Transcripts For FOXNEWSW MediaBuzz 20160619

The republican partys candidate saying that barack obama may have been complicit in the killings of americans is is beyond breathtaking. Donald trump is off on another line of attack that somehow the president is sympathetic to isis and radicals. That doesnt make sense. Is trump bringing this on himself or is media biased on the right and the left to blame for portraying his campaign as a train wreck . And the debate about terror and gun control, Hillary Clinton and president obama being held to the same standard . Trump borrowing the Washington Post over a bad head line. We just took the press credentials away and i love it. We just took the press credentials away from the dishonest Washington Post. I said, why should i have people following me around, sitting up there like big shots, and they write very untruthful stories . Sharyl attkisson on whether trump should be retaliating against Media Outlets he finds unfair. Plus bill hemmer on covering orlando. How journalists cope with terror and tragedy. Im howard kurtz and this is media buzz. I got donald trump on the phone on friday, i asked him about his recent coverage, which hes been rather vocal about lately. I didnt love the press during the primaries. But now, its like brutal. These people are so onesided. Heres what trump told me. The media are very negative toward a republican, toward a conservative republican, and certainly very negative toward me. They dont report my statements properly. Theyll use the First Quarter of it. Theres tremendous hostility from the media. Trump said things have changed since he clinched the nomination, quote, when i was running against 16 republicans it was somewhat unfair but at least you could see it. Now its beyond belief. They are protecting Hillary Clinton like you wouldnt believe. I dont think it helps but im going to end up winning. Im going to end up winning big league. So trump is convinced hes getting a raw deal. I also asked him about yanking the Washington Post credentials over this head line which the paper later soft ed slightly on its own. Donald trump suggests president obama was involved with orlando shooting. Trump says at some point i would love to give it back if im covered fairly. But that was only an indication of the kind of press they give me. They actually said that i essentially said obama was in cahoots with this guy that did the killing. It was a horrible head line, an unfair head line. More details later in the program. You can read the full trump interview in my column on foxnews. Com. Joining us to analyze the coverage of this heartbreaking tragedy and its impact on the campaign, senior Political Correspondent for usa today. Deputy opinion editor at the Washington Times and a democratic strategy and cohost of outnumbered. Heidi, trump has been eviscerated by the media since the orlando attack. He told me this is media hostility. Whatever mistakes hes made, are is the press guilty of piling on at this point . Well, hes had a very bad three weeks with orlando, with the precipitous pull up. Whenever a candidate this early in the race is going to have that big of a dropoff yeah the media is going to pile on a bit a lot. But is it the apocalypse . Is this the end of his campaign . No, thats a dramatization. Theres so many twists and turns to this campaign. But at this early a phase in the campaign, you would expect, given what we know about the previous positions, the polarization in this country, youd expect this to be a much tighter race. The coverage certainly seems like apocalypse now. Kelly the harshest media criticism was trump kind of insinuating that obama is reticent in the war on terror for hidden reasons. Fair or unfair to attack him on that . Well the Washington Post head line on that, and let me just i have it here, just let me pull it up. It was unbelievable. It basically said president obama was involved with orlando shooting. Yes. And that is not i mean it was actually harsher. They took that back. It was linking it was basically linking saying that donald trump is linking obama directly to the terror, what happened in orlando and that is simply false. There was a study that came out of Indiana University last year that said a mere 7 of journalists are republicans. And i think that weve seen this bias come out this week. For example, the New York Times, the managing editor for standards wrote an email to all of their reporters on monday saying this is very emotional times please refrain from using social media because we dont want our reporting to come off as biased. Because there was a lot of reporters taking to twitter voicing their own opinions on what was going on. Let me get julie in here. Which was worse, that Washington Post head line, if you agree that it was not a good head line or trump making the decision to take away the papers credentials as punishment . Well, i thought the head line was incredibly unfair. Its not what trump said so i think the Washington Post was right to soften it. I still dont think they softened it enough. I think it was unfair, considering what he said, which is an implication that obama was in cahoots or sympathetic to isis. But not necessarily that obama was involved in orlando. Having 15id that taking away the press credentials of any newspaper especially one like the Washington Post is unacceptable. What that leads to is the possibility of