impression is that… he’s ready… [H]e believes he’s the man for the job. Obviously, he was a three-term governor for the state of New York, and, his mentality is, he knows how to get things done, and there’s a lot in New York City, in his eyes, that needs to get done, particularly affordable housing and primarily — you know — safety in the streets. And he thinks that, anything you want to do that you want to accomplish, it starts first with safety in the streets because if that’s compromised, then everything gets compromised. 

“Of course,” Stephanopoulos huffed, “he was forced out after questions about personal conduct. And you asked about whether — what he has to say to voters who question whether they can trust him.”

The screen then cut to Cuomo ostensibly responding to the concerns about his past, deflecting the matter with the words, “If what you are saying is — or if what the voter says is, ‘I’m worried about New York. I think the city’s in trouble. I’m anxious… then — I’m your person.”

 

 

Neither Smith nor Stephanopoulos seemed at all interested in the possibility that the hypothetical concerned “voter” might have had a problem voting for a man already ousted from the governorship after a long list of scandals including corruption, persistent allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct (which he initially tried to lie about), and the despicable COVID nursing home affair. And who could forget CNN appearances like this.  

Rather, breezing along with a hurried and content-free concession that Cuomo “knows” he will face questions about his sordid track record, and “is going to be ready for them,” Smith effused that “it’s about getting things done…He thinks that Eric Adams, to some degree, may be a bit compromised in terms of his ability to get things done, and he doesn’t believe that’s any longer a problem for him. So, because of that, I think that’s why he is stepping back in the race (..)”

How noble! In reality one could have grossly read a little more between the lines. If “getting things done” meant callously endangering the lives of helpless senior citizens, the cowardly serial sexual harassment of underlings, and the like, than, yes, Cuomo seemingly would have been “your person.”     None of that mattered to Stephanopoulos.

To read the full transcript, click Expand

ABC’s Good Morning America
03/04/2025
7:39 AM

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: STEPHEN A. SMITH ON HIS INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW CUOMO]

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Back now with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN’s First Take and the Stephen A. Smith Show. On the show, you just interviewed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Welcome, thanks for coming in here.

STEPHEN A. SMITH: Good to see you, George, how are you doing?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Of course, Cuomo was the governor of New York, forced out, and now trying to make a political comeback as mayor of New York City. So what were you — what was your impression?

SMITH: Well, my impression is that he — that he’s ready. You know, he believes he’s the man for the job. Obviously, he was a three-term governor for the state of New York, and, his mentality is, he knows how to get things done, and there’s a lot in New York City, in his eyes, that needs to get done, particularly affordable housing and primarily — you know — safety in the streets. And he thinks that, anything you want to do that you want to accomplish, it starts first with safety in the streets because if that’s compromised, then everything gets compromised. That is —

STEPHANOPOULOS: Of course he was forced —

SMITH: — his mentality.

STEPHANOPOULOS: — he was forced out after questions about personal conduct. And you asked about whether — what he has to say to voters who question whether they can trust him. Let’s take a look.

SMITH: Sure.

FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO: If what you are saying is — or if what the voter says is, ‘I’m worried about New York. I think the city’s in trouble. I’m anxious. I’m anxious about the subways. I’m anxious about the crime. I’m anxious about the homeless mentally ill on the streets. I’m anxious that there’s no — affordable housing, I can’t afford to live here. I’m getting priced out of New York. I need someone who can actually get something done. I’m tired of these politicians — promise, promise, promise, and then nothing changes. And I want someone who has proven their ability to actually make things happen,’ then — I’m your person.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That’s the first salvo, but he’s going to face those questions throughout the campaign.

SMITH: Yes. And he knows it. And he knows it, and I think he’s going to be ready for them and I think the message he was trying to send is that — it’s about getting things done, and- you know, basically, I think it was an in- I won’t say it an indirect shot at Eric Adams, but — clearly, you’re about to get on the campaign trail, you’re pointing to some of the problems the mayor has at this particular moment in time, the DOJ stepping in — you know — having — asking for the charges against him to be dismissed. He thinks that Eric Adams, to some degree, may be a bit compromised in terms of his ability to get things done, and he doesn’t believe that’s any longer a problem for him. So, because of that, I think that’s why he is stepping back in the race — clearly he’s ahead in the polls already. So we’ll see what happens.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve been stirring up a lot of political speculation —

SMITH: Yeah?

STEPHANOPOULOS: — yourself. 

SMITH: [Laughs]

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is — how — how real is this? Are you —

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: STEPHEN A. SMITH TALKS POLITICS AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY]

SMITH: It’s not real at all. I’m incredibly happy being a sports analyst, doing what I do, but I always enjoyed talking about politics, talking about the issues that affect the average American citizen, and the world. And any time anybody asks me a question, I usually have an answer in that regard — I’m not running from it — but I have no desire to run for office. I think it’s an absolute travesty that I’m —  

STEPHANOPOULOS: [LAUGHS]

SMITH: — I’m actually in polls for crying out loud, but I think it’s an indictment against the Democratic Party because of some of the things that they’ve done and the way they handled things leading up to the election. It’s an indictment against them. But guys like Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, and others being in this race just reminds me, I have my place. They have theirs. I do what I do, and they do politics. I like talking about it—

STEPHANOPOULOS: So that’s Shermsanesque, you’re not going to run?

