Biden Approval New High, But Unemployment "Free Riders" in Focus

The David Pakman Show - May 11, 2021

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Fox News Guest Calls Out Fox News ON FOX NEWS for Lying

A guest on Fox News yesterday called out the network for lying and spreading misinformation in what was truly a glorious moment to witness. Randi Weingarten is a lawyer, labor activist, and president of the American Federation of Teachers and a member of the AFL-CIO. She went on a Fox News show yesterday hosted by Martha MacCallum ostensibly to talk about students being taught critical race theory and an unflattering depiction of American history. MacCallum opened up the exchange using her typical buzzwords about the 1619 Project and white people no longer feeling proud about their heritage. Weingarten didn’t take the bait and said it was the role of educators to constantly be assessing accuracy and biases in school curricula. She explained that schools need to have more of a focus on science, civics, and civil rights laws, which MacCallum could only half-heartedly agree to.

The exchange got testy when Weingarten called out Fox for propagating lies about the 2020 election. In the context of discussing misinformation, Randi said, “I really would hope that Fox would really look at what happened in this election . . . because every social studies teacher is wrestling with this,” referring to Donald Trump’s lies about voter fraud. MacCallum tried her best to cover for the network and pretended as though they never questioned the election results. Later on, Weingarten pivoted the conversation about misinformation to the vaccine front, because right wingers (and presumably Fox viewers) are among the most skeptical when it comes to getting a coronavirus vaccine. MacCallum was clearly uncomfortable speaking about this issue as well. Fox News is one of the biggest perpetuators of false information out there, so it’s bogus and hypocritical for them to attempt a segment on the topic. Randi Weingarten was right to call them out on it and she did so effectively.

Fox Reporter STILL DESPERATE, Still Fails on Psaki Gotchas

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing yesterday and was confronted by Peter Doocy of Fox News. Once again, a right-wing reporter in the press room tried to make Psaki look bad, but the attempt fell flat. The two debated whether boosted unemployment benefits are disincentivizing people from going back to work, as the administration responds to the recent jobs report. Doocy was all about the idea that the economy is overheated with these boosted benefits and that free riders are why there’s a shortage in the labor market. Jen correctly pointed out that for many there are other factors discouraging them from going back to work, including child care issues and whether the jobs available pay a living wage. Many remain fearful of catching the virus if they return to work early, as the vaccination rollout is going to take more time to take effect. It’s important to address these unemployment benefits and whether they’re stifling job creation, but Peter Doocy and folks on the right want to discount other considerations that could also be keeping the unemployment rate high.

From yesterday’s show:

Lindsey Graham: Republicans Absolutely Need Trump

Lindsey Graham, Republicans Senator from South Carolina, went on Sean Hannity’s show last week to confirm that the GOP is still the party of Donald Trump. With Liz Cheney about to get kicked out of her House leadership position for accepting Joe Biden won the 2020 election, the right has chartered its course. There is no room in the Republican Party for someone who accepts that Trump simply lost fair and square. Brownnoser Lindsey Graham, who after the January 6th riots said he was done with Trump, is now once again doing the former president’s dirty work for him. Graham said on Hannity’s program, “can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no. . . . I’ve determined we can’t move on without him.” Trump truly has taken his party hostage and there’s not much establishment Republicans can do about it. If they turn on him, Republicans lose their base. But if they go off the deep end with Trumpism and conspiracy theories, they risk losing independent and rationally-minded voters. It’s truly an unenviable position for the right, but they deserve it.

--More on the show:

--Jamal Greene, Professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia University and author of "How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart," joins David to discuss rights, freedom, liberty, and much more. Get the book: https://amzn.to/3y65kaf

--President Joe Biden's approval rating climbs further, now to 63%, buoyed by high approval for Biden's handling of the pandemic, and the economy

--Donald Trump published six erratic and delusional blogs posts in a period of just two days

--Joe Biden announces that unemployment insurance free riders, who are supposedly turning down jobs to remain on unemployment, will lose benefits

--Former Barack Obama speechwriter David Litt calls out Newsmax for its lies about the 2020 election during a segment on Newsmax about Elon Musk's recent hosting of Saturday Night Live

--Voicemail caller asks about relationships between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people

--On the Bonus Show: Lafayette Square open for first time post-Trump, US will protect gay & trans people against healthcare discrimination, new push for permanent free school lunch, much more...

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