a President Trump banning outlets he doesnt like from the media room. He has said he wouldnt do that he does that now. This is a large group now, politico, huffington post, national review, des moines register. Do you want to get in on this question of credentials . I have to agree with julie. If youre looking at the impact of this, its going to have no impact on the posts ability to ruly report on trump. Its the worst kept secret in washington that one of the reporters who trump passed to the most is a Washington Post report robert costas. I believe all its going to do is allow the media to have this righteous stump that they wouldnt otherwise have. Lets pull back a bit and look at the 49 people who were killed, 53 wounded in this horrible, heartbreaking attack at the Pulse Night Club in orlando. You look at how quickly this finger pointing and ideological warfare began and raged in the media, how much do you think the media has contributed to a sense of polarization . Well first of all, i think it was the politicians taking to media. It was john mccain blaming the president. It was, however, partly the media the daily news, for example, blaming the nra. And i think this is just human reaction in the aftermath of a trauma to want to point fingers. But i do not think that does anything to kind of honor the memory of those who were lost. What does honor their memory, however, is to pretty swiftly for the Mainstream Media to start asking questions. Why this happened and how we can prevent it from happening again. The one thing were not covering is what is at the root of this, in earp its of this new era that were facing, what is causing this radicalization in the united states, because i think it just is too easy to say this is isis. He was identifying with isis. I dont i mean he declared his allegiance to isis as he was shooting during the massacre so i dont think thats too much. If you look on monday, the press, every newspaper in america said it was a mass shooting or a massacre. Only two referred to it as a terror and that was the wall street journal and the l. A. Times in their headlines. About that you look there was no dispute that this was a terrorist i know, why did the u. S. Papers, why did mondays papers basically say this was a massacre, not link it to isis. If you look at the headlines in the uk papers, every single one of them put isis as a mad manic isis allegiance to the nusra front to the Islamic State yes, to all all islamic terror groups let me finish. These are all groups fighting each other in syria. But they all have a commonality of believing in sharia law and being islamic terrorists. These are groups that are these are mortal enemies at war in syria this is a person with a troubled past who had a history of going all the way back to high school. We have to look at what it is in our culture because they are not coming from the middle east. We are creating them here in the united states. I need to get julie back into the conversation. This sort of, its terror, its gun control, its antigay, all of this, it happens after every mass shooting, which unfortunately have become all too common but it seems faster this time. And of course donald trump ticked it off with some of his tweets. But then we had speeches the next day, 24 hours after the attack, in which donald trump attacked Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton didnt mention donald trump in her speech, so what do you make of the media frenzy . Its interesting with the media you do have this dichotomy between people who say this is gun control, this is a reason to have more gun control, others saying we have to crack down on isis, what was forgotten largely by the media, not by everybody, but largely, this was an attack on the lgbt community. This was a hate crime, whether you want to blame it on guns or you want to blame it on isis, against the community that was maligned because of who they are, who are celebrating who they are in a space they considered safe and the media 345s completely you think that was forgotten i think it was relegated to the back burner. Why . Because i think everybody wants to go to their political hobby horse. Whether its gun control or they want to go to isis and spreading terrorism. But everybody has forgotten the fact that this is a hate crime against a very the New York Times lead editorial on wednesday was saying that this was a hate crime and they singled out seven republicans of whom they blamed in the in the conservative rhetoric from christians. I think christians, i mean, have taken the brunt of the medias blame for for for you know, their policies on lgbt communities. So i i dont think this is left out of the equation at all. I will have more to say about that. It was an editorial. But still, deeply troubling. Heidi, i dont want to close without mentioning that you got your first interview for usa today with Hillary Clinton and she is, in part, to preview their coming abeing tos on donald trump, is she learning from the trump playbook . In part. In part. You notice, as trump has kind of retrenching from a lot of these callings she is now adapting that playbook. But at the same time she gained Something Different from the media, at the same time hes declaring us as mortal enemies shes going on this charm offensive. I wasnt the only one getting their ten minutes with Hillary Clinton. Shes charming let me just say when you