SMITH: — I’m not — absolutely not, I have no intentions of doing anything like — so I like my life very, very much.

Needless to say, ABC, CBS, and NBC offered far different reactions Tuesday night to President Trump’s address to Congress (think State of the Union, but not granted that title in a president’s first year) than they did in immediately celebrating last year’s partisan State of the Union from Joe Biden.

For 2025, they were more lackadaisical in their disdain for Trump’s “intensely partisan” “campaign rally speech” marred by “loud, visceral, ugly” denunciations of the theatrics throughout by Democrats, including Congressman Al Green’s (D-TX).

CBS Evening News co-anchor John Dickerson predictably found reason to dislike it: “[W]hile voters say that lowering prices is there a key issue, it was arguably the thing that got him elected, he spent very little of the speech on that and indeed he devoted more direct attention and detail to the issue to transgender issues than he did to lowering consumer prices.”

Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan provided the partisan contrast with disgust for Trump’s white-hot speech even though her network was thrilled with President Biden’s partisan speech a year earlier: “This really felt like a campaign rally speech more slogan than substantive policy, even down to referring to Joe Biden is the worst president in history. You were very diplomatic, John, when you said words you don’t often hear in these chambers like that.”

Inside the House Chamber, January 6-obsessed correspondent Scott MacFarlane didn’t have a problem with any of the left’s theatrics. Instead, he was mad about how Republicans responded:

CBS’s January 6 correspondent Scott MacFarlane complains “there was a loud, visceral, ugly screaming” at Houston Democrat Al Green for heckling President Trump during his address, NOT that Green and his fellow Democrats interrupted Trump to begin with.
He then took issue with a… pic.twitter.com/GKWh4cMG0F
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 5, 2025
Dickerson and senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang gave more ammunition to the predictable double standard:

CBS’s John Dickerson: “[T]his was as much of a campaign speech as you can have or at least as we’ve ever seen in that venue.”
Weijia Jiang: “Yeah, there were so many points, John, where he sounded like candidate Trump and not President Trump. It’s one thing to lay the blame on… pic.twitter.com/9QFUfmaWhD
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 5, 2025
Following the Democratic response from Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett dialed back on the apocalyptic nonsense he delivered hours earlier on CBS Mornings and admitted things Washington elites were turned off by likely resonated with real America (click “expand”):

 

 

So, I’ve learned to be humble about analyzing speeches like this because the country often catches on to things that those of us in Washington might not sift the way the country does. When the President listed things that he thought were extravagant examples of wasteful spending, those of us around this table might say, well, that’s not going to be enough, even if you cut all that to balance the budget which is $840 billion, out of balance. Americans will hear it and say wait a minute, those things found wasteful to me. Sounds like Elon Musk and the President are onto something. There was also tremendous emotive power in several parts of the speech and I think it will resonate across the country, whether it’s Lake Riley slain, her mother and sister or Marc and his mother, Malphine Fogel, rescued, brought back from Russia, or a Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz, or Stephanie Diller, the surviving spouse of a slain New York City police officer. Those things carry emotional weight not only the moment, but probably, inevitably in the pass around social media dissection of the speech. I keep my eyes and ears tuned to emotional moments like that that often jump over the instantaneous Beltway analysis.

In contrast, chief Washington analyst Robert Costa seemed to imply Slotkin and Virginia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger — two middle-aged white women — could be the kinds of candidates Democrats need to thwart Trumpism.

Over on NBC, Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker argued Trump gave “a culture war speech” and “so notable” and reminder of “what swept him into the White House” even though it “[t]ook him 20 minutes to talk about the top issue for voters, which is, by the way, the economy.”

Senior Washington correspondent Hallie agreed it was a speech on “culture war issues,” but had the wherewithal to note his views on DEI and transgenderism are widely popular and thus it wasn’t surprising he “lean[ed] into” what’s been “a political winner[.]”

Welker later continued hosting on the free streaming channel NBC News NOW after NBC’s coverage wrapped, firing off a series of grievances against Trump’s “intensely partisan” speech and dismissed the reality he had a decisive November win:

NBC’s Kristen Welker on NBC News NOW: “The speech was brash, boastful, at times intensely partisan, focused on culture war issues and, at times, rife with hyperbole. It was also the longest presidential address to Congress ever. Democrats in the hall pushing back at times… pic.twitter.com/Y9h5IP7YlD
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 5, 2025
Prior to the speech, Jackson peddled this cartoonish anonymous anecdote:

Before President Trump’s speech, NBC’s Hallie Jackson cited an anonymous mom she spoke to in her 30s whom she claimed voted for Trump, but wishes she could have voted to keep @ElonMusk (and, by extension, @DOGE) from having come to fruition pic.twitter.com/p3O7j152sY
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 5, 2025
ABC, meanwhile, came off as sedate and was perhaps out of exhaustion with the evening. World News Tonight anchor David Muir lamented “the chamber divided” with Democrats facing “a bit of challenge, it would seem” in “how to respond to what they perceive as a difficult 44 days.”

