Brown Grills Crist, Navarro’s Rant, Graham Warns About ‘Riots’ | Winners & Losers in Today’s Green Room
MEDIA WINNER: Pamela Brown
CNN Newsroom anchor Pamela Brown grilled Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) about his past positions on abortion as he campaigns for his old job as governor of the Sunshine State, directly asking him to “square” his previous statements with his current political rhetoric.
Crist, who is facing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), infamously switched from a Republican to an independent to a Democrat over the past 12 years of his political career, and has a range of comments on the contentious topic of abortion to match these transitions.
Brown pressed Crist for answers about the uphill climb he is facing with recent gains by Florida Republicans in voter registration and DeSantis’ massive war chest, and she really dug in to the abortion issue, questioning him repeatedly to clarify his views.
“Do you still identify as pro-life?” asked Brown.
“I’m pro choice and that is why I have a hundred percent rating by Planned Parenthood, by NARAL,” Crist replied, citing his veto of an anti-abortion bill when he was governor and attacking a bill signed by DeSantis as “barbaric.”
Brown kept following up with more tough but fair questions, getting Crist on the record for one of the most-debated issues of this election cycle in a closely-watched statewide race with implications beyond the 2022 midterms.
MEDIA LOSER: Peter Navarro
Former White House adviser Peter Navarro threw a fit after the Department of Justice released a heavily redacted affidavit that was used to obtain a search warrant for Donald Trump’s Florida estate.
Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off on the warrant, ordered a redacted version of the affidavit released. The DOJ submitted proposed redactions to the court and it was released last Friday.
Appearing on Newsmax that afternoon, Navarro slammed Reinhart and the DOJ in a rant that skipped over some crucial facts.
“These are partisans,” Trump’s former trade adviser said. “They have weaponized the FBI. We just need answers here at this point, and we’re redacting. the entire affidavit except a small reference to some media outlet. It’s not transparency, ok? That judge, I mean, screw that judge. That guy had no business approving the warrant to begin with and now he gives us this. That guy is a joke.”
Navarro conveniently failed to mention that the unreacted portions described a stunning number of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, and multiple Fox News commentators have acknowledged that probable cause was established.
We expect a certain amount of partisan ranting from supporters of the former president but Navarro’s comments were just plain dumb.
Links We Like:
The “Banana Republic” Fallacy
– Shay Khatiri, The Bulwark
Kevin McCarthy’s PAC goes on offense with new ad buy
– Hans Nichols and Sophia Cai, Axios
When did the GOP become the party of jerks?
– Matt Lewis, The Daily Beast
The Rising Cost of Republicans’ Investment in Trump
– David Frum, The Atlantic
Meet the billionaire who loves Fox News and owns a piece of CNN
– Peter Kafka, Vox
Read the full Mediaite Green Room Newsletter here, including the reactions to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s comments that there will be “riots” if Trump is prosecuted — including from Trump himself.
