mainstream media has mounted a campaign against donald trump warning that he's just too dangerous to be allowed to win a second term. this isn't just reporting or commenting on the sometimes over the top things trump says talking about getting even with opponents or saying he'll go after what he calls the enemy of the people. i've criticized plenty the of things trump has said over the years and as a leading presidential candidate, he should be aggressively scrutinized. yet after nine years of a hostile relationship with the media, suddenly there's not even a pretension of fairness. the atlantic has just publish pd an entire issue on how the former president is teenager to democracy. new york -- is that a danger to democracy. "the washington post" filled several inside pages with an anti-trump opinion piece, and all that reverberates across television. >> i think what people have normalized the possibility of trump coming back to office, we get used to anything. this time he is coming up bent on revenge. >> the lead story in this morning's new york times is warning how a second term could unleash a darker trump, highlighting the former president's violent and authoritarian rhetoric. >> there is a clear path to dictatorship in the united states, and it's getting shorter every day. that's robert rayingen -- kagan, a former reagan official writing in "the washington post". >> there's growing agreement and acute concern i think across the political spectrum about the explicitly authoritarian the threat of a second trump term. >> it's a very special issue of the atlantic where they have the same people writing the same article they usually write about how terrible donald trump is and how much he's a real threat to be an authoritarian this time around. howard: i think journalists say, well, he is a dictator, authoritarian and fascist, so they have no choice. but ultimately, this is about the credibility of our business and why half the country no longer trusts the press. i'm howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." ♪ howard: ahead, how the media are handling devastating new tax evasion charges against hunter biden. at an iowa town hall, sean hannity gave donald trump two opportunities to respond to the mounting media criticism about his second term. >> do you in any way have any plans whatsoever, if reelected president, to abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people? >> you mean like they're using right now. >> the media has been focused on this, on attacking you -- >> yeah. >> under no circumstances, you are promising america tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody. >> except for day one. >> except for -- >> he's going crazy. except for day one. howard: joining us now to analyze the coverage in nashville, clay travis, the founder of outkick and cohost of a nationally-syndicated radio show, and in new york, harold ford, former democratic congressman and fox news contributor. clay, what do you make of this constant media campaign warning of the dangers of a second trump term in these major publications and on certain networks? >> well, they're trying to play the hits, howard. good to see you too, harold. i think they know ratings skyrocketed during donald trump's presidency and during his campaigns, and if you look at cnn and msnbc in the gutter like they are, "the washington post" on track the lose 100 million, "the new york times" struggling some with subscriptions as "the washington post" is too, this is playing the hits. but i would say two things associated with this. one, i think for the general public there's a boy who cried wolf here scenario. when you've got a war in europe and you've got a war going on right now in the middle east, you've got lack of security at the southern border and crime and all of the issues that are going on right now in our country, it's hard to argue, oh, trump's going to be so much worse. and one thing jumped out at me and i'll be curious to hear what harold thinks about this too, "wall street journal" poll that just came out on early saturday morning. one measure there really struck me, and i jotted it down here. has the physical stamina to be the president, trump versus biden. 48-14, trump wins that argument. so they have to figure something out that takes away from biden's issues, and so the focus needs to be trump as opposed to biden's physical fitness. that number's crazy, 48-14. howard: trump and the press used to have a love-hate relationship, now it's mostly hate. so, harold, i get that the former president brings some of this on himself. clearly defected -- excuse me, deflected sean hannity's questions about abuse of power, then he said, well, i want to drill, drill, drill and close the border. but is much of the media crossing a bright line here and becoming the opposition party? >> so first off, happy sunday. it's great to see you and my old friend clay. i'd say two things. first, i would agree largely with what you have said, how you framed this and clay, the media needs to be careful. donald trump, for a long time in politics, has been able to construct a vision and a portrait of himself as standing up for a lot of people in this country who believe they've been left behind and forgotten and pushed back or pushed down. and the way he's done it has not always been agreeable with some in the press or, for that matter, some who oppose him. i do think the bigger issue for this campaign, and clay touched on it right then as a he talked about the polling in the "wall street journal" piece in the first part of what he said. if the economy is in better shape in six months, if democrats address the border issues, i think the border issue will be as critical in the minds of many independent-minded and swing voters as any -- "happening now" d. howard: right. and at least the last election where you had three or four races in kentucky and ohio marley, the issue of women's health remains at the forefront of a lot of voters' minds. so whomever is to win this next election be it biden, trump or maybe other candidates, they're going of to have to address the border and abortion. democrats have the advantage on abortion. and if the economy is better as we know, howie and clay, incumbents generally do better if the economy is improving and americans feel that improvement -- howard: right. >> i want to play this clip, another clip from the iowa town hall where former