Even far-left senior political correspondent Rachel Scott conceded the contrast between the theatrics of congressional Democrats vs. the lucid Slotkin as proof of her team coming off as “disjointed.”

Beforehand, ABC had this ridiculous moment:

ABC is BIG MAD that the Senate confirmed President Trump’s cabinet appointments.
Notice the part when Martha Raddatz had the split-second correction after having falsely claimed @PeteHegseth was “charged” with sexual assault pic.twitter.com/o5I6jqf11X
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 5, 2025

CBS’s Stephen Colbert stayed up for a live show on what turned out to be Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. Colbert spent his monologue praising Rep. Al Green for getting kicked out of the House chamber and attacking Trump on everything from transgender issues to shipbuilding. Later, he would welcome former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to wonder, “Where is the soul of our nation headed?”

Democrats have long used Trump’s speeches as a chance to engage in eye-roll-inducing theatrics, but Colbert was a big fan of Green, “Speaker Mike Johnson threatened them with expulsion if they didn’t sit down and ultimately, Johnson called in the sergeant at arms to remove 77-year-old Texas Congressman Al Green. Now, some people questioned why so much muscle was needed to remove one old man with a cane. But it turns out it was for a serious reason. When security searched him, they found that he smuggled in a spine. Yeah. It’s dangerous. You can’t have that.”

After a clip of Trump declaring that there is nothing he could do that will make Democrats happy, Colbert had an idea, “Oh, I don’t know. Try saying, ‘I resign.’”

 

 

Colbert also played a video of Trump on immigration where he declared, “The media and our friends the Democrat Party kept saying, ‘We needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border.’ But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president. 

A tradition of these sorts of speeches is the president’s party standing up and applauding everything they say, but Colbert found that ironic, “I get that he’s your guy, but isn’t it weird for members of Congress to applaud him taking all their power away? ‘Whooooo! We’re worthless worms! Choke us, daddy!’”

Of course, Congress passed the original legislation that allows Trump to enforce current law. Still, Colbert then reminded everyone that he considers himself to be one of America’s leading voices of the religious left, “Then we reached the transphobic part of the speech, where the president made this paradoxical statement.”

The statement in question was, “Our message to every child is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”

Apparently, Colbert thinks God would put someone in the wrong body because he brought out his Trump voice and added, “Unless God made you transgender or from the magical land of Lee-sooto. Tough luck! Tough luck being imaginary.”

The Navy non-expert later used his own ignorance of such topics to recall, “And then for reasons that escape me, he talked about bringing back America’s shipbuilding industry.”

Following a clip of Trump announcing “a new office of shipbuilding in the White House,” Colbert quipped, “That checks out. I’ve seen your cabinet. There are pieces of ship all over the White House these days.”

Later, Colbert welcomed Buttigieg and asked him, “What was your reaction to tonight’s speech? That’s the first six weeks and where we are right now. How about how he summed up the state of our nation and what his plans are?”

Buttigieg replied that “it was classic Trump, right? It was a lot of darkness and a lot of dazzle.”

 

 

Continuing Democratic habits of doing a 180 on their perception of the economy, he continued, “But there was very, very little about the things that most affect our lives. I believe politics is about everyday life. It’s about what government can and must do to make our everyday lives better and the biggest issue on people’s minds, the affordability of everyday life, it’s not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech.”

Further on in their interview, Colbert memory-holed any violence, harassment, or obstruction that occurred during last year’s anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses, “For instance, Trump put this out the other day, he said, ‘All federal funding will stop for any college school or university that allows illegal protests.’ I’m sorry. This is America. What the hell is an illegal protest?”

Buttigieg likewise forgot about those events, “That’s just it. We have to stand up to this. By the “we,” I don’t just mean Democrats. Freedom-loving conservatives, libertarians, where are you?… if you are so committed to liberty as a libertarian or freedom-loving conservative that you think the Clean Air Act is tyranny, then what do you have to say about the head of your government threatening to expel or imprison people who protest in disagreement with his politics? Where are you? We should be able to come together around that.”

Next, Colbert lamented and wondered, “The Trump Administration has curtailed protections on human rights, especially for the LGBTQ community. He bragged about it tonight. What does that say about where our country is headed morally? Where is the soul of our nation headed?”

Buttigieg replied that, “our nation has always been at its best when it widens the circle of belonging and equality to take care of more people and not less, and our nation has been at its worst when we’ve been discriminating.”

Moving on to the Supreme Court, Colbert worried, “Do you have any sense, do you have any fear that this Supreme Court would overturn Obergefell?”

Happy to play along, Buttigieg claimed, “They certainly don’t seem terribly concerned about allowing precedents to stand, even recent precedents, so, you know, how can we not be worried about that?”

Perhaps with all the turnover at MSNBC, Colbert could apply for a hosting gig there. It wouldn’t be that different from his current job.