are that starved when you finally get your ten minutes with her, she can be charming but your instinct as a reporter is to just barrage and that is what i did. I played into some of the worst media scare types in earp its of just hitting her relentlessly with ined very polite and very considerate. But a contrast in the strategy. In my interview with trump he said he was goes appointed in Republican Leaders criticizing him and particularly singled out Mitch Mcconnell. Thats kind of opened the door here for journalists to just write a whole bunch of stories quoting on the record various republican members of congress, and leaders and Party Officials as a way of getting at trump. Whats interesting about trump is how undisciplined he is when it comes to dealing with the media. He essentially made this story and a multibase story by saying Mitch Mcconnell said things that are less than flattering and so on and so forth. Hes brought attention to it. When a president ial candidate speaks the media has a responsibility to report on it. This is a story that is simmering and a story the media was covering. Now that donald trump has come out and essentially said it it is allowing us to spend the next three or four days focusing on it. Which does not help donald trump. His lack of discipline is hurting his own message. You can respond, but the conservative Media National review, weekly standard, which opposed trump during the primaries are sort of in an i told you so mode now so he has no cheering section. You know, heres who actually wrote a positive editorial about Donald Trumps response to orlando, and how Hillary Clintons policies basically are to blame for first said the cleveland connection should deny yes and he in his editorial on thursday. So there are some people who are in the antitrump crowd that can see that republicans are better leaders when it comes to terrorism. However, there you know there are there is this antitrumpism out there and theyre going to be hounded by the press to give their opinions on donald trump. Join the conversation on twitter. Im howard kurtz. Mediabuzz kth foxnews. Com. When we come back, bill hemmer on reporting on a tragedy of touch heart wrenching proportions. And did Cnns Anderson Cooper cross a line questioning a republican about antigay bigotry. [ guitar playing ] ugh. Heartburn. Sorry maam. No burning here. Try new alkaseltzer heartburn relief gummies. They work fast and dont taste chalky. Mmmm. Incredible. Looks tasty. You dont have heartburn. New alkaseltzer heartburn relief gummies. Enjoy the relief. Kennetthis afternoon closinfor auditions . Whats on that piece of paper . Oh, miss maroney, your forehead should not be doing anything. I just had botox. I know exactly whats happening ah whoa this is a bad streaming experience. The girlie show is a real fun lady show. vo dont let bad streaming ruin a good show. Dont look at me vo only verizon has the largest, most reliable 4g lte network. Can your network say that . Switch now, buy two samsung phones and get a free tv, plus up to 650 back. Only on americas best network. As journalists race to a city best known for disney world after the terror attack at the Pulse Night Club bill hemmer, the cohost of americas newsroom was among them. Welcome. Good to be with you. Fort hood, boston after the marathon, youve been to paris, now to orlando. Does it get harder being at the epicenter of grief and tragedy . Well, i tell you, howie, each one of these carries one familiar feeling. And that is enormous sadness. And its inescapable. And when you go in to orlando, its like, wow, its happened again. And you ask yourself, whos next . And where . And you know, as a country, were left to figure this out. But it cannot keep going on like this. You know one of the senators, from North Carolina earlier in the week said orlando and san bernardino, this is not the new normal in america. And i think most americans would agree with that. They get angry, they get ticked off and for very good reason. Does it take a personal toll on you . Youre interviewing people at the worst moment of their lives. Maybe they survived a mass shooting. I know ive been in that situation, i have trouble sleeping. Yeah. I can only speak for myself. But i tend to keep this at arms length. I do that because, you need a thick skin. And you need to keep the emotions away from you, otherwise youre not going to be able to do your job. Its our job to figure out the facts from the story and there are millions of people across the country and around the world who turn in for that story. If we allow the emotions to get in the way, i dont think wed be able to do our job well. I will say, 9 11, different reaction. Really took a toll on me. And of all the other tragedies, i think about the earthquake in haiti as something that had a profound impact on me. When you go in to haiti and i understand these people have so little to begin with, and now theyre beset with this enormous tragedy brought on by Mother Nature i mean it really rips your heart out. But you know, fort hood and boston and orlando and paris, it breaks your heart, but if you allow your heart to get in the way of your head, and your ability to think, youre going to suffer professionally, i believe. Was this one different in the sense that pulse nightclub was the center of gay life in orlando, that most all the victims were gay, did it have a different feel than