1.
“In Defense of Trump”
For New York’s latest cover story, Andrew Rice profiled Donald Trump’s then-little-known lead lawyer Todd Blanche. “An absorbing and intriguing profile … that isn’t going to stop that courtroom from appearing in my actual dreams,” said Charles Arrowsmith. Several readers pushed back on the story’s characterization of Blanche as competent. Commenter diggoryvenn wrote, “Blanche’s legal strategy, as revealed yesterday in the opening statement, is to portray Trump as a family man whose only concern was to protect his family, to deny that he had sex with Daniels and McDougal, and to convince the jury that everyone is lying but Trump. This is ‘surprisingly competent’?” On Slate’s news podcast What’s Next, Rice explained that “even the most competent lawyer can’t overcome a self-sabotaging client.” Another commenter, tell_them_theyre_idiots, said, “If you remove all honor and accountability from the picture, set your goal as ‘delay justice until my client can suborn justice’, and have people willing to literally lie through their teeth … in a media environment that is gullible like a 2-year-old who thinks their uncle is a unicorn, then yeah, you’re gonna have some success.” Yahzi added, “The part that amazes me is how their ego always trumps their intelligence. This guy is smart. He can read. He knows history. He knows, for a fact, that the minions always get put up against the wall … And always, the self-immolating moths eager to plunge into the flame, just to sparkle once.”
2.
“The ‘Debate Me’ Bro”
E. Alex Jung spoke with the former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, whose show was canceled after remarks he made on the Israel-Hamas war. CNN’s Audie Cornish said, “I am a great fan of @e_alexjung interviews … Smart choice, good questions, solid edit,” and editor Madhulika Sikka tweeted, “Excellent piece from @e_alexjung on the most capable interviewer in our media landscape.” @haroonbit said the story “reminded me why i don’t like that man. he just loves to debate for the sake of arguing and the attention that it brings him. a perfect example of the ‘debate bro commentator’ brainrot. it was still wrong for msnbc to make him a scapegoat though.” @jonlustig noted the story “does leave some obvious things untouched in a way that feels like it can’t have been accidental,” while @filmclassics tweeted that Hasan’s show was “hosted by an antisemitic, homophobic, misogynistic bigot that got low ratings and was subsequently cancelled. Nothing more needs to be said.” @AquariusinAZ disagreed: “Mehdi Hasan & MSNBC separating was a big mistake. He was addressing critical issues that needed debate. I want 2 see a diversity of anchors, as well as a diversity of opinions. Having concerns w/Netanyahu’s military approach is political, not antisemitic.” And in a since-deleted tweet, news anchor Rosanna Lockwood observed that much of the confrontational-interview game “is dominated by men. As this @intelligencer piece puts it, there’s a lot of crotch grab braggadocio. Feels like women thinkers mostly leave them to it.”
3.
“The Man Who Gossiped Too Much”
Lila Shapiro interviewed the entertainment lawyer turned blind-item gossip blogger John Nelson, a.k.a. Enty, whose extramarital affair inadvertently revealed his own identity. Cosmopolite wrote, “Wow, this was a wild ride, and I am howling at some of the quotes. Whoever would have guessed that two delusional sad-sack weirdos living thousands of miles apart could find each other and then proceed to wreak total havoc in each others’ lives? CDAN/Enty provided me a decent amount of dumb entertainment back in the day, and to my great surprise continues to deliver.” Commenter kikiii countered, “I went into this open to hearing what he had to say for himself but let me get this straight — he allegedly didn’t realize that his spreading of potentially career-/reputation-altering info (whether true or false) could … affect people and their families and cause harm? … I can’t get behind someone who lacks self awareness to that degree.” On X, @Coimin_T said, “Some people do really prefer the fake blind gossip because it is an opportunity to tear people down, even if they know it’s fake.” @Fleegull saw similarities between Nelson and an earlier Shapiro profile subject: “Another guy like Joss Whedon who thinks he can word salad his way out of his well earned shit reputation.” Added @HalideRivers: “kinda love that nymag/thecut/vulture have cornered the market on dishy in depth profiles of f-list micro-celebrities.”
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