Here is a transcript for the March 4-5 show:

CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

3/5/2025

12:06 AM ET

STEPHEN COLBERT: Then, just minutes into the speech, all hell broke loose. Democrats stood up, started booing. Speaker Mike Johnson threatened them with expulsion if they didn’t sit down and ultimately, Johnson called in the sergeant at arms to remove 77-year-old Texas Congressman Al Green. Now, some people questioned why so much muscle was needed to remove one old man with a cane. But it turns out it was for a serious reason. When security searched him, they found that he smuggled in a spine. Yeah. It’s dangerous. You can’t have that. You can’t have that. After the interruption, Trump whined about the opposition.

DONALD TRUMP: Once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me. And I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do.

COLBERT: Oh, I don’t know. Try saying, “I resign.”

…

COLBERT: Trump bragged about his executive orders on immigration.

TRUMP: The media and our friends the Democrat Party kept saying, “We needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border.” But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president. 

COLBERT: I get that he’s your guy, but isn’t it weird for members of Congress to applaud him taking all their power away? “Whooooo! We’re worthless worms! Choke us, daddy!”

…

COLBERT: Then we reached the transphobic part of the speech, where the president made this paradoxical statement.

TRUMP: Our message to every child is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.

COLBERT: [TRUMP VOICE] Unless God made you transgender or from the magical land of Lee-sooto. Tough luck! Tough luck being imaginary. 

…

COLBERT: And then for reasons that escape me, he talked about bringing back America’s shipbuilding industry.

TRUMP: I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House.

COLBERT: That checks out. I’ve seen your cabinet. There are pieces of ship all over the White House these days.  

…

COLBERT: What was your reaction to tonight’s speech? That’s the first six weeks and where we are right now. 

PETE BUTTIGIEG: Yeah.

COLBERT: How about how he summed up the state of our nation and what his plans are?

BUTTIGIEG: Look, it was classic Trump, right? It was a lot of darkness and a lot of dazzle. But there was very, very little about the things that most affect our lives. I believe politics is about everyday life. It’s about what government can and must do to make our everyday lives better and the biggest issue on people’s minds, the affordability of everyday life, it’s not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech. 

Nor did he mention some of the biggest things in dollar terms that he’s doing. I mean, objectively. The biggest thing that he’s working on his tax cuts for the rich, $5 trillion minimum. No mention in his speech that was what, two hours, I think the longest of its kind ever, right? But it’s always like this, right? It’s always going to be about—they’re going to talk about Greenland and about pronouns and about mice and not about what’s actually going to make our lives better.

…

COLBERT: For instance, Trump put this out the other day, he said, “All federal funding will stop for any college school or university that allows illegal protests.” I’m sorry. This is America. What the hell is an illegal protest?

BUTTIGIEG: That’s just it. We have to stand up to this. By the “we,” I don’t just mean Democrats. Freedom-loving conservatives, libertarians, where are you? Like, we might not agree on everything. But if you are so committed to liberty as a libertarian or freedom-loving conservative that you think the Clean Air Act is tyranny, then what do you have to say about the head of your government threatening to expel or imprison people who protest in disagreement with his politics? Where are you? We should be able to come together around that.

COLBERT: The Trump Administration has curtailed protections on human rights, especially for the LGBTQ community. He bragged about it tonight. What does that say about where our country is headed morally? Where is the soul of our nation headed?

BUTTIGIEG: Look, our nation has always been at its best when it widens the circle of belonging and equality to take care of more people and not less, and our nation has been at its worst when we’ve been discriminating.

COLBERT: Do you have any sense, do you have any fear that this Supreme Court would overturn Obergefell?

BUTTIGIEG: Sure.

COLBERT: And the right for gay people to marry?

BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, I mean, they certainly don’t seem terribly concerned about allowing precedents to stand, even recent precedents, so, you know, how can we not be worried about that?

On today’s Morning Joe, responding to President Trump in his Joint Address to Congress having called Joe Biden “the worst president in American history,” Joe Scarborough said: “I’m quite confident that ten, 20 years from now, when they’re ranking presidents, Joe Biden will be doing very well.”

Scarborough did stop short of adding, “and f-you if you don’t believe it,” in contrast to his claim last year that, contrary to reports of Biden’s decline, “this is the best Joe Biden ever.”

Question: How is it possible to rank Biden as president at all, given that as many of us knew, and even the liberal media is now admitting, given his mental incapacity, Biden was president in name only during most of his term? 

You have to giggle when Mika called the speech “decidedly partisan” and Scarborough lamented “There was partisanship from top to bottom.” They oughta know. MSNBC fits those descriptions. 

 

The Morning Joe crew showed their true-blue Democrat colors this morning. All the men wore blue ties.  Mike Allen added a blue suit and a blueish shirt. Funny, he doesn’t look Blueish 🙂

And as you’ll see in the screencap, Ali Vitali, with her bright, blue-on-blue outfit, left absolutely no doubt where she stands. Interestingly, Mika was the only exception to the blue rule. She was attired in somber black. A sign of mourning, perhaps?

Here’s the transcript.

MSNBC
Morning Joe
3/5/25
6:00 am ET

DONALD TRUMP: Joe Biden, the worst president in American history. 