some of the other tragedies youve covered . I think in a sense it did. I think youre on to something with that. Ill tell you, when i saw the news on my phone sunday morning, my first questions were, who did it . How many were there . Where are they from . Whats their background . And whats their history. And i think that those facts are essential to the story. And some shows, some news organizations have chosen not to show his name. Or to show his face. In the early days, anyway, we made a decision to do that. And we did that because of the things i just stated there, howie. Is that we need to know in an age of terror where theyre from. And thats a very important part of this story. Right. Is it hard when you talk about whether this is a new normal or not, certainly this probably wont be the last time you have to do this, but is it hard to talk to people who are consumed by grief, or have you found that its cathartic for them . That some of them want to talk, want to share stories . Great point. Yeah. Its a great point. I agree with the latter. For many of them, yes its impossible. And you think about, you know, how these people are able to go in to the next day and get out of bed the next morning. When such a tragedy comes in to their life. Likewise i find when people are given the opportunity to talk about it, that is, in many ways, thats a way for them to grieve. And i remember down in orlando, seeing a gentleman in the straw hat there all day long, talking with reporting crew after reporting crew. And i eventually went up to him and said does this make you deal with this easier . And he said it sure does. When i can share my experience with other people. So i think theres a big part of that involved. Bill hemmer reflecting on the tragedy of orlando. Thanks very much for joining us, bill. Howard, thank you for your time today. I get bills point about a news show. We decided on this program not to name the orlando killer. Not to give him or another wouldbe terrorist infamy they might praise. More on my donald trump interview. Up next calling out the media for scoring political points in an orlando blame game. When a moment turns romantic why pause to take a pill . Or stop to find a bathroom . Cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas for pulmonary hypertension, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. 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Quote, hate crimes dont happen in a vacuum, they occur where bigotry is allowed to fester, driven too often by republican politicians who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish. The times here is conflating legislative battles over gay rights and samesex marriage with the slaughter of gay people. And the views joy behar practically indicts donald trump for terrorism. The thing about trump though is hes the recruiter in chief. He is he is basically working with isis yes. To kill us. They are working together. He is working with isis. Now both sides have resorted to this kind of fingerpointing. John mccain at least briefly blamed the commander in chief for the mass murder. Barack obama is directly responsible for it because when he pulled everybody out of iraq, al qaeda went to syria, became isis, and isis is what it is today, thanks to Barack Obamas failures. But the senator, to his credit, soon said he had misspoken and he only meant to fault the president S National Security decisions. No such restraint from actor scott baio, a trump supporter, who smeared the president. I cant tell, lester, whether hes dumb, hes a muslim, or hes a muslim sympathizer. And i dont think hes dumb. Really . And Pat Robertson the onetime president ial candidate said on his 700 club program that liberals are torn because they like both homosexuals and islam. The left is having a dilemma of major proportions, and i think for those of us who, you know, disagree with some of their promises, the best thing to do is to sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves. Christian broadcasting released a statement saying robertson was speaking metaphorically when he spoke of killing. What a relief. Its a shame when commentaries use this strategy to blame anyone, gays, muslims, obama, trump, the nra, other than the sick and twisted murderer who pulled the twigger. Ahead donald trump has some strong words for Joe Scarborough after his falling out from morning joe. But first the media again putting gun control high on the agenda after a mass shooting. Is the coverage fair . woman one year ago today mom started searching for her words. And my brother ray and i started searching for answers. vo when its time to navigate inhome care, follow that bright star. Because brightstar care earns the same accreditation as the best hospitals. And brightstar care means an rn will customize a plan that evolves with moms changing needs. woman because dad made us promise wed keep mom at home. vo call 8444brightstar for your free home Care Planning guide. Media focused heavily on gun control in the wake of the orlando massacre. Boston globe getting lots of attention for this front page of an ar15 rifle, and saying democrats will force a vote on the issue. It seems hard to justify but people on that terror list are still allowed to buy weapons. The deadliest mass shooting in u. S. History continues to have a Ripple Effect in washington. Growing calls among democrats, and now some republicans, for