CNN Fury Over Scott Jennings, Bari Weiss' Morning Show Shakeup, Trump's Press Dinner Backlash
Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon PassantinoShow Notes
On this week’s Power Lines:
MAGA Media’s biggest stars are waging war with one another over Trump’s Iran conflict, dividing his most loyal mouthpieces. Oliver and Jon discuss what it means for the fracturing coalition that put Trump into office. And at CNN, Scott Jennings is facing blowback from the network’s own reporters for parroting the administration’s bogus war claim.
Plus, Trump’s stunning decision to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is being met with alarm and dread inside the group, with some reporters fearing it will be used to “bash the press to our faces.”
Finally, Bari Weiss is hard at work tinkering with CBS’s morning show. Oliver reveals the MAGA-friendly former ESPN host Weiss attempted to recruit, the former “GMA” host now being considered for “CBS Mornings,” and what it reveals about the future of the show.
Thanks to our sponsor, beehiiv, the platform that powers the Status newsletter! If you have a newsletter with over 100k subscribers, schedule your free growth consultation today. Or, use code STATUS30 for 30% off: https://www.beehiiv.com/status
0:00 Intro
1:34: CNN reacts internally to Scott Jennings tweet
6:09 MAGA media turns on itself over Iran war
19:35 Trump plans to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
26:41 Kaitlan Collins vs. Karoline Leavitt
34:09 Bari Weiss looks to shake up CBS Mornings
47:44 Oliver & Jon respond to listener comments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino
On today’s episode:
In a special episode of Power Lines, we publish exclusive audio from a stunning all-hands meeting in which Bari Weiss' handpicked foreign editor, Shayndi Raice, unleashed a lengthy tirade against her own CBS News journalists.
After completing his acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Ellison is facing questions about his relationship with Donald Trump and his plans for CNN. Jon shares what happened when he pressed Ellison directly on the Paramount lot, and Oliver reports on Anderson Cooper’s pointed questions for his new boss at an internal company town hall.
The future of CNN is coming into focus…at least for now. David Ellison has opened talks with Mark Thompson about extending his tenure as CNN’s chief. Oliver and Jon break down what the move signals to employees inside the network, what it could mean for CNN’s direction under Ellison, and where it leaves Bari Weiss, both now and down the road.
The anonymous source behind one of the stories that the White House used to justify its press ban was none other than JD Vance himself. We detail our exclusive reporting and get into the latest developments on Donald Trump’s war against the media.