memeorandum: Establishment Media's Real Concern: How Did Trump Manage to Do So Well? (J.T. Young/The American Spectator)

2:35 PM ET, November 20, 2020

Top Items:

Americans Deserve the Truth, Even If It's Unpleasant — On the menu today: a blunt message about who is conning whom in the aftermath of the 2020 elections. — You Are Being Conned — Rudy Giuliani, yesterday: … Sidney Powell, yesterday, in the same press conference:

Discussion: Lead Stories, The Dispatch, Real Clear Politics, The American Spectator, Rev, The Daily Signal, Washington Examiner and CNN

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Do Trump's Lawyers Know What They Are Doing? — Today several of President Trump's lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, held a press conference in which they alleged that they have convincing if not conclusive evidence that the presidential election was rigged …

Discussion: Forbes, New York Times, Law & Crime, HotAir, Mediaite, Erick on the Radio, National Review, Washington Examiner, Spin, strangeness, and charm, C-SPAN.org and Political Wire

National Review:

Trump's Disgraceful Gambit — Americans Deserve the Truth, Even If It's Unpleasant — Trump's Election Disinformation: Three 'Don't's — Georgia Recount Confirms Biden Win in State — Memo to Raphael Warnock: Hundreds of U.S. Chaplains Have Been Killed in the Line of Duty

Discussion: HotAir and The National Interest

Axios:

Trump is on an island — Most of President Trump's closest advisers have completely distanced themselves from his legal effort and are avoiding his lawyers to avoid being swept into their courtroom dramas. — Why it matters: Some of the president's advisers act like they think he can still overturn …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Business Insider, Defense One, HotAir, The Week and The Hill

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump lawyers to avoid Michigan lawmaker meeting after COVID exposure — Rudy Giuliani and other key members of President Trump's outside legal team won't be attending today's meeting with two Michigan lawmakers because they've been exposed to the coronavirus, two sources familiar with the internal discussions tell Axios.

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Post, The Hill, Alternet.org and Daily Kos

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The Trump campaign's much-hyped affidavit features a big, glaring error — In its wild news conference Thursday, President Trump's legal team promoted a very simple-sounding theory that seems likely to be central to its voter fraud allegations: that many precincts in the key states had more votes …

Michael Brendan Dougherty / National Review:

The Insanity Oath — Conservatives sense that social progressives have achieved a critical level of consolidation in key institutions: the Democratic Party, the university, and the prestige media. The occasional purges of old-school liberals from these institutions testify to that fact.

Discussion: HotAir, The Stream and Raw Story

Tucker Carlson / Fox News:
Time for Sidney Powell to show us her evidence

Discussion: CBS News, HotAir, The Root, Power Line, National Review, Forbes, The Wrap, Spectator USA, Conservative News Today, Digby's Hullabaloo, TheBlaze, Alternet.org and Breitbart

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:
Sidney Powell fires back: Tucker Carlson was ‘insulting, demanding, and rude’

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, Washington Times, Raw Story, RedState, Townhall, Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, LaCorte News and Breitbart

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: Growing concern about Trump legal fight

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, Power Line and National Review

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Ezra Klein and Lauren Williams are leaving Vox — Ezra Klein, co-founder and editor-at-large of Vox.com, the political news website owned by Vox Media, and Lauren Williams, editor-in-chief and senior vice president of Vox.com, are leaving the company, executives tell Axios.

Discussion: Variety, more at Mediagazer »

The New York Times Company:

Ezra Klein Joins Times Opinion as Columnist and Podcast Host — Ezra, in his columns and on his podcast, will be able to help our readers and listeners navigate the political future as Washington moves into a new era. Read more in this note from Kathleen Kingsbury and Paula Szuchman.

Discussion: The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

Yashar Ali / Yashar's Newsletter:

Scoop: Ezra Klein Is Leaving Vox — Ezra Klein, the co-founder of Vox who currently serves as editor-at-large, is leaving the publication per three sources familiar with his plans. — Three sources familiar with his plans tell me he is likely to join the New York Times under their opinion section.

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast: Ezra Klein Leaving Vox for The New York Times

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

Georgia to certify Biden's victory — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Friday that his office is set to certify election results that would formally declare President-elect Joe Biden as the winner in the state, reversing course after an earlier announcement that the state …

Discussion: Vox, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Election Law Blog, RedState and Florida Politics

CNN:
Trump told ally he's trying to get back at Democrats for questioning legitimacy of his own election

Discussion: The Signorile Report, Raw Story, Business Insider, Reuters and Mock Paper Scissors

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:
Georgia secretary of state to certify election results Friday, make Biden victory official

Discussion: NBC News, Bloomberg, Georgia Public Broadcasting, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, ABC13, IJR, New York Post, Washington Times and The Western Journal

Washington Post:
Live updates: Georgia secretary of state issues correction, saying certification of its general election results is still under way

Discussion: The Hill, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Minneapolis Star Tribune, CBS News, abc7NY, NBC Los Angeles and Political Wire

CNN:
Georgia certification still underway, secretary of state's office says after announcing it was complete

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, Truthout, Florida Politics, Crooks and Liars, Townhall, The Week and Bloomberg

Nick Niedzwiadek / Politico:

Michigan GOP descends on D.C. as Trump scrambles to undo election — A delegation of Republican state lawmakers