new gun control measures, including donald trump, who says he plans to meet with the nra. Back with the panel. Kelly, this daily news cover, thanks nra. With the orlando killer really buying an assaultstyle rifle, and despite the two fbi investigations and the filibuster is the press tilting toward tightening gun control . I think theres no question about that. Did you know more people in the u. S. Got killed by blunt objects like hammers and clubs than they did rifle . This is a narrow issue so basically theres no question that they want to push a gun control narrative out there. And that is something that Hillary Clinton wants. Thats something that barack obama wants. And so this press is sympathetic to those causes and theyre going to be pushing this narrative much like they have after every mass shooting that there is. Theres a Second Amendment right here, whether they like it or not. Theres fifth amendment of due process whether they like it or not and these are constitutional issues that need to be talked about in the press. Julie, its hard to argue as the media covering president obama and Hillary Clinton as sort of the good guys in this gun control debate particularly now thats its narrowed to such questions as if youre on a nofly list or terror watch list or certain kind of background checks. I think youre right about due process of gun control. Having said that its not just barack obama and Hillary Clinton. People like susan collins. Its people like pat tomry, republican after republican, people like donald trump who said this week that we what about the point that whether or not the press seems to be rooting for i feel like theres two different kinds of press in this country now. Theres the press that youre talking about and theres the conservative press thats talking consistently about terrorism, and that just signifies the divide among our political bodies that also is part of our process in the media. You know the media, you no longer have a clinical Mainstream Media that espouses an unbiased view. You have the daily news, talking about what theyre talking about and then you have people on the right in the media who obviously talk about something very different and talk about terrorism. Well, we should talk about all these issues is my view. But donald trump did sort of break with republican orthodoxy. Heres the presumptive nominee essentially backing the idea of making it difficult for people on the nofly list or the terror watch list to buy guns. He didnt seem to give him much credit by that. Im shocked by that. 100 major. As someone who covered the gun control issue in congress no republican does this and i think its partly an indication of probably why a lot of his voters like him. Because he had a genuine gut reaction, probably a lot of people, maybe even donald trump didnt know that people on the nofly list can get weapons, can get weapons and he had this genuine reaction. But i also want to clarify something from the first segment howie. I am not blaming society for home grown terrorists. What i am saying is we need to ask more questions about how we can do a better job of identifying these troubled individuals with a documented history, doubled history who are attaching themselves to these ideaologists which are kind of inconsistent but terroristic in nature. Now to get back to the nra point. I think that its extremely unfair, of course the nra does not want terrorists to have guns. And the insinuation of that by the Mainstream Media has been gross. Now john cornyn has a bill in the senate which all a lot of republicans are gathering around which basically allows the doj to have 72 hours to investigate these people on the terror watch list, give them due process, and then says if theres probable cause that theyre going to commit a crime to deny them these weapons. So its an unfair narrative that the media is pushing that republicans want some sort some reason want terrorists to have guns. Thats absolutely false. I dont think everyone in the media is pushing that. I do think thats a good debate. That amendment you mention and whether it goes far enough, and the 72 hours. But you know, weve had this debate in the media going back to newtown and before, and usually, we talk about it, and everyone writes about it and everyone gridlocks. Well see if this time is different. I dont think this time is different. Democrats obviously filibustered this in order to get some concessions to have a vote on the floor. The reality is we have these debates consistently after every horrible tragedy and yet people are still able to get weapons, though theyre on the nofly list. I do share with you the due process out there. So whether its senator feinstein who i think has a good solution to this or others theres got to be a way to address this without having to go back to the drawing board after every single time. Got to wrap it up there. Thanks for stopping by this sunday. More now from my phone interview with donald trump. I asked having pulled the Washington Post credentials, might he also do the same thing to the New York Times . He didnt dismiss the idea saying i think the New York Times has been marginal, hasnt been much better than the Washington Post. Trump said credentials have also been revoked and ripped its reporting on tensions in his campaign and with the rnc. Quote politico, i dont even talk to them. Theyll make things up. Politico is fiction. Politico is just crying to respond. Joe scarborough interview trump many times on his msnbc morning show has recently been denouncing him over his rhetoric and the temporary muslim ban. Trump told me he stopped watching morning joe and said this, as soon as i won the nomination, he wasnt essentially to the democrats side. He wont totally rogue. He was embarrassed to be so high on a republican im sure msnbc puts tremendous pressure on him and he wants to keep his job. Hes very dishonest in what hes saying. Scoreboro told me this is scad for him and Mickey Brzezinski who had been friendly with trump to see him falling off a cliff, suggesting the president is somehow connected with isis and his continued vilification of 1. 