Chuck Todd To Step Down As ‘Meet The Press’ Moderator, Kristen Welker To Succeed Him

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If most people thought of which performer best represents pure, satanic evil in music, Pat Benatar would not be their first go-to. But Sen. Ted Cruz is not most people, as he demonstrated Thursday with a mention of Benatar that seemed intended to cast the well-liked, seemingly benign Rock & Roll Hall of Famer as an emblem of Satan. Appearing on Joe Pagliarulo’s conservative talk show, Cruz was asked if he thought there was any possibility that President Joe Biden could be both impeached and convicted by a supermajority in the Senate, a fantasy scenario openly hoped for by some on the far right. Expressing the unlikeliness of that, Cruz replied, “I don’t think Senate Democrats, if you had video of Joe Biden murdering children dressed as the devil under a full moon while singing Pat Benatar, they still wouldn’t vote to convict.”

Donald Trump is at it again, y’all.

claim it violated U.S. flag code, which it did not.But, as the discussion continued, host Alyssa Farah Griffin offered a blunt reminder to those who were upset about the flag.“Donald Trump sells Pride merch on his website,” she said, pulling up an image of two items up for sale on Trump’s website.

As the fallout from Donald Trump’s second indictment continues, the “Morning Joe” crew is still amazed that it’s even happening. Not because the twice-impeached former president doesn’t deserve the charges, but rather, because he could’ve avoided them entirely had he just cooperated with authorities.During Friday morning’s discussion, MSNBC political analyst Elise Jordan joined the panel, discussing Mitt Romney’s reaction to the indictment with Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

strongly worded cease-and-desist, claiming his Twitter show, now on its fourth episode, is in direct violation of his contract, which is still in place through 2025. Carlson’s legal team believes he’s in the clear because Twitter is not a Fox competitor – but the network might want to see what kind of do-not-disparage and do-not-disclose language is in that document.Carlson opened his fourth episode by directly addressing Fox, and specifically the “Wannabe Dictator” chyron that a network producer saw fit to display beneath Biden the day his DOJ announced federal charges against former President Donald Trump. “Inside Fox, the women who run the network panicked,” Carlson said.

declared Donald Trump the President of the United States and Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator,” Fox News once again is under fire, this time for an article and corresponding social media post that claimed “critics” say the LGBTQ pride flag “promotes grooming and pedophilia.”The White House in a rare move slammed the far-right wing propaganda network, which focused its article on an LGBTQ Pride flag hanging from the White House portico during President Biden’s LGBTQ Pride event this past weekend.Today, the People’s House – your house – sends a clear message to the country and to the world.America is a nation of pride. pic.twitter.com/ZZS9oTpDww— President Biden (@POTUS) June 11, 2023According to multiple reports, the initial headline on the Fox News article written by Kerry J.

cease-and-desist letter from Fox News – dropped a third episode of his Twitter show in the immediate wake of Donald Trump’s indictment, suggesting that the former president “sealed his fate” on February 16, 2016.“That’s the day Donald Trump made a blood enemy of the largest and most powerful organization in human history, which would be the federal government,” Carlson said. On that day, nearly nine months before the 2016 election, the Republican Party held a primary debate in South Carolina, during which then-candidate Trump said: “We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East.

Rosie O’Donnell and the late Barbara Walters had their ups and downs from cohosting The View together and beyond.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is running as a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race and appeared Wednesday on Fox News, taking aim at the likely Democratic incumbent and current president, Joe Biden.Christie targeted Biden even after “America’s Newsroom” ran graphics and discussed the fact Donald Trump is not only handily polling ahead of Ron DeSantis but leading a pack of also-rans that include Christie, who was shown as polling at a meager 2% in the Republican race.“Record inflation, botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, sending the country into an educational tailspin because we’re excluding parents from their children’s education,” Christie reeled off, taking a page out of the DeSantis playbook before show host Bill Hemmer interrupted. “The border,” Hemmer said, blankly.A light bulb then went off for Christie.“But wait a second Bill,” the former CNN political analyst said, after Hemmer chimed in that Trump had more success with his Mexican border policies.

Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials (the script and writers intro) were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.

Eva Longoria is heading to the White House, where her new movie “Flamin’ Hot” will be screened for an audience including President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.

Sorry, but this guy wants to be president?!?