president trump is talking about president biden. >> we have a man that can't put two sentences together. we have a man that doesn't know he's alive. and he's backed up by the media. the biggest problem we have? the media. the media's fake. >> i want the morning show producers to watch us and all the producers to watch this. this is just rhetoric of we're absolutely dead serious. the deep state, the fourth branch of government never mentioned in the constitution is going to be taken apart brick by brick, and the people that did these evil deeds will be held accountable and prosecuted, criminal prosecutions. howard: so, clay, with help from sean hannity who's a longtime, openly supportive of donald trump, here you have the president taking a whack at biden but also including the media a in his indictment. >> yeah. i think it's a criticism that's going to play well for trump. look, if i were the political consultant taking a step back and saying let's presume we have trump v. biden part two, who wins the race and how do they win the race, i think trump focusing on biden's physical and mental fitness is a huge win for trump as i just cited in that "wall street journal" poll. i can't imagine there's been any race that we have seen in modern american history where one guy has been seen 34 points better in terms of just being able to do the job is. but, look, we've got two incumbents, basically. howard: right. >> you've got the trump incumbency and the biden incouple bicep city. if trump is the story, i think biden has a chance to win. if biden's failures as president as a trump conveys it is the story, then i think trump's going to win. usually the rex is a referendum on -- the election is a referendum on the incumbent. what's a little unique here is we basically have two incumbents, and we haven't seen anything like this in anyone's life. howard: exactly. harold, you have steve bannon, former white house official and pardoned by trump, saying he's dead serious about the media and other opponents and using the phrase criminal prosecution. harold? >> you're asking -- i'm sorry, i thought you were going to show a clip. look, i think the advisers around a president, their words are more alarming than what and how president trump is explaining. we're accustomed to president trump. that doesn't mean that it's accepted, but we're accustomed to him talking about how he may behave towards those the who may have, he thinks have taken, taken shots at him unfairly. but the press in our country is and to hear those who talk about it have no -- i don't think they understand the history of the role that the media and the press play. we certain wily have more than we did 25, 50, 1000 years ago because of the proliferation of smartphones and the way you're able to assimilate information and convey it whether it's true or not. but to say a big piece of what you want to do if you're elected to political office, the most important office in the country i might add, to go after the press, we'll have to see how voters respond to that. the one thing i am relieved about, howie, is they are saying these things. and i think voters have every right to get a greater sense of what any candidate for any office, what he or she intends to do. is and thankfully, president trump and many of hissed visors are making it clear that they plan on taking on an important part of the american establishment. howard: yeah. sometimes it's his own words. now, the other day joe biden said off camera that he probably wouldn't have run again if trump was not in the race and he was questioned by reporters. take a look. >> >> reporter: would you be running for president if trump wasn't running? >> i expect so, but, look, he is running, and i have to run. >> [inaudible] >> not. not now. howard: clay, what do you make of the biden remarks and him sort of partially walking it back? >> i think if we'd been having this conversation in january of 2021, the expectation among much of the nation, including me, was that joe biden would be president for one term given his age, that he would step down and he would hand the proverbial baton to kamala harris and she would be the nominee in 2024 -- howard: or someone else. >> i actually think the fact that biden is running is a testament to, one, the bench not being very deep for the democrat party. i'm not sure anybody polls much better against trump than biden does even though he's polling poorly right now. but, two, i think kamala harris has been such a disappointment to so many people in the democrat party. they really thought she was the next person up for this job, and it would be a transition to a new era of democrat leadership. but he polls so much worse than biden that i think democrats are trying to acid letting her be the nominee -- avoid e letting her be the nominee and especially on this identity politics coalition. there's a challenge how it would not be racist and sexist by democrats' own standards for the current vice president not to be the nominee in 2024 or, frankly, for 2028. and i think that's a real challenge, figuring out how they go and move beyond her which is why i think biden's running. howard: if joe biden were to for some reason pull out, you'd have, you know, 50 democrats who would try to get that nomination. but, hawrld, what biden is essentially saying is i'm the only democrat who can beat trump. i've done it before. but that's understood cut -- undercut somewhat by the amaze ball -- abysmal polls. that's where we are right now. >> i think you're right. i think that the data shows, as you showed from the outset, he's almost tied or i think mr. trump's a few points ahead of mr. biden. and the candidate that really moves ahead is governor haley, ambassador haley. but we're months out still. i still believe if the economy, if people believe -- some of the numbers suggest the economy's improving. things are down that you want to be down, and things are up that you want to be going up. but everyday americans don't feel that away. there are a long list of politicians who try to tell voters you're doing better than thaw -- you think, and most of those politicians are sitting at home on their sofas. the truth of the matter is people have to feel that way. howard: yeah. >> but i don't disagree what clay said about some of the doubts that some democrats have about vice president harris, which is surprising because she had such a prolific and programsing performance -- promising performance, output before -- howard: well, a moment of agreement. i just want to say journalists who say, oh, well, he is a fascist, if you think that, then you should quit your journalism jobs and go campaign against him rather than using news organizations to mount this campaign which i think is a lot louder than it's ever been. when we come back, the president of the university of pennsylvania just resigned under pressure after failing to condemn genocide against the jewish people. ♪ ♪ dude you coming? 