5 billion muslims is unamerican. The former republican congressman also said trump liked joes analysis when he predicted donald would win the nomination. Quote if the liberal network msnbc had influence on us they certainly would have asserted it and suggested we not be so far out front in our predictions on donald trump. You can read more of my trump interview on foxnews. Com. Ahead, Anderson Cooper confronts floridas attorney general in the wake of orlando for not backing samesex marriage. But coming up, with donald trump banning the Washington Post from his events, Sharyl Attkisson on the ethics of retaliation against the media. Whats it like to be in good hands . Man, its like pure power at your finger tips. Like the power to earn allstate reward points, every time i drive. Want my number . And cash back for driving safe. And the power to automatically find your car. I see you car and i got the power to know whos coming and when if i break down. You must be gerry. Hey. In means getting more from your Car Insurance with the allpowerful drivewise app. Its good to be in, good hands. In new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. All across the state, the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and new infrastructure for a new generation attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. Like in rochester, with worldclass botox. And in buffalo, where medicine meets the future. Let us help grow your companys tomorrow today at business. Ny. Gov. Thats what im talking about fueled up and ready to rock. Hey, i bet youre ready to start a great vacation, huh. One last work email. What . no, lets get this vacation started laptop close on three, are you with me . One. Wait youre welcome now get out there and have a great day come on nope now, members get more savings with your rate at holidayinnexpress. Com donald trump yarnged the Washington Post credentials it was over the Newspaper Publishing this head line over his questioning president obamas motivation and not being more aggressive against terrorism. Donald trump suggests president obama was involved with orlando shooting. The paper later softening it slightly to donald trump seems to connect president obama to orlando shooting. Trump has been boasting about punishing the post. They made the statement that i said that obama essentially obama went in and shot the people. I mean, what they do, that is the most dishonest paper. But theres so many dishonest papers. Washington post is a joke. We called in Sharyl Attkisson the host of full measure which airs sunday mornings on Sinclair Television station. So this Washington Post head line suggests obama was involved with orlando shooting. You have a problem with that . Well, in my opinion thats both inaccurate or unfair so yeah, i think thats a problem. The post softened it slightly. Didnt retract it or apologize for it. And then that leads donald trump to lift the papers credentials. Overreaction . Well, i think there would be very few circumstances in which i would defend pulling a press credential from somebody. I would also say its not impossible to cover trump without a press credential. When you have credentials on the campaign trail that allows you, i guess, to get in to a News Conference and certain access on planes but it doesnt mean you cant cover the person. So theyre still fully able to. But in general i think there are very few times i would defend pulling press credentials. Now, executive editor called this nothing less than a repudiation of a free and independent press, banishing an organization when trump didnt like the coverage. Trump told me in an interview on friday hed love to restore the posts credentials if hes treated fairly in the future. Well, you know, thats all in the eye of the beholder. And i would say its going to be a bigger problem if once somebody is an elected official being paid taxpayer money and working in federal buildings, thats when you really cannot do that in my view. Right now, this is hes not somebody who is making money off taxpayers, getting a taxpayer salary and working in the white house or federal building. Not saying he should do it, but im saying i think its within his right before hes a federal official. Not questioning he has the right to do it, and by the way he has already banned or revoked credentials for politico, the des moines register, huffington post, national review, bailey beast, New Hampshire union leader. Does that send a message that he is being tough on the media . Or that he is resistant to journalistic scrutiny . I think its more symbolic on this part because they can still cover him. As he well knows. I think people at home may be