Ivanka Trump, who recently wore an all-white ensemble, has channeled Kate Middleton’s fashion again. Over the weekend the former First Daughter celebrated her 13-year-old daughter Arabella’s bat mitzvah wearing the same caped Jenny Packham gown that the Princess of Wales wore to the premiere of “No Time to Die” in 2021.As noted by Page Six Style, Ivanka rocked a $5,400 turquoise version of the glittering gold gown Middletown wore to the movie premiere.

Gabrielle Union has given the term “look of the day” a whole new meaning. The actress stepped out in two different trendy ensembles while doing press in New York City on Tuesday, June 13. 

Eva Longoria is thrilled to present her new film ‘Flamin’ Hot’ at the White House on Thursday. After making her directorial debut, the 48-year-old star will be honored with a special screening for Latino leaders and community members, hosted by Joe and Jill Biden.The actress is sharing her excitement to attend, as she will also be joined by cast members.

UPDATE: CNN’s chyron read “Donald Trump now under arrest” as broadcast and cable networks grappled with a lack of visuals inside a a federal courthouse, where the former president faces a 37-count indictment over his retention of classified documents.

sit with CNN for a televised town hall discussion on Monday, this time moderated by Anderson Cooper. From the top, he was grilled about the second criminal indictment and 37 counts former president Donald Trump faces for taking hundreds of classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago estate after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Juneteenth is just around the corner. The holiday -- named for and celebrated on June 19 -- commemorates the true ending of slavery in the United States.

Cuomo” host would affirm her hope that Donald Trump would end up in prison.“Ashley” from San Francisco called into Cuomo’s 8 p.m. show Friday, and loaded her question in a way that froze the former CNN primetime anchor in his tracks: “Based on your legal expertise, what evidence in the indictment is most likely to lead to prison time?” she asked.Cuomo started to answer one way, then stopped himself:“Prison time? None,” he said. “This isn’t going to be about prison time.

One of the biggest personalities in world media and politics is no more.

Lindsey Graham was one fired-up Donald Trump devotee the minute George Stephanopoulos introduced him on Sunday’s “This Week,” immediately contrasting Trump’s indictment with Hillary Clinton’s emails, and when the ABC journalist tried to get him back on track, the South Carolina Senator went ballistic.After Stephanopoulos mentioned the 37 criminal counts Trump faces for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, he asked Graham if he believed Trump when he said he did nothing wrong. And, with that, Graham’s deflection began, attempting to turn the spotlight on Clinton’s use of a private server when she was Secretary of State.“Here is what I believe: we live in an America where if you are the Democratic candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, you can set up a private server in your basement,” Graham said.Stephanopoulos interrupted, saying that Graham wasn’t answering his question.

Trump subordinates hid documents in a bathroom, and photos of that same bathroom which contains a chandelier.“I know all of you probably feel like I do, that reading this was like reading a crime novel and also a comedy at the same time,” Reid said to the panel. “But there are sort of three buckets here. There is the sloppy handling, having the documents in the loo, having it in the bathroom, and that tacky ballroom, I feel like he should be indicted for the tackiness of the ’80s ballroom.”“Don’t forget about about the chandelier in the bathroom,” panelist and fellow MSNBC primetime host Alex Wagner interjected.“Listen, I mean, that is indictable all on its own, just from a taste point of view.

The report tracked 3,697 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault targeting Jewish communities in that calendar year. And while that rise stems from various inflection points – political figures like former president Donald Trump playing host to known neo-Nazis like Nick Fuentes surely played a role – the case of Kanye West, in particular, had a noted impact.

At the age of 91, journalism legend Dan Rather remains on top of the news.

Just over an hour after a federal indictment of Donald Trump was unsealed, Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a brief statement on Friday in which he underscored the gravity of the case and why it should be brought.

second indictment of twice-impeached former president Donald Trump — Navarro and her co-hosts kicked off the day’s Hot Topics by applauding the Biden administration for announcing new initiatives to support the LGBTQ community.In that same vein, the women heavily criticized conservatives like DeSantis who are responsible for a significant increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation specifically targeting transgender people — particularly ones who are doing it under the guise of “protecting children.”“People, let me tell you this, drag queens don’t even like children,” Navarro said. “They don’t tip, and they don’t drink!”Then, she offered some advice on getting back at DeSantis directly to any drag queens watching.“I would say to all the drag queens: for the month of June, Pride Month, let’s celebrate by changing your names to Rhonda Santas.”As the discussion continued though, Navarro and her co-hosts got more serious — and more angry — about what’s happening across the country.“You are killing our children,” Whoopi said bluntly.

