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Afternoon Mirror: Columbia Journalism Review Drools Over Norah O’Donnell’s First Performance In The ‘CBS Evening News’ Hot Seat

By TheDC.

Betsy Rothstein Gossip blogger
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Quote of the Day:

“Well, the president is not a racist.” 

— Senate Maj. Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) Tuesday when pressed by reporters about President Trump telling the House “Squad” to go back to their respective countries.

Mood: Charitable. “After hearing that press conference from those House members, I donated $250.00 to re-elect @realDonald Trump.” — Erick Erickson, The Resurgent, previously a fierce #NeverTrumper.

CJR treats Norah O’Donnell like she landed on the moon 

Following her first night in the CBS Evening News hot seat, Norah O’Donnell received a glowing review from Columbia Journalism Review, which couldn’t resist marveling on how many times she used to the word “racist” to describe Trump. When CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett dared to say “controversial racial comments,” CJR emasculated him, calling his phrasing “less strong.”

The writer wrote the news cycle “threw” her a test with report about Trump and the House Democratic “squad.” And yeah, Jon Allsop thinks she passed with flying colors for reporting the news and sticking with thew word “racist.”

He gushed, “Last night … O’Donnell proved there’s room for the word ‘racist’ in her conception of facts-first journalism, and room for stories from across America that some national outlets have overlooked. Already, that sets her apart.”

Others lauded her as well… 

“Big night tonight for CBS News and Norah makes her debut as the new anchor of CBS Evening News. She is only the third woman in television history to solo anchor a national broadcast television network’s evening newscast.”

Yashar Ali, the Dean of Twitter and a writer for HuffPost and New York Mag and his own solo news service.

Daily Caller journo nearly dies on his way to work 

“Elderly woman nearly hit me with her car this morning. She missed by two inches. Most men would have given up on the day right on the spot. If we didn’t cancel the Battle of the Bulge because it got a little cold, then I’m not giving up because I almost died. Let’s get to work.” — David Hookstead, editor, The Smoke Room.

CNN’s Brian Stelter has a new nickname (at least to me) 

What it is: Tater

What it means: Who knows?

I spotted it in a Breitbart News piece Monday on CNN Stelter’s dramatically fallen ratings. I asked John Nolte what it means. He told The Mirror, “It’s a nickname the great Ace of Spades came up with that’s been picked up by others. I have no idea what it means. It’s just perfect somehow.”

New photos in the White House include Kim Jong Un

Confessional.

“So far I’ve lost 1600 followers ever since I stopped talking about politics. Shit.” — Pardes Seleh, YouTube personality, former scriptwriter, Fox News.

HuffPost has a new PERSONAL vertical

Carpe Donktum fights to maintain his anonymity 

Thanks to a new video by pro-Trump YouTuber Mark Dice, it’s clear what pro-Trump Memer Carpe Donktum looks like. But his name is still a mystery.

“Just a friendly heads up. BuzzFeed is currently in the midst of a moral dilemma about whether or not they should Dox me and my family. An act that is now a common quiver of the MSM, I have respectful asked that they follow my wishes. …I have heard back from BuzzFeed and they have decided to run the story WITHOUT including my name. Thank you for making the right decision. My family thanks you as well.” — Carpe D.

NYP‘s Jon Levine remarked, “I think a lot of @DarpeDonktum work is brilliant, but if you’re meeting with the president in the Oval Office, the public has a right to know who you are.”

Donktum attended the White House Social Media Summit as did Dice.

His reasons for wanting to remain anonymous: “I am known for my work under a pseudonym, I was thoroughly checked out by the most robust intelligence apparatus on the planet, and cleared. The public has no need to know more than Carpe Donktum visited the White House. Anything beyond that serves only one nefarious purpose.” He joked, “Maybe I want to remain anonymous because I am embarrassed that my name is actually Jim Acosta.”

Levine added, “People in the public eye don’t get to decide what the public ‘needs’ to know about them … that is a dangerous road.”

