Marjorie Taylor Greene’s CNN interview raises questions about her rebrand

The star of the Sunday morning news programs was Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The controversial representative appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” and talked about her strained relationship with President Donald Trump. This comes after a recent appearance when Greene appeared on ABC’s “The View” and seemingly impressed the largely liberal panel.

During the government shutdown, Greene criticized her fellow Republicans for their strategy. She questioned the GOP’s lack of a health care plan. And, most of all, she seemed determined that the Epstein files be released.

Her outspokenness was enough that Trump took to his Truth Social and wrote, in part: “I am withdrawing my support and Endorsement of ‘Congresswoman’ Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the Great State of Georgia.” Trump went on to call Greene “wacky” and say all she does is “COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN” and that she has “gone Far Left.”

He also called her a “disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY.”

However, The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg wrote last week that Greene’s few recent breaks for her party do not negate a lifetime of conspiracies.

That list of conspiracies and hateful rhetoric is long, too long to recite here. But it is well-documented (this story includes much of it).

Rosenberg wrote, “People — even politicians — should be allowed to grow and not be forever reduced to the worst version of themselves. But there is a difference between an honest evolution, which entails accountability, and shallow opportunism, which offers none. Which category does Greene fall into? Given her significant following and stated political ambitions, it’s in everyone’s best interest to find out. But for that to happen, her interlocutors will have to start asking her the hard questions she’s thus far avoided.”

Greene told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that she still supports Trump and his administration. However, she says she wants to stop the toxic rhetoric that, if we’re being honest, has been a staple of Greene’s career. Some could even argue that it propelled her career.

Greene told Bash, “I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; it’s very bad for our country. It’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated.”

She also admitted to Bash that she’s worried that Trump’s comments towards her could lead to violence. Greene told Bash, “The most hurtful thing (Trump) said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor, and that is so extremely wrong and those are the types of words used that can radicalize people against me and put my life in danger.”

Bash asked Greene why she never spoke out about Trump’s rhetoric until it was directed at her. Greene said that was “fair criticism” and later added, “I’m only responsible for myself and my own words and actions … and I’ve been working on this a lot lately, to put down the knives in politics. I really want to just see people be kind to one another.”

Greene went on to tell Bash, “I’m leading the way with my own example, and I hope that President Trump can do the same.”

Many, including Politico Playbook’s Garrett Ross, point out that it was interesting that Greene’s exclusive interview was with CNN and not Fox News, where Trump was more likely to see it.

Oh, and one more thought. Greene talked about lowering the rhetoric, but yet in her interview with Bash, she defended Tucker Carlson recently hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his podcast.

Greene said she believes in free speech and doesn't believe in canceling people. She told Bash, “And I think it's important for people like Tucker Carlson and yourself to interview everyone. I don't believe in trying to cancel someone by refusing to interview them and question them.”

Greene later told Bash that she should have Fuentes on CNN to question him about his views.

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A special night

It was a special weekend for the Poynter Institute as we honored journalists Jane Pauley and Dean Baquet and cartoonist Garry Trudeau at our annual Bowtie Ball.

Pauley — the legendary host of news programs such as NBC’s “Today” and “Dateline” and “CBS News Sunday Morning — received the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism. Baquet, longtime editor at both The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and Trudeau, creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoon “Doonesbury” and Pauley’s husband, were honored with the Distinguished Service to Journalism Award.

In a conversation before a packed ballroom of several hundred in Tampa, Pauley talked about her more than five decades as a journalist with Poynter president Neil Brown. She said she didn’t know what was more unlikely and remarkable — that she was named to replace Barbara Walters as co-host of the “Today” show at age 25, or that she was named host of “CBS News Sunday Morning” at age 65.

There were special video messages congratulating Pauley, including from actress Candice Bergen, former “Today” show executive producer Jeff Zucker and musician (and fellow Indiana native) John Mellencamp.

For more, check out this recap of the night from my Poynter colleague Amaris Castillo.

In addition to the night’s special awards, Poynter also welcomed and recognized a reporting team from the Miami Herald, as well as student journalists from Indiana University, who recently stood up to university leadership to continue printing the Indiana Daily Student newspaper.

The latest from Ken Burns

The latest documentary from the great Ken Burns debuted Sunday night. After fabulous documentaries about all things American — such as the Civil War, jazz, country music, baseball, the Vietnam War and others — Burns is telling something of an American origin story. This one is “The American Revolution.”

Part one of the six-part, 12-hour series aired Sunday night on PBS and continues nightly through Friday.

Like many of his previous documentaries, it is voiced by big-name celebrities. Peter Coyote narrates, and voicing some of the notable figures are Adam Arkin, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Brolin, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Morgan Freeman, Paul Giamatti, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, Mandy Patinkin, Matthew Rhys, Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep.

