Weekend Media Wrap, Vol. 2: What You Missed If You Weren’t Glued To The Sunday Shows

Every Sunday morning, legacy media outlets are taken over by elected officials, aspiring elected officials, administration insiders, and the usual collection of talking heads — all of whom are there to discuss specific policies, push talking points, or simply promote their own campaigns.

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to unravel a full week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what they may have missed.

ABC News, “This Week”:

Actor Matthew McConaughey joined host Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week,” and during a wide-ranging conversation about gun control and the tragic school shooting that took place in Uvalde, Texas, the Academy Award winner weighed in on whether or not he saw a future for himself in politics.

Asked if he could ever see himself running for office, actor Matthew McConaughey tells @JonKarl: “Could I see? It's more of a larger question for me of, is politics the category where I can be the most useful?” https://t.co/ScQIWDMJrJ pic.twitter.com/tKJbQFCyzX

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 30, 2023

McConaughey began the conversation by explaining how he’d been drawn to return to Uvalde after learning about the shooting — and that had eventually led him to Washington, D.C.

“We had families invite us in to come for the first viewing of their child. And that, to us, felt like we were trespassing. But the mother and father go, ‘No, please come in.’ And when we left there, the consensus was, ‘Can you help make their lives matter?’ So that led to us ending up in D.C.,” he said.

But then Karl asked whether the actor might consider more direct involvement in the legislative process — the kind that comes with elected office — or whether he believed he was more useful in his current role.

“There’s a great question that I’m still answering. And as of right now, to be a private citizen with my wife and to come up with an idea like the Greenlights Grant Initiative — to work with the government publicly to help them, not doing the job for them, helping them pull off what they set out to do in the first place — there is an argument that that’s more useful, what I’m doing right now, in a small way,” he said.

“To do the big change … I’d have to be convinced that that’s a category that I could be quite useful in. And it’s something that I think about all the time,” he continued. “Starting as the man I am, as a concerned father, as a husband, as a person who believes in people, as a Texan, as an American is like, man, come on, I believe in us.”

CBS News, “Face the Nation”:

CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge joined “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan to talk about President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, the plea deal that appears to have fallen apart, and what might have to happen for a another potential deal to take its place.

The Hunter Biden plea agreement could still "come together," but prosecutors and the defense have 30 days to work through significant legal differences and satisfy Judge Maryellen Noreika’s concerns.

"These could be big gaps to bridge and the bar may be even higher with this… pic.twitter.com/67CyVNUO3H

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 30, 2023

Noting that the defense and prosecutors still had 30 days to work out a deal that satisfied Judge Maryellen Noreika, Herridge said, “These could be big gaps to bridge and the bar may be even higher with this federal judge to get her approval.”

CNN, “State of the Union”:

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) told “State of the Union” guest host Kasie Hunt that the economy under President Joe Biden — and because of his policies — is booming.

.@ChrisMurphyCT tells @kasie that “the economy is booming right now” because of President Biden’s economic policies. #CNNSOTU https://t.co/KAlGd4FVTf

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) July 30, 2023

“The economy is booming right now. You’re talking about unemployment under 4%. You’re seeing a reduction in inflation that’s outpacing all of our other global competitors. GDP rising. You know, one of the stunning statistics from the second quarter is that GDP grew by two and a half percent, but 25% of that growth was due to factory construction,” Murphy said. “And so that means that this isn’t just a short term improvement in the economy. We are bringing back manufacturing jobs. We’re going to be putting people back to work in jobs that have real wages, pensions, benefits. That’s a transformation of the economy, not just a band-aid.”

Murphy did not address the fact that inflation has continued to outstrip wages and both consumer prices and interest rates remain high.

NBC News, “Meet the Press”:

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) compared President Biden to the late President Lyndon B. Johnson during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Defending Biden’s record against yet another potential challenger for the 2024 Democratic nomination — Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) — Coons argued that Biden had a formidable record for anyone to run against.

WATCH: Sen. @ChrisCoons (D-Del.) says Rep. Dean Phillips' (D-Minn.) challenge to Pres. Biden “doesn’t have me nervous.”

“President Biden has the strongest record of legislative accomplishment since LBJ … Dean Phillips can’t cite anything like that.” pic.twitter.com/ngL4KL00Xo

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 30, 2023

“It doesn’t make me nervous, frankly. President Biden has the strongest record of legislative accomplishment since LBJ, and you’re beginning to see the impact: 13 million jobs created by the private sector, 800,000 good manufacturing jobs, 35,000 infrastructure projects out there in the country,” Coons said. “Dean Phillips can’t cite anything like that.”

FOX, “Fox News Sunday”:

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-NC) joined “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream to discuss the recent Capitol Hill testimony on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) — and what could be coming next.

WATCH: South Carolina Congresswoman @RepNancyMace joins the program to discuss the bombshell testimony on Capitol Hill over UFOs. Tune In! pic.twitter.com/Mm7WBt4ZU3

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) July 30, 2023

Bream also spoke with former President Donald Trump’s legal spokesperson, Alina Habba, to discuss the most recent federal charges against Trump — regarding the classified documents case — and what his next move might be.