(RELATED: Trump’s Fave Twitter Troll Says BuzzFeed Wants To Doxx Him)

The world according to National Review‘s Kat Timpf: “I will never understand posting that you got a job interview or an audition. It’s like announcing a pregnancy when you might maybe have sex.”

Journo is a ‘whiny fucking baby’ about Twitter’s redesign 

“In the spirit of full disclosure I need to acknowledge that, earlier this evening when a bunch of you were complaining about the twitter redesign, I thought to myself, ‘shut up you whiny fucking babies’ but now that I, too, have the redesign I just want to say…. I hate it.” — Ashley Fineberg, Slate.

The Braggart 

“Coming up on @Lawrence in a few minutes and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.” — Rick Wilson, GOP Media Guy.

Peter Daou gets disgusted

“Do you ever start to quote-tweet a GOP tweet like this and then find yourself at a loss to express your bottomless disgust?” — Peter Daou, former adviser to former President Bill Clinton and former Sen. John Kerry, in reaction to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), who wrote, “Democrat leaders in the House may be afraid of their ‘socialist squad,’ but GOP isn’t. We know America is the greatest, strongest, most free nation in the history of the world. We will never stop fighting the communist wing of the Dem party. #Freedom #GodBlessAmerica.”

UGLY CONVO BETWEEN AN ONION CONTRIBUTOR AND A CONGRESSMAN 

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.): “The immigrants I know, including my mother-in-law, are the people most disgusted by Rep. Omar’s ingratitude to the nation who rescued her family from an African refugee camp and gave her the equivalent of a lottery ticket to come to the USA.”

Mara Quint: “Just got off the phone with your mom, Sean, she said you’re an embarrassment and then told me how you shit your pants daily in high school and how pathetically funny it was and that you probably still do.”

Gossip Roundup

Mother Jones really gets down into the blood and guts of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Fun facts: He dated a 21-year-old while serving in Congress, but begged the writer, Stephanie Mencimer, not to publish the woman’s name. “I’m not a monk,” he told her. “I’m just a congrsessman.” He had an arrest for drunken driving in 2008, but the charges quickly went away.  Also… Joe Scarborough previously donated to Gaetz’s campaign. After reading the piece, you get the distinct sense that Mencimer, wife of WaPo’s “Erik Wemple Blog” (eye roll), hates Gaetz. She spends the entire piece spelling out just how much of an ass-kissing daddy’s boy this guy allegedly is. Even the graphic has Gaetz sitting on Trump’s knee. Here. (RELATED: ‘Milkshaking’ Across The Pond — Matt Gaetz Gets Doused In Pensacola)

Matt Fuller, a HuffPost reporter, tweeted, “Well, I can confirm Matt Gaetz was dating a college student while he was a member of Congress. I sat across from the intern and had her lie to me for 45 minutes at a Pret A Manger, before she sent me an email later that night confirming the story.”

Lunch with ex-TNR literary editor Leon Wieseltier. Here.

Predictions… “George Conway I would be not surprised if he gets divorced by 2024. He’s totaly lost reality and a mental break down. Kelly is tired of him.” — Jason Maples, cousin to Tiffany and Ivanka Trump.

Pass the tissues: “Tonight, my CNN colleague @WajahatAli resorted to the most racist and condescending insult I’ve ever heard, telling me ‘they will never love you.’ As if I’m some brown fool earnestly trying to earn the favor of white Trump supporters. Shameful.” — Steve Cortes, conservative CNN commentator. (RELATED: Ana Navarro loses it when Steve Cortes Calls Her A Lefty)

Touré on ‘Trump’s racism…’ “Trump’s racism is not a bug, it’s a feature. It’s a purposeful political strategy. So stop being obtuse and pretending you can’t see it.” — Touré Neblett.

Max Boot, WaPo columnist: “I am ashamed to have spent most of my life as a Republican.”