I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do. 

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: A decidedly partisan address from President Trump last night before a Joint Session of Congress. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Wednesday, March 5th. With Joe, Willie, and me, we have the co-host of our fourth hour and contributing writer at The Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, the host of Way Too Early, Ali Vitali, and co-founder of Axios, Mike Allen. 

. . . 

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Of course, the question early on, why can’t Democrats just stand up and clap and be nice? This, of course, after he’d already taken to insulting him and calling Joe Biden the worst president in American history.

I’m quite confident, quite confident, that 10, 20 years from now when they’re ranking presidents, Joe Biden will be fitting, doing very well along with other presidents that have actually gotten bipartisan things accomplished. 

The national media pay for national polls to measure public opinion. But often, they aren’t just measuring public opinion. Their selection of polling questions carries an agenda, and tests how the liberal media arguments are faring in all 50 states. Their questions change depending on which party’s president is in the White House.

There are generic measurements – the president’s approval rating, right-direction or wrong-direction. But pay attention to the ones that change with “the times.”

This week, PBS and NPR are promoting their latest poll with Marist University. They devoted special attention to this question: “Since taking office, Trump has (A) rushed to make changes without considering their impact or (B) Done what’s needed to get government back on track.”

The anti-Trump media have certainly pushed the angle that Trump’s attempts to cut the federal work force are horrible and chaotic. The poll by the taxpayer-funded networks found 56 percent agreed Trump has rushed it without considering everything, while 43 percent said he’s doing what’s needed.

PBS reporter Lisa Desjardins pushed this finding: “So we did ask, do you think checks and balances, that system, is working now? Right, today, 56 percent in the last week or so believe, no, our checks and balances system is not working.” They were secretly cheering, because this is the message they are pushing. There’s no checks of balances for these taxpayer-funded networks.

NPR touted the poll under the headline “Majorities say state of the union is not strong, and Trump is rushing change.” NPR political analyst Domenico Montanaro pushed other negative poll findings for Trump: “Most said the cuts to the federal government are doing more harm than good (55%), and 60% said federal employees are essential, including two-thirds of independents.”

Montanaro also reported their poll found Elon Musk “continues to be unpopular. Just 39% had a favorable opinion of him in the survey, roughly unchanged from January.” They’re doing monthly approval ratings for Musk! PBS and NPR despise Musk, who has openly advocated for defunding PBS and NPR.  

Now rewind four years, and ponder how they covered the PBS/NPR/Marist poll in early March of 2021. Guess which questions weren’t included. They didn’t ask if Biden “rushed to make changes without considering their impact.” They didn’t ask if checks and balances were working. There was no need to ask if federal employees were essential, since the Democrats were in charge.

They asked this question about Biden and Congress: “In general, is it more important for President Biden to: (A) Compromise with Congress and find solutions, or (B) Stick to his position on issues even if it means gridlock?” It wasn’t close: 68 percent picked compromise, and only 21 percent picked the gridlock risk. So PBS didn’t report that.

This is the poll finding that PBS repeatedly chose to highlight, and it had nothing to do with Biden. They found Republicans were substantially more hesitant to take the Covid vaccine — 41 percent of Republicans, and 49 percent of Republican men.

PBS anchor Judy Woodruff threw that question to two Republican senators on two different nights, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a medical doctor. On another night, they sent out reporter Yamiche Alcindor to do a whole story on the poll finding, and then asked Jonathan Capehart and David Brooks to address those backwards Republicans.

Why are these networks even paying for polls if they’re begging for taxpayer dollars? Public opinion isn’t so much asking the public what they think. It feels more like they’re telling them what they should think with the tilt of their questions. 

MSNBC wound down its A-team portion of their coverage of President Trump’s address before a joint session of Congress with a bemoaning of displaced federal workers. This display was unlike any other, and revealed quite a bit about MSNBC and our progressive commentariat.

Watch as the panel reacts to the now-former government employees, who were interviewed by correspondent Jacob Soboroff:

MSNBC mourns displaced federal workers in a way they never did laid-off energy sector workers or wounded/KIA service members. pic.twitter.com/VUh1FN55oX
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 5, 2025

JACOB SOBOROFF: It’s- it really is a profound honor to have spent this time with you guys. And again, I just want to say, for me personally and behalf- on behalf of, I’m sure, so many people that are watching, I’m really sorry about the situation that you guys are in and really wishing you guys all the best. Thank you guys very much. Steph, back over to you.

STEPHANIE RUHLE: Jacob, thank you so much. What an impressive group of people. And just juxtapose that with the way both the president and Elon Musk talk in such derogatory terms about just the general federal government workforce.

RACHEL MADDOW: Also, just like, what- just what an impressive group of people.

RUHLE: Full stop.

MADDOW: I mean, from all the different places I’ve ever worked in my life, like having a group of four colleagues that was that impressive and credentialed and articulate. It would.

RUHLE: By the way…

(CROSSTALK)

MADDOW: It would be almost like working here.

RUHLE: Can we just point out all four of those people with their expertise could make more money in the private sector, and have chosen not to.

