OPINION
Premium

Another Hegseth Attack Is Shooting Blanks, and Suddenly We Have an Immigration Problem!

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Dec 11, 2024
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!

Stealth Story Evolution – PRO PUBLICA

  • You were lied to by a military academy, but see no story to run…?

The media swarm to bring down Pete Hegseth continues – and so does the lack of success. In the latest attempt, ProPublica thought it had the goods that Hegseth had lied about being admitted to West Point. The outlet claimed that the academy confirmed that Hegseth had never been admitted, but the Cabinet pick had the acceptance letter to prove it.

Once this was revealed, Jesse Eisinger delivered a lengthy thread trying to detail their process and explaining that once caught, they were spiking the story. He tries to celebrate that this was an exemplary example of ethical journalism.

What is not explained: How was the outlet compelled to write this, when Hegseth was not exactly promoting this detail? (He attended Princeton, so there is no reason to tout his West Point acceptance.) Why kill the piece when an institution delivering false information to the press is a legitimate story? How did the USMA claim he had never been admitted and never applied, and why did ProPublica never give the name of the spokesperson nor the correspondence making the false statements?

Recommended

Watch Kellyanne Conway Slap Down Publisher of Anti-Trump Rag Matt Vespa
Tactics, Techniques and Procedures to Keep Deep State Bureaucrats From Obstructing Donald Trump’s Agenda Kurt Schlichter

Low-Octane Gaslighting – CBS NEWS

  • If bemoaning the injured news media, you could put down the sledgehammer, maybe?

In a lovely dose of deflective mewling, Leslie Stahl was on a panel with Peggy Noonan discussing the current state of the press, and she complained that while the news media of her kind are not dead, they are certainly gravely wounded:

“The president of the United States is going to say, ‘The legacy media is dead’ – well I guess Musk said that. But it is sort of hobbling, right now. I’m very dark about it.”

This is the same Leslie Stahl who fought on camera with Donald Trump about the veracity of the Hunter Biden laptop, leading to Trump this year waving off appearing on the usual “60 Minutes” presidential candidate interviews. That would be the same interview program Stahl’s show comes under fire for favorably editing the Kamala Harris interview.

News Avoidance Syndrome – PUCK NEWS

  • Sounding curious, but lacking the desire to investigate.

We are under a month away from the massive CNN defamation case that could see a ruling taking punitive damages to a level exceeding the settlement reached by Fox News with Dominion Voting Systems. The figure of $1 billion is frequently referred to as possible. Update here:

In reporting on the upcoming trial, Puck News was looking at the fact that this suit has been “under the radar” with many news organizations, despite the size of the potential ruling involving a major news network:

For some reason, this trial continues to fly under the radar, apart from right-wing outlets that are reveling in the possibility of CNN’s embarrassment. But with punitive damages on the table, Ron DeSantis appointees reshaping Florida’s appellate courts, Trump Allies positioned at the federal level, and a legal climate growing less hospitable to speech deemed harmful to the national interest, this case may go places.

Prose & Contradiction – THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • As news reports go, this one is hardly “timely.”

Think of all of the laughably insipid spin we have seen over the years. From Joe Biden saying illegal immigration is of no concern, Karine Jean-Pierre stating there is no crisis at the border, and Kamala Harris campaigning that the border is “closed,” it has been a shameless dose of lying. And the press has been serving as the White House mynah birds, repeating all of their claims and declaring those pointing out reality as trafficking in misinformation.

Now – with Biden in the Lame Duck weeks of his fading term – The New York Times announces that we have seen a record number of immigrants pouring across our borders.

It is not all newly found journalism excellence, however; nowhere in its revelatory report could it manage to assert that these were “illegal” arrivals.

Pulitzer Prize Nomination – AXIOS

  • Neutered virtue signaling constitutes news these days?

The Cope & Seethe crowd is still at it, struggling mightily since the election. As we have seen, Public Enemy #2 since the election has been Elon Musk and now – because Axios believes this to be nationally vital news – we see the latest impotent attempt from The Resistance to express their dismay: Tesla owners are purchasing bumper stickers that show their disapproval with the man who crafted their EVs.

Demo-lition Project – CNN

  • This makes the cancelation of Stanley Tucci’s Italian gourmet program all the more odd.

The ratings crash continues, as last week saw the news network falling behind further. Among cable television channels in prime time, CNN plunged to 17th position in the ratings. This found the news channel becoming beaten by FreeForm and The Food Network.

It becomes even more dire when looking at the desired advertiser’s demographic of viewers aged 25-54. In that select group, CNN finished in 26th position with a dismal 67,000 viewers.