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(car engine revs) (engine accelerating) (texting clicks) (tires squeal) (glass shattering) (loose gravel clanking) howard: university of pennsylvania's president, elizabeth magill, resigned late yesterday after repeatedly refusing in a house hearing to conning dem calls for the mass murder of jews. >> ms. magill, at penn does calling for the genocide of jews violate penn's rules or code of conduct? yes or no? >> if the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, yes with. >> i'm asking specifically calling for the genocide of jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment? >> if it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment. >> so the answer is yes. >> it is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman. howard: depends on the context? they, ma bill apologized the next day saying she should have been focused on the evil of such calls for genocide -- genocide, but it was too late. how tone deaf was elizabeth magill in dancing around a straightforward question, can you condemn the killing of j well, -- jews or not? >> yeah, it was incredibly tone deaf. and i think that's, honestly, reflective of the fact that she didn't like the questioning from congresswoman stefanik, and so she was intentionally, along with the presidents of harvard and mit, being combative and not wanting to answer a yes-no question. and as a result, she's now stepped down, the pressure is still on at harvard and at mit. and, you know, it's emblematic, i think, of what has upset so many people out there across the political spectrum. i went to george washington university, and a holocaust survivor-donated library, college kids flashed death to the martyrs to celebrate what hamas had done. and i can't imagine that occurring as an alum. it's one thing for college kids to be knuckleheads and make poor decisions. i don't think they should get kicked out of school for that, but then you see university leaders unable to condemn evil, i mean, it seems like it should be pretty easy to say, yeah, we're opposed to genocide of anybody -- howard: it should be extremely easy. >> -- and they couldn't. howard: and the pulling of a $100 million gift from a donor didn't help her case. harold, is it pretty obvious when the witness just doesn't want to give a straight answer? >> it is. not only am i an alum, i was a signatory on many of the early letters to the school about roger waters coming to speak around the yom kippur holiday, the highest holiday. i think clay was right, there was some animus towards the question, maybe even the questioner, but wean -- when you're in a hearing answering these kinds of questions, you can't allow those kinds of thoughts or feelings to influence what should be a simple, powerful, compelling, undeniable answer. yes, that violates my personal code of conduct, and it violates the code at the university of pennsylvania. some might then say that we have to look at the context, but i wouldn't this afternoon as i sit before you member members of congress and speak to the country. she didn't do that. the number one thing a president's supposed to do is to make it safe for kids that have inner jet ec, disagreeable, sometimes uninformed conversations on campus, even debates. i did it at penn, at law school at michigan. it made me a better person, certainly a more open-mind person. but when kids don't feel safe, when violence is threatened let alone imposed, if leaders at at a our universities and colleges where this thought and assimilation is supposed to take place, if they don't have the courage and the ability to protect kids, then they're not fit for that office. it's unfortunate ms. magill a had to step down, but it was right. howard: she brought it on herself. and, clay, look, she and hard valider president claudine gay, who also apologized the next day, they had days the prepare for this hearing with lawyers. this was not some slip of the tongue. how could they not have known this would create a firestorm? >> i, i think sometimes the faculty lounge has no idea what the rest of the -- of america thinks, right? i think that's really what it comes back down to again. i mean, so many of these college campuses are divorced from reality and the debates that to cur inside of the internal -- occur inside of the internal bureaucracies at these universities. look, if she wanted all of these people who were testifying, if they want to argue that they have a newfound respect for the first amendment and, therefore, they're going to allow all sorts of heinous speech on campus, then that is an interesting step that they could make, right? if. howard: apply it to everybody. >> so, yes. but do you think -- what do you think they would have said if the kkk were marching through campus calling for the death of every black student? they wouldn't say, oh, well, that's okay as long as they don't actually try to murder if a black student. we welcome them on campus. you know, when you're trying to kill a minority group and advocating for it, i think it's fair to say that that probably crosses the line from a legitimate debate that could be occurring on campus into a position where students could feel very legitimately threatened in their time on campus. howard: it's a slam dunk question. we denounce genocide against jews -- >> yeah. howard: i gotta go. clay travis and harold ford, great to see you both. >> happy holidays. howard: up next, we'll go to us israel where the country's focus on killing hamas leaders is raising new questions about a civilian casualties. ♪ ♪ another excuse, i mean, reason for my family to crave a little pizza time. well, i've got one. my cuisinart indoor pizza oven, ready to bake up some bubbly, cheesy, savory sauciness with that perfect artisan crispy crust in about five minutes. it's great for snack time, dinner