MADDOW: Yeah, well they- and they’ve just been insulted and told that their low productivity, all right? It’s just- it’s insane.

PSAKI: I also- I mean, I live in the DC area. Everybody thinks that every federal worker is in the DC area. 80% of federal workers are outside of the DC area. And this is, I think, something people in the country are learning that these are your postal workers. These are the people who are working at FBI offices who are keeping your community safe. They’re the FAA workers who are making sure you can fly safely on the airlines. There are people who are working at the VA. It is not a bunch of “I love government” bureaucrats, but it’s not a bunch of government bureaucrats. It is a bunch of people working in communities, and I think people are hopefully learning that but that’s an important part of this to understand.

Where were these people when thousands upon thousands of energy workers were laid off as a result of Biden Day One energy policies? Probably cackling and uttering “learn to code” or “learn to hang solar panels”. In the case of Jen Psaki, she practically said as much from the White House podium when she served as Biden’s press secretary. 

But that was then. Now, there is open lamentation for displaced members of the still-sprawling federal bureaucracy. Over the past days and weeks, we’ve chronicled several instances of the “legacy” media’s showcasing of fired federal employees as victims, a courtesy never accorded to the energy sector.

The vibe is outright funereal. From Soboroff telling the employees what an honor it was to interview them, to Psaki at the end, EVERYONE gushed over the former bureaucrats. You’d think they were interviewing firefighters or something, but no. 

The entire segment, and the coverage of DOGE-related firings preceding, lends credence to the theory that the Democrats’ sloganeering of “our democracy” makes a lot more sense when you swap out “democracy” with bureaucracy”.

 

The initial reaction to President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress at MSNBC centered around outrage at the fact that Trump would dare to honor D.J. Daniel, the 13-year-old pediatric cancer patient who was deputized as a honorary Secret Service agent. Their bilious reaction to that heartwarming moment is the truest indicator of how the night really went for them.

Here’s Rachel Maddow, blasting the D.J. moment in her opening analysis of the joint address:

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is bitter over the fact that President Trump put the spotlight on a pediatric cancer patient and fulfilled his wish. pic.twitter.com/waFzuKjRNp
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 5, 2025

RACHEL MADDOW: For the record, and this is disgusting, the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man who thus far survived pediatric cancer, as if the president had something to do with that. This was in the midst of him praising doge. The doge cuts, among other things, have cut off funding for ongoing research into pediatric cancer.

Watching Maddow’s brief but unhinged take can lead reasonable individuals to speculate as to the quantities of box wine and antidepressants circulating around the MSNBC studio. Otherwise, there is no making sense of Maddow’s determination that Trump ever claimed having anything to do with young D.J. ‘s survival. There is nothing in Trump’s remarks that would lead anyone to that conclusion.

It is likelier that Maddow was simply bitter at the heartwarming moment where D.J. was made an honorary member of the United States Secret Service, particularly his embrace with Secret Service Director Sean Curran. 

Nicolle Wallace’s reaction was just as bilious, forcibly linking the D.J. moment to…January 6th.

GHOULISH: MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace ties the honoring of DJ at the Joint Address to January 6th. Truly unhinged. pic.twitter.com/v5SwQJOExN
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 5, 2025

NICOLLE WALLACE: But I think this was a lesson in finding one thing that- that you let yourself feel. And I let myself feel joy about D.J. And I hope he’s alive for another, you know, 95 years. Right? And I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop. He knows what he wants to do. And maybe when you have childhood cancer, that crystallizes for you, and I hope he has a long life as- as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters. And if he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide. And I hope he isn’t one who has to testify against the people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then live to see Donald Trump pardon those people.

There is no floor for this collection of angry Karens at MSNBC. It is unfortunate that Wallace felt she needed to allow herself to “feel” the D.J. moment, only to then vomit the rest of her nonsense out. But it is a reflection of the extent to which the angry Karens at MSNBC have allowed politics to creep into everything.

Reasonable people looked at the D.J. moments- first, his Secret Service moment and then his high-fiving of the son of a fallen law enforcement officer who was accepted into West Point, and find joy. MSNBC can look at those same moments and reveal themselves as the bitter partisans they are.

 

You know Tuesday night’s address to the Joint Session of Congress was a good night for President Trump because the liberal media didn’t have much in terms of rage-fueled declarations against it. In fact, Republican Scott Jennings managed to get his CNN colleague and former Obama advisor David Axelrod to admit that his fellow Democrats were the ones who looked bad at the end of the night.

Following the rebuttal from Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin (D), host Erin Burnett tried to get Jennings to say glowing things about it. “Yeah. I mean look I’m sure she’s a very nice person. None of this will be remembered,” he told the hard truth, “because this was a horrific night for the opposition party, regardless of how well she just spoke.”

He then spelled out the bad and off-putting behavior of the Democrats who refused to stand for anything, including a kid who’s beating cancer, and the Texas representative who had to be escorted out:

It started out with Al Green getting thrown off the House floor because he couldn’t keep his emotions under control. Then they had the ridiculous paddles, which now social media is roasting.