The New York Times’ James Poniewozik reviews the series in “What ‘The American Revolution’ Says About Our Cultural Battles.” And here’s a Q&A that Burns did with Variety’s Daniel D'Addario.

It’s also notable that the series is airing on PBS, which has been defunded by Congress under the wishes of President Donald Trump. CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote, “Despite painful layoffs and other cost-cutting measures, the public broadcasting system remains intact and is still capable of HBO- and Netflix-sized moments, such as the latest from Burns.”

Now is the time

MSNBC is no more. After 29 years of being known as MSNBC, the cable news network is now officially known as MS NOW. The new name went into effect over the weekend. The new name stands for My Source for News, Opinion and the World. The network has completely cut ties with NBC News, no longer using any NBC News journalists or resources. That’s because it, along with several other cable channels, was spun off from Comcast into a media company called Versant.

The programming, however, won’t look that different. It will still feature many of the network's notable names, such as Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki, Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes. MS NOW, however, has added (and will continue to add) journalists to fill out the newsroom.

The network’s marketing campaign centers on the phrase “Same Mission. New Name.”

The Washington Post’s Scott Nover has more in “Don’t call it MSNBC. MS NOW takes on Trump’s Washington.” And here’s Semafor’s Max Tani with “The old MSNBC relaunches into a new media world.”

Quite the buzz

 

So this story is getting quite the buzz. It’s The New York Times’ Jacob Bernstein with “Olivia Nuzzi Did It All for Love.”

It was a little more than a year ago when Nuzzi left New York Magazine under a cloud of controversy. She revealed that she had a personal and inappropriate — although not physical — relationship with someone she had covered. It turned out to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former presidential candidate who went on to endorse Trump and then became his secretary of Health and Human Services.

Nuzzi was recently hired by Vanity Fair as a West Coast editor.

But what’s getting all the attention is her new book, “American Canto,” which is due out Dec. 2. Included in it are the details of her relationship with Kennedy.

Bernstein’s story for the Times gets into some of the details of the book, as well as being a mini-profile of Nuzzi.

The Times’ story has received plenty of criticism, calling it everything from a “puff piece” to worse. Sharon Waxman, editor-in-chief of TheWrap, tweeted, “Anybody else nauseated by having to be exposed to more of Olivia Nuzzis self indulgence and Jacob Bernsteins needy neediness?”

The Times’ story does contain plenty of juicy details that many will find notable. Admittedly, I found it interesting to read. However, the dramatic art — which includes black-and-white video of Nuzzi’s hair blowing in the wind as she is driving, a photo of her walking on the beach and another of her in sunglasses in a photo that looks like it should be in a fashion magazine — lends to the idea that the Times is glorifying a journalist who crossed ethical lines.

Media tidbits

• “CBS News Sunday Morning” and Tony Dokoupil profiled the controversial founder of Barstool Sports in “Dave Portnoy: ‘I don't go out of my way looking for fights.’”
• The Atlantic’s David A. Graham with “Michael Wolff’s Unsatisfying Explanation for Cozying Up to Epstein.”
• The Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio with “CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga takes on antisemitism in ‘Don’t Feed the Lion.’”
• “CBS Saturday Morning” and Scott MacFarlane with “Unexpected group of artists fight to keep radio alive 100 years after its Golden Age.”
• Variety’s Michael Schneider with “Gersh Drops ‘Succession’ Actress Dasha Nekrasova After Podcast With White Nationalist Nick Fuentes.”
• Another so-so episode of “Saturday Night Live” that would’ve been way worse had it not been for cast member Marcello Hernández’s spot-on impression of comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. Here’s The Washington Post’s Ethan Beck with “SNL takes on the Epstein files as Glen Powell hosts.”
• After a two-week carriage dispute, Disney and Google finally agreed to a deal on Friday night, so now Disney programming from ABC, ESPN and other properties can return to YouTube TV. That’s especially good news for sports fans, who have been missing college football and “Monday Night Football.” Here’s Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder with “4 takeaways from the ESPN-YouTube TV deal.”
• In one of the more bizarre moments of the weekend, a University of South Carolina football player scored a touchdown at Texas A&M, and then, while returning back to his sideline, he and a teammate were aggressively bumped by a Texas state trooper, who then yelled at the players. Here’s the astonishing video (go to the 35-second mark). It was announced that the trooper was immediately sent home, and there’s now an investigation. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith already came to his conclusion on what should happen in a video he posted on social media.

Hot type

• Teams that win championships in the major North American sports usually get invited to the White House. But some fans are hoping the World Series champs turn down their invitation. The Washington Post’s Reis Thebault with “Latino Dodgers fans want the champions to stand up to Trump.”
• For The New York Times, Irina Aleksander with “The Man Yelling ‘Iceberg!’ on the Hollywood Titanic.”

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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