wondering, as we discuss this, why cant he, if indeed im saying for example i think the head lines inaccurate and unfair, why shouldnt he be able to do that . Well we look at this a little differently as members of the press. We dont want every individual person to judge on their own whether they have the power to do that based on not liking a story. I would also say this has happened in more subtle forms to me over the years. Ive been barred from federal buildings by this administration when im a credentialed press person, and i own that building in part. Im a member of the public. I mean this insidious sorts of barring of the press have been happening for years in ways stories that somebodys not pleased with. Absolutely. Its standard to not give an interview to an organization and that sort of thing but this is a little different. But if you look at the trumps been running against the press all year. But if you look at the last few weeks, and avalanche of negative coverage, some of it, warranted by his mistakes, some of it about the republicans who are distancing themselves, is the press piling on . Is the press going a bit too far in almost writing donald trump off at this point . Its hard to say. I would i would say in general the press has gone further than ive ever seen it as a group in just deciding that the opinions of even what used to be considered straight News Reporters on news organizations and news programs, opinions are welcome. Editorial comments are accepted. That we all kind of agree in this case, it seems, its okay to pile on as you say, trump, because everybody agrees. And i think thats not a good attitude to have. And ive sensed that a lot everybody agrees youre saying there is a kind of a consensus in the media that donald trump is a dangerous irresponsible candidate and therefore they can cross a line its okay to give opinions in this case. I hear people say that. That this is a time to stand up. This is different than other times. They seem to feel so strongly personally that they think they can step over the line. And we always try to find where that line is. At least on this program. Sharyl attkisson, great to very you. Thanks. After the break we look at Anderson Cooper. Anguish over the senseless slaughter of 49 gay americans and does that affect their coverage . [ guitar playing ] ugh. Heartburn. Sorry maam. No burning here. Try new alkaseltzer heartburn relief gummies. They work fast and dont taste chalky. Mmmm. Incredible. Looks tasty. You dont have heartburn. New alkaseltzer heartburn relief gummies. Enjoy the relief. She glows colorful mystery and adventure shes a guide shes a route a story and a song she is this day she is this moment she is this place and she belongs to you only in minnesota Cnns Anderson Cooper who publicly came out as gay four years ago choked up as he read the names of the victims in orlando. Theyre more than a list of names. Theyre people who loved and were loved, theyre people with families and friends, and dreams. But cooper also grilled floridas Republican Attorney general for having argued in court against samesex marriage. Saying he talked to gay people about this. I talk to a lot of gay and lesbian people here yesterday who are not fans of yours, and who said that they thought you were being a hypocrite. That you for years have fought you basically gone after gay people, said that in court that gay people simply by fighting for american equality were trying to do harm to the people of florida, to induce public harm i believe was the term you used in court. Do you really think youre a champion of the Gay Community . Let me tell you, when i was sworn in as attorney general i put my hand on the bible and was sworn to uphold the constitution of the state of florida. But do you worry about using language accusing gay people of trying to do harm to the people of florida when doesnt that send a message to some people who might have bad ideas in mind . Anderson, i dont believe gay people could do harm to the state of florida. I took this up with guy benson, police cole editor of townhall. Com and a fox news contributor. Welcome. Good to be here. Thanks for having me back being. Look, i respect Anderson Cooper and i think hes generally fair but in this interview with pam bondi he was acting as more than an aggressive journalist. He seemed like an activist and i share your sentiments and general thoughts on Anderson Cooper. Of course, i only watch fox all the time, but ive heard hes very good at his job. Hes a versatile journalist. But here . In this circumstance i thought the line of questioning for the attorney general of florida under the circumstances and given the context of what had just happened in that state, it was a bizarre nonsector and it seemed like he was browbeating her for really unrelated political thought crimes in her past which did not relate to the task at hand which is roundly condemning the horrific atrocity that happened. In other words, even if she had gone to court to argue against samesex marriage in florida, what did that have to do did that make her a bigot . No. Was that the underlying premise of coopers questioning. It was, it was, and this is the only way that this line of questioning makes sense is if your underlying assumption is that any opposition to any form of gay rights legislation is rooted in bigotry or hatred. I happen to disagree with pam bondi on most of these