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** OPINION
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** Trump’s Fox News pipeline shows no signs of slowing
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Jeanine Pirro, shown here in June of 2024, in New York. (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

The pipeline from Fox News to Donald Trump’s political world remains as strong as ever.

Jeanine Pirro — co-host of Fox News’ “The Five” — has been appointed acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. She steps in for Ed Martin, whose Senate confirmation stalled after losing Republican support.

So here comes Pirro, who is qualified to take the interim job because she’s … uh, good on TV? In announcing Pirro’s appointment on Truth Social ([link removed]) , Trump wrote, “In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television.”

(As a quick aside, can Trump please stop with the random capitalization of words that aren’t supposed to be capitalized?)

Anyway, back to Pirro. She has not held a law enforcement position in two decades.

The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, Glenn Thrush and Charlie Savage wrote ([link removed]) , “Ms. Pirro has several attributes that have endeared her to Mr. Trump: She is on his television every day, defending him with husky-voiced vehemence as a member of ‘The Five’ talk show on Fox; she incurred personal risk to trumpet his election lies; and she is apparently willing to ditch a lucrative TV career, on short notice, to bail him out of an embarrassing jam.”

Sometimes you have to ask if Trump makes his decisions based on what is being said on TV.

Writing for MSNBC ([link removed]) , Steve Benen said, “In modern American history, a great many presidents have appointed a great many federal prosecutors. Not once, however, did a chief executive feel the need to justify the decision by pointing to the appointee’s television ratings — until now.”

Media Matters’ Matt Gertz noted ([link removed]) that Pirro became the 23rd former Fox employee named to Trump’s administration.

I wonder: Is Fox News proud or sheepish about that number? We’ve seen other networks tap other administrations. For example, Jen Psaki went from being Joe Biden’s press secretary to a job at MSNBC.

But 23?

Gertz wrote ([link removed]) , “Trump is notoriously obsessed with Fox News’s programming. The president relies on the network to inform his worldview and provide advice about how the federal government should respond to crucial events. So it comes as little surprise that he has brought many of its employees in-house, with Fox alumni occupying top positions in the White House, Cabinet and elsewhere in government.”

While Pirro has had a successful career in TV, it’s not without incident. The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr writes ([link removed]) , “At points, her on-air statements got her in trouble. In 2019, she said she was suspended by the network for incendiary comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota). Trump came to her defense at the time, writing ‘Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro’ on Twitter. It was also on Fox that she made false statements about the 2020 election — statements that were cited as evidence during the Dominion Voting System’s defamation suit against Fox that resulted in the network paying a $787.5 million settlement in 2023. Pirro is currently a defendant in the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed against Fox by another voting technology company, Smartmatic.”

Pirro’s interim appointment made for easy pickings for “Saturday Night Live.” In a solid cold open ([link removed]) , former “SNL” cast member Cecily Strong returned to reprise her imitation of Pirro as a wine-drinking Trump supporter.

Brian Stelter, who wrote a book about Fox News called “Network of Lies,” ([link removed]) wrote in his “Reliable Sources” newsletter ([link removed]) , “Pirro's Fox persona has been ripe for ‘SNL’ impersonation over the years. At the same time, I have found that her Fox colleagues truly respect her, specifically for her legal background (she was once the DA of Westchester County). No, she hasn't held one of those jobs for 20 years. But she was a trailblazer back in the 1990s and she still brings a lawyerly mindset to TV segments.”

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Who’s the fifth?
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Speaking of Pirro’s new gig, CNN’s Brian Stelter makes a good point ([link removed]) : Pirro’s exit leaves a big hole in one of Fox News’ biggest programs.

Stelter wrote, “This means that one of the most coveted seats in right-wing media is suddenly up for grabs.”

For now, as it often does when situations such as these come up on TV, Fox News will turn to a rotation of guest co-hosts until a permanent replacement is found.

Stelter wrote, “Numerous Fox hosts and contributors have filled in for Pirro in the past, including Katie Pavlich, Kayleigh McEnany and Kellyanne Conway. Fox contributor Joey Jones sat in Pirro’s usual seat on Thursday.”


** Question of the day
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The 2024 election was a part of the conversation on Sunday during Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Moderator Kristen Welker asked the Democratic senator if the Democrats would’ve had a better chance if then-President Joe Biden had dropped out of the race earlier than he did. Klobuchar answered that, yes, the Democrats might have been better served with a primary, but “we are where we are. We’re not on the History Channel right now.”

And while it’s getting tiresome to listen to conversations about why Kamala Harris and the Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election, Welker did hit on one question that hasn’t been addressed enough, and something the Democrats need to ask.