Donald Trump’s second indictment. According to the MSNBC host, those responses are nothing but “sleazy” sentiments that demonstrate an “absolute contempt for the United States of America.”The second indictment officially came down on Thursday, as part of Jack Smith’s ongoing investigation into the mishandling of classified documents that were eventually seized from Mar-a-Lago.

Read more about the whole thing here.Meanwhile back on MSNBC, Hayes asked Psaki, “I wonder how you think about the Biden administration handles this, how Democrats handle this, how Republicans in Congress handle this.”“This isn’t Alvin Bragg in Manhattan, who is not part of the Biden administration,” Hayes continued, referring to the District Attorney overseeing Trump’s criminal fraud case in New York City. “You can heap scorn on him and you can say nasty things about him, with all sorts of, you know, pretty gross, racist undertones.

Well, we guess it was inevitable. Donald Trump has been indicted yet again, according to multiple outlets.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Rusicals have been a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” institution since Season 6 and something audiences look forward to each season. Executive producer Tom Campbell credits fellow producers John Polley and Michael Seligman for coming up with this year’s “Wigloose: The Rusical.” Says Campbell, “They said ‘Wigloose,’ like ‘Footloose,’ and it writes itself.” The maxi challenge puts the queens’ performing skills to the test, through song, dance and acting, as they tell a musical story. Previous challenges have included “Moulin Ru: The Rusical,” Madonna, Cher and even Donald Trump’s presidency. The idea is that audiences already know the story of the Rusical and condense that into a production that’s less than 12 minutes long.

With more and more Republican presidential candidates who once supported Trump now publicly turning on him, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough has a hunch as to why: According to the MSNBC host, it might me they know that more charges are coming.As part of Thursday morning’s discussion on “Morning Joe,” the hosts marveled at the fact that both former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Trump’s own former VP Mike Pence have effectively come out swinging against him in their campaigns, with Pence saying on Wednesday that Trump “should never” be president again.“I must say, I didn’t expect Mike Pence to be as aggressive as he was yesterday,” Scarborough said.

attack on the United States Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, reports CNN.“The interview was focused primarily on former President Donald Trump, his state of mind and what he knew about the baseless claims of widespread election fraud he was pushing leading up to the January 6 attack,” said a source close to Griffin, adding that the “View” star would “help prosecutors by providing first-hand accounts of times Trump seemed to acknowledge he lost the election.”One source told CNN that the talk show host was surprised over the prosecution’s focus on Trump’s mindset after the election.News of Griffin, 33, meeting with the special counsel comes after former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, 63, testified before a federal grand jury.

Jay Johnson was arrested today in LA for his participation in the January 6 insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic The departure of CNN’s Chris Licht, following his turbulent year atop the cable news network, places a pause on one of the great media stories of the decade so far. But even non-media-junkies can appreciate just how strange and how strenuously rocking had been Licht’s time at the network: It played out across screens. The trouble with being the place that invented the 24-hour news cycle is that those hours can come back to bite when you’re the story. There it was in politics, when Donald Trump’s “Town Hall,” with purported rising star Kaitlan Collins, gear-shifted into the first televised rally of the 2024 presidential cycle — with CNN’s air being used to depict an audience of Trump supporters cheering on his jibes. (No less an eminence than Christiane Amanpour, a CNN icon, registered her dissent in public.) There it was on the business pages, with Licht’s overseeing the dismantling of streaming product CNN+, on orders from Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav, setting the tone for his tenure. There it was at the Oscars, when Michelle Yeoh used her best actress acceptance speech to rebuke anchor Don Lemon’s bizarre on-air comments about a woman’s “prime” years. There it was in the gossip pages, after a Variety story about Lemon’s comportment toward his female co-anchors on the network’s flagship morning show, and then his ouster, leaked into the tabloids, and never seemed to be countered by any good news about the network. And, finally, there it was at length, with an all-access profile by the Atlantic’s Tim Alberta revealing Licht’s contempt for predecessor Jeff Zucker and the depths of his disdain for and, frankly, confusion about CNN’s mission.

The Atlantic: “You guys drive me crazy. All you want to do is talk about Trump.

Fox News Digital in a Wednesday report that posted just a couple of hours before Warner Bros. Discovery brass announced the ouster of CEO Chris Licht. David Zaslav handpicked Licht last April to replace Jeff Zucker, the successful but divisive longtime CNN leader ousted after disclosing an affair with one of his direct reports.