(…)

And then finally – And finally and maybe most terribly, the Democrats who couldn’t find it in their heart to stand for objectively good things, including the 95-year-old mother of Marc Fogel, who got rescued from a Russian prison. And they couldn’t even stand up for that.

 

 

“I thought Democrats came into this speech lost and defeated by Donald Trump. And today it looks to me like they’re even more lost and even more defeated than when the speech started,” he declared.

In an attempt to find an issue with Trump’s speech, Axelrod decried the “dozen” mentions of Biden, by his calculation. Despite only being office for five weeks, Axelrod huffed: “At some point you got to stop blaming Joe Biden and you’re going to be accountable.”

“I mean, Ax, I love you. You guys were blaming George W. Bush in year eight of the Obama presidency,” Jennings quipped. “You know something, Scott? We learned something from that. We learned something from that,” Axelrod shot back, before Jennings defused it with: “He’s been in office for 40-something days.”

Jennings went on to argue that Trump was on the winning side of many of the “80/20” social issues, and particularly on immigration. “The line of the night was: ‘They kept saying we need new legislation to secure the border, but it turns out all we really needed was a new president,’” he noted.

A few minutes later, when Axelrod was whining that the speech wasn’t uniting enough, Jennings pressed Axelrod on Democratic behavior. “Would it have been healing to stand for Marc Fogel?…D.J. Johnson?” Jennings asked.

Axelrod then admitted the truth:

I will do what you will not. I will say, I thought Democrats I thought that was – I think there were times when they should have risen. I think what Al Green did was despicable. I liked Elissa Slotkin speech. I think that’s where Democrats should go.

The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:

CNN Presidential Address to Congress and Democratic Response: Post Address Analysis
March 4, 2025
11:21:33 p.m. Eastern

(…)

ERIN BURNETT: Yeah. I mean, she was – and that was very watchable.

SCOTT JENNINGS: Yeah. I mean look I’m sure she’s a very nice person. None of this will be remembered because this was a horrific night for the opposition party, regardless of how well she just spoke.

It started out with Al Green getting thrown off the House floor because he couldn’t keep his emotions under control. Then they had the ridiculous paddles, which now social media is roasting.

BURNETT: That you said “false” on one side.

JENNINGS: Ridiculous.

BURNETT: And Elon on the other.

JENNINGS: And then finally – And finally and maybe most terribly, the Democrats who couldn’t find it in their heart to stand for objectively good things, including the 95 year old mother of Marc Fogel, who got rescued from a Russian prison. And they couldn’t even stand up for that.

I thought Democrats came into this speech lost and defeated by Donald Trump. And today it looks to me like they’re even more lost and even more defeated than when the speech started.

(…)

11:29:37 p.m. Eastern

DAVID AXELROD: At some point you got to stop blaming Joe Biden and you’re going to be accountable. And, you know, he must have mentioned by Biden a dozen times in his speech.

JENNINGS: I mean, Ax, I love you. You guys were blaming George W. Bush in year eight of the Obama presidency.

AXELROD: You know something, Scott? We learned something from that. We learned something from that.

JENNINGS: He’s been in office for 40 something days.

I am hearing a lot of cope. These social issues. You know why he talks about them? Because they work! They’re like 80, 20 issues and he’s on the right side of them. And Democrats are on the wrong side of them. It worked in the campaign and nobody – “Oh, he’s not talking about the right things.” It worked in the inaugural. It’s working in the executive orders. It’s why he put it in the speech tonight.

And on immigration, you’re exactly right. It’s his number one achievement so far. The border is effectively closed. The line of the night was: “They kept saying we need new legislation to secure the border, but it turns out all we really needed was a new president.” Without question, in my mind, top scoring line.

(…)

11:34:06 p.m. Eastern

AXELROD: So, it’s one thing to mine our differences. It’s another thing to try and heal our differences. And that is, you know, that that’s the difference between real leadership and political expediency.

JENNINGS: Would it have been healing to stand for Marc Fogel? Might have been.

AXELROD: No, I agree. Look, you know, you are absolutely right.

JENNINGS: D.J. Johnson.

AXELROD: I will do what you will not. I will say, I thought Democrats I thought that was – I think there were times when they should have risen. I think what Al Green did was despicable. I liked Elissa Slotkin speech. I think that’s where Democrats should go.

That doesn’t obviate the fact that you shouldn’t exploit our differences. You should try and solve problems and heal our differences. I don’t see that inclination on the part of this president.

(…)

With President Trump set to address a Joint Session of Congress later Tuesday night, the loony liberal ladies of ABC News’s The View racked their brains for ways their fellow Democrats could protest, make a scene, and disrupt the event. Their ideas ranged from not showing up to walking out to one insane suggestion that the Democrats “get butt naked and dance around” the floor.

It was moderator Whoopi Goldberg who kicked off their conversation by immediately diving into degeneracy. “What should they do? Should they sit and listen? Should they get butt naked and dance around?” the deranged comedian wondered.

Co-host Joy Behar and faux conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin teamed up to tone down Goldberg’s suggestion to something a tad more reasonable. They cut out the dancing:

BEHAR: I think they should walk out en masse.