Public Policy questions. But . I happen to be gay myself. I dont know whats in her heart but im not going to assume that because she defended the state gay marriage banshee herself is hateful. Heres the thing. The New York Times rewarded cooper with this glowing profile, even when the accompanying news story said he berated pam bondi. Would the times have acted differently if he berated a gun rights activist. Of course, the times is the times. Its so bizarre that a lot of people dont seem to understand that one can be against gay marriage, for example, and be completely gutted and infuriated and reject in the most forceful terms imaginable violence against gay people. These are two different things. On that point. Cooper told the New York Times im not here to push an agenda and defended his questioning of pam bondi as legitimate. Weve been through a lot of mass shootings. As a gay man were you struck in a more personal man that this killer targeted this gay nightclub. These are gay people targeted because the of who they were are. They were out carousing in what they thought was a safe area in a culture thats not always been super accepting of gay people and thats changing which is a good thing and they were having drinks, having fun and this person based on and rooted in an ideology and his form of religion he decided that his anger and hatred and bigotry towards that group of americans was going to result in their deaths, and he executed 49 fellow gay people, not all of them were gay necessarily, but it is stomachturning. And thats true even if the killer turns out to have been gay or lately gay or hanging out at the gay bar, whatever. What do you make of Media Coverage and commentary that plays down the fact that 49 mostly gay people were killed there, not a hate crime as opposed the shooting at the Charleston Church was clearly targeted at christians. We have many indications that this was motivated by islamic extremism and then i believe its relatively clear that the motive for choosing the target was based in some sort i think theres still some debate but some outlets and some commentators seem to be kind of dancing around that. Theres two things that i feel about that. Okay. The first is there is something good that these are americans who were killed. It doesnt matter hyphenated americans, thats fine. That being said i think its important to note exactly who was killed and why, in this case gay people were the target. Guy benson, thanks very much for joining us. My pleasure. Still to come, Stephen Colbert and samantha bee and conan obrien turn serious and somewhat political as they grapple with the aftermath of orlando. Late night comedians are supposed to be funny, but thats just not possible in the wake of a terrorist attack, so after orlando what has sadly become something of a ritual most of them turned serious with some offering their political views on gun control. Now, after a massacre the Standard Operating Procedure is that you stand on stage and deliver some wellmeaning words about how we will get through this together, how love wins, how love conquers hate, and that is great. That is beautiful, but, you know what . [ bleep ] is. I am too angry for that. We cant constitutionally get rid of all guns, but cant we get semiautomatic assault rifles out of the hands of civilians . Sam bee wants to take the guns away. The one that mowed down a room full of people in seconds, yes, do i want to take the guns away. Ive tried really hard over the years not to bore you with what i think. However, i am a father of two. I like to believe i have a shred of common sense and i simply do not understand why anybody in this country is allowed to purchase and own a semiautomatic assault rifle. It makes no sense to me. [ applause ] these are weapons of war, and they have no place in civilian life. Even me with a silly show like this. You have some idea of what i will say, because even i have talked about this when it has happened before. Its as if theres a National Script that we have learned, and i think by accepting the script we tacitly accept that the script will end the same way every time with nothing changing. Im not going to criticized samantha bee or conan obrien or ezequiel bert or others. Whether you agree with them politically or not, the aftermath of orlando was no time for canned jokes, time to speak from the heart that is happening all too often in our country. Thats it for this edition of media buzz. Why the im howard kurtz. Happy fathers day to all of you. Like our facebook page, send us your comments at mediabu mediabuzz foxnews. Com. I can be reached on twitter howard kurtz and same time same place back here next sunday at 11 00 and 5 00 eastern. Hope youll join us then for the latest buzz. A fox news alert. The u. S. Senate now gearing up to vote tomorrow on four new proposals tackling gun control. Those amendments facing a very steep hurdle on capitol hill where lawmakers are once again locked in a heated debate over the Second Amendment. Welcome to americas election headquarters. Im gregg jait. Happy fathers day to everybody out there. Hello, gregg. Happy fathers day to you and to everyone. Im arthel neville. Thank you for joining us, democrats forcing the issue to the floor with a marathon filibuster following last weekends massacre in orlando, the worst mass shooting in u. S. History now becoming a major flashpoint between both