Welker said, “Senator, do you worry when you hear that the lesson that Democrats will take from the 2024 election is that they shouldn't put a woman at the top of the ticket?

Klobuchar said, “I hope not. You have seen women run other countries quite well. Angela Merkel comes to mind in Germany. And you've also seen women in the U.S., incredible mayors, incredible governors. I look in the Senate for Democrats in the last election, three of the four races where we beat the presidential ticket were women running in Michigan, women running in Nevada, women running in Wisconsin. I mean, this happened, so I just — I don't think that's a lesson to learn. I know it's not easy running as a woman. If it was, we could play the game ‘pick your favorite woman president.’ You can't. But I think the president understands there's been sexism, President Biden does. But to me, I just want to move forward, and we've got incredible candidates across the board running at all levels of government. So let's work on helping the American people, instead of looking backwards. Instead of looking at what happened years ago, I want to look at the now, and people need our help.”

Is Klobuchar, who ran for president in 2020, a potential candidate in 2028?

She didn’t say yes. She didn’t say no.


** Old school
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NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, shown here in December 2023. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

When you work in sports journalism — and I was a sportswriter for more than 30 years — one of the first things you learn to accept is that you can no longer be a fan. And it eventually becomes natural — you honestly do lose your allegiances and, clearly, you cannot be a fan of any team you write or talk about regularly.

Yet, something changed along the way. It became acceptable, especially at the national level, for sports commentators to let their fandom show. Not only do they show it, they celebrate it, they lean into it. Much of it can be attributed to 20 years ago or so, with Bill Simmons becoming a major player in sports media and being an unabashed Boston sports fan.

It has especially permeated ESPN. Some of the biggest stars on the network act no different than fans when talking about their teams on TV. Examples include Mike Greenberg (New York Jets) and Stephen A. Smith (New York Knicks), both of whom make it a part of their persona, and a part of their schtick. They are hardly alone at the network and across sports media.

One noted star sports journalist, however, is tired of it: NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico.

On “The Orange Zone” podcast ([link removed]) , Tirico, a host of many NBC Sports events and the lead announcer of “Sunday Night Football,” admitted he was a longtime fan of the New York Mets. Just to show how professional he is, this is the first time anyone publicly heard of this. I was unaware of this, and I’ve followed Tirico’s career closely.

Tirico said, “You start covering it nationally, and realize you can’t have fandom seep in. Now, people do now, and it bothers me. I don’t like watching ‘SportsCenter’ or other shows on ESPN where the anchors are talking about who they’re fans of. Like, who cares? I don’t care. I would much rather know the 20 seconds about something related to that team that I don’t know, as opposed to your fandom.”

Tirico knows that’s an old-school way of thinking.

“Now, generationally, people kind of like it because they can relate to the anchors a bit more, so I get it. I’m just saying my personal choice is — that’s the way I was brought up as a journalist. I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. I don’t care if you’re a Phillies fan or a 49ers fan. Your job is to tell me the news. And in sports talk, that’s a different world. But when you’re doing the facts, and you’re in the middle of a game, I don’t want to hear.”

Tirico added, “Stephen A. Smith is great, and he’s a friend, and he’s done a wonderful job. I don’t want time wasted during the NBA halftime (show) telling me your feelings as a Knicks fan. I want to hear about the game, and what I missed, and what I need to look forward to. But, again, that’s just a personal way of consuming sports, and I’m a little bit old school when it comes to that. I’m old, so I’m glad to be old school.”

I’m totally on board with Tirico, although I think I’m fighting a losing battle on this. Network executives seem to think that big-time personalities being fans make them more relatable to the fans, who don’t seem bothered by this at all.

(Hat tip to Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann for his story ([link removed]) on Tirico’s podcast appearance.)

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Media tidbits
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* The Washington Post’s Kyle Melnick and Hannah Natanson with “White House fires head of Copyright Office amid Library of Congress shakeup.” ([link removed])
* For The New York Times, Logan Sachon with “How Much Are We Paying for Newsletters? $50, $100 … How About $3,000 a Year.” ([link removed]) (Perhaps I can remind you that this newsletter is free.)
* SI.com ([link removed]) ’s Ryan Phillips with “Bill Belichick to Have Exclusive Interview With Michael Strahan Amid Relationship Saga.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* “CBS News Sunday Morning” and correspondent Tracy Smith profile the media and movie mogul in “Barry Diller on baring his soul in new memoir, ‘Who Knew.’” ([link removed]) And here’s the extended interview with Diller ([link removed]) .
* Not sure I agree with a lot on this list, but still a fun piece: Vanity Fair with “The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time.” ([link removed])


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