WATCH: Trump legal spokesperson @AlinaHabba joins to react to the new federal charges former President Trump faces in the classified documents case. Tune in! pic.twitter.com/KXQhOr6JlH

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) July 30, 2023

“What was the obstruction of justice?” Habba asked, referencing allegations that Trump had ordered security footage to be deleted. “No tapes were deleted. He turned them over. He cooperated as he always does. But they would like the American public to believe in these bogus indictments.”

“When he has his turn in court, and when we get to file our papers, you will see that every single video, every single surveillance tape that was requested, was turned over,” she added. “If President Trump didn’t want something turned over, I assure you, that is something that could have been done. But he never would act like that. He is the most ethical American I know.”

MSNBC, “Inside With Jen Psaki”:

Rep. Adam Schiff told former White House Press Secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki that he believed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was only threatening a possible Biden impeachment because he was worried about keeping his job.

"I think McCarthy may open an impeachment inquiry because he thinks he will let off the steam with the crazies in his conference…He's thinking how do I keep my speakership for another day, maybe another week?"@AdamSchiff on McCarthy floating Biden impeachment inquiry. pic.twitter.com/EyiAx7BgXJ

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) July 30, 2023

Schiff, who actively championed two back-to-back impeachments of former President Donald Trump, argued that McCarthy was only trying to cater to the far right by suggesting he’d be willing to impeach Biden.

“I think McCarthy may open an impeachment inquiry because he thinks he will let off the steam with the crazies in his conference … He’s thinking how do I keep my speakership for another day, maybe another week?” Schiff said.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) also weighed in on the topic, claiming that McCarthy was using the possibility of a Biden impeachment to keep his own party in line.

“This is a complete distraction,” he alleged. “Kevin McCarthy can’t control his conference and they continue to let the most extreme members guide everything they do.”

"This is a complete distraction… Kevin McCarthy can't control his conference and they continue to let the most extreme members guide everything they do." @RepPeteAguilar on McCarthy floating Biden impeachment inquiry. pic.twitter.com/NzTpL6Ve3R

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) July 30, 2023

‘Frankly Insulting’: Law Professor Slams Biden’s ‘Obnoxious Reason’ For Finally Recognizing Hunter’s Daughter

Law Professor Jonathan Turley is not letting President Joe Biden off the hook even though the president finally acknowledged his seventh grandchild — all the while blaming his neglect on Hunter’s legal battles with the child’s mother.

The Bidens finally recognized their youngest granddaughter in an online article for PEOPLE Magazine at 5:00 p.m. ET on a summer Friday night right before Joe hit the beach.
Here’s the statement the Bidens provided the media:

“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward. This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”

That statement may have smoothed things over for Legacy Media and other Democrats, but Turley was livid in an opinion column for Fox News.

“Even for those of us who merely followed this saga from the beginning, the statement was maddening and frankly insulting,” Turley wrote. “It suggested that there was some reason, until now, that prevented the Bidens from acknowledging the existence of their fifth granddaughter. That is false.”

Those who read or listen to the George Washington University professor, frequent Fox News guest, and writer know that that’s about as fired up as Turley gets. He went on to argue that it wasn’t just the Bidens’ written statement alone that made the Friday night news dump so appalling.

A source told PEOPLE that the Bidens were simply following Hunter’s lead — for reasons that remain unclear.

“You have to remember there were some fairly contentious legal proceedings between Navy’s parents happening until just a few weeks ago. As grandparents, the Bidens are following Hunter’s lead,” the anonymous source told the magazine. “They are — and have been — giving Hunter and Lunden the space and time to figure things out.”

As Turley said in his op-ed, “There was no legal, or even tactical, reason for the refusal of the first couple to acknowledge Navy for four years.”

Turley, who has lived in D.C. for years, also suggested that the Bidens’ treatment of Navy went far beyond the normal callousness people in the District were accustomed to.

“Washington is a hard town,” Turley said. “I have lived and worked here for decades and I am still amazed by the cold calculations of many in this city. Long-standing values and associations are routinely jettisoned for personal advantage. Here the moral strictures of the rest of the nation are flipped; vice is a virtue and integrity is a weakness.”

“Yet, even in this place of utter personal corruption, the Bidens shocked the local population,” he said.

He also speculated that the Bidens relented on this issue due to pressure from fellow Democrats and to try and squash the issue before diving into the 2024 campaign trail.

“In other words, for the first couple, it is a political not a family matter,” he said.

To put in perspective how incredulous the president and first lady handled this issue over the years, consider that the two appeared to care more about the negative press their misbehaving dogs would garner than they did their forgotten granddaughter.

“The Bidens spent more time fretting over the ‘pressure’ of the White House on Major and Commander than they did the emotional impact on a four-year-old child who was prevented from even calling herself a Biden,” Turley said.

It can’t get much lower than that.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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