FARAH GRIFFIN: Naked or clothed?

BEHAR: Naked. Naked would be good.

GOLDBERG: Naked could be interesting.

Behar went on to wonder if there was going to be a “laugh track” used during Trump’s address.

For her more serious suggestion, Behar wanted Democrats to just walk out on Trump and praised former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) childish tantrum:

I think they should walk out. I think that a picture is worth a thousand words. I refer you back to Nancy Pelosi tearing up the State of the Union. We still remember that. That was a moment of protest.

 

 

“He’s over the edge,” Behar proclaimed as her rhetoric grew ominous. “I think that we passed the point of no return with him, and we really need to stand up to him big time.”

Sunny Hostin followed up by proclaiming, without evidence, that since “day one” of Trump’s second term we’ve seen him become “a dictator” and witnessed “the rise of fascism.”

Thus, her proposal for the Democratic “opposition party” protest was for them to just not show up:

I actually don’t think they should show up at all…I think the record will show that the room was half empty, and that the Democrats fought him, that the Democratic Party is actually an opposition party at this point, not a resistance party.

I don’t like the optics of walking out simply because that sort of seems to me to get into the Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert type of histrionics. And I think it would be much better to simply deny him the audience that he craves so very much, and at the same time showing that they are the opposition party.

Pretend independent Sara Haines had a more rational idea: attend but don’t react. “I disagree with both of you,” she said. “I think their job is to show up and to listen, and I think there’s a strength in optics in that too. We’re not going anywhere. We came here. We’re sitting here. We’re doing our job.”

“Don’t be a distraction to the insanity that comes in the words of the night, meaning don’t get in his way,” she argued.

Farah Griffin agreed with Haines. “Now, I agree with Sara, you’ve got to show up,” she told the others. “Every Democrat is represents people who voted for Trump. So, they need to listen to what he’s saying and be prepared to counter. But you can’t counter someone if you’re not even listening to what they’re saying.”

The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:

ABC’s The View
March 4, 2025
11:03:12 a.m. Eastern

(…)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: What should they do? Should they sit and listen? Should they get butt naked and dance around?

[Laughter]

What should happen, or should they all wait till the end when freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin gives the democratic response? Anybody?

JOY BEHAR: I think they should walk out en masse.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Naked or clothed?

BEHAR: Naked. Naked would be good.

[Applause]

GOLDBERG: Naked could be interesting.

BEHAR: I mean, they should walk out. Or is there going to be a laugh track, by the way?

I think they should walk out. I think that a picture is worth a thousand words. I refer you back to Nancy Pelosi tearing up the State of the Union. We still remember that. That was a moment of protest.

And just sitting there and being docile is not working. He’s over the edge. He’s – As you put it out there in the intro, he is – I think that we passed the point of no return with him, and we really need to stand up to him big time. And they’re in the position of doing that and they should do.

We certainly can’t expect the Republicans to do anything

[Applause]

SUNNY HOSTIN: I agree with you, Joy, to a certain extent. I actually don’t think they should show up at all.

BEHAR: Okay. I’ll go with that too.

HOSTIN: I think that when history resurfaces the photos of this first speech in this abnormal presidency – He said he was going to be a dictator from day one and we warned about the demise of our democracy and the rise of fascism and I think we’ve seen it in the first days of his presidency.

I think the record will show that the room was half empty, and that the Democrats fought him, that the Democratic Party is actually an opposition party at this point, not a resistance party.

I don’t like the optics of walking out simply because that sort of seems to me to get into the Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert type of histrionics. And I think it would be much better to simply deny him the audience that he craves so very much, and at the same time showing that they are the opposition party.

[Applause]

SARA HAINES: I disagree with both of you. I think their job is to show up and to listen, and I think there’s a strength in optics in that too. We’re not going anywhere. We came here. We’re sitting here. We’re doing our job.

And I think it was representative Jayapal that said, we’re not going to say we avoid it or we walk away or we’re scared. We show up. We sit there stern-faced. It doesn’t mean you have to be polite and clap and stand up. You can stand there as an unbreakable force showing you’re not going anywhere, and I think that is a stronger thing.

Don’t be a distraction to the insanity that comes in the words of the night, meaning don’t get in his way.

(…)

11:07:07 a.m. Eastern

FARAH GRIFFIN: Now, I agree with Sara, you’ve got to show up. I think how they do – I’m all for displays of some kind of protest, if they’re respectful and some degree of decorum. What I’m honestly a little bit more curious to see is there a cohesive pushback with Democrats. Because we’ve read they might wave empty egg containers, someone else might bring a federal fired worker, someone might wear black. But when it’s a scatter-shot response like that it doesn’t break through in this environment.

BEHAR: Not if it’s a lot of them.

FARAH GRIFFIN: You’re going up against the biggest bully pulpit in the world –

BEHAR: Yeah, the biggest bully.

FARAH GRIFFIN: – the American presidency. That and they have all – every Democrat is represents people who voted for Trump. So, they need to listen to what he’s saying and be prepared to counter. But you can’t counter someone if you’re not even listening to what they’re saying.

(…)