Faulkner Presses (and Presses) Manchin, Alex Jones Puts on Spectacle | Winners & Losers in Today’s Green Room

 
THE DAILY NEWSLETTER – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 03, 2022 
Mediaite Live from the Green Room 2022


Green Room Winner 08-03-22MEDIA WINNER:

Harris Faulkner


Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner relentlessly pressed Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on a myriad of hot topics Tuesday.

Faulkner asked Manchin questions about the energy, health care, and climate spending deal he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

She also questioned him over the numerous interviews he recently gave where he refused to say if he wants Democrats to win the 2022 midterms, nor if he would support President Joe Biden for 2024.

As Manchin rejected the charge of dodging questions, he returned to the bill as he said “this is not a political piece of legislation! This is an American legislation.”

Faulkner defended her questioning by saying “the elections are gonna need some help,” noting Biden’s cratering poll numbers.

“Can’t we all do something right?” Manchin said. “Are you scared that we’re going to do something good that will help our country?”

Faulkner seemed indignant in her retort.

“Of course not! My father served! Are you kidding?!” she said.

“Service is in the Bible! That’s what we do, we serve our fellow man and woman! Of course! Don’t make this personal, cus its not!”

At another point during the testy interview, the two sparred on whether or not the Inflation Reduction Act will actually reduce inflation, with Faulkner citing the Penn Wharton budget model.

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell also deserves an honorable mention, as the anchor pressed an increasingly exasperated Manchin about whether or not he would support a Biden bid in 2024.


Green Room Loser 08-03-22MEDIA LOSER:

Alex Jones


Whoever decided that Alex Jones should take the stand in the Sandy Hook defamation trial should be 1. fired as his defense attorney and 2. hired as a cable news producer.

The testimony from the InfoWars host and infamous conspiracy theorist was equal parts bonkers, dramatic, hilarious and grim. He apologized to the parents of children massacred at the elementary school, who are suing him for lying to his audience that the shooting was staged.

Wednesday highlights — or lowlights — include: Lawyers confronting Jones with clips from his Infowars show in which he attacked the judge and jury in the trial; the revelation that Jones’ lawyers sent the opposition all of his texts by mistake, revealing he lied; Jones getting called out for apparently faking a cough; a rant about transhumanists; Jones admitting he lied about Sandy Hook being a hoax.

At one point, the judge scolded Jones for lying under oath.

Jones testified the day after Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of murdered 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, took the witness stand.

Jones had claimed that Jesse was a child actor and that his death was a hoax.

“I wanted to tell you to your face because I wanted you to know that I am a mother first and foremost,” Lewis said, speaking directly to Jones while on the stand. “And I know that you are a father and my son existed.”

After closing statements on Wednesday, the jury — the very jury Jones insulted on his show — will determine how much in damages he’ll have to pay Lewis and Heslin. Ouch.

Get all the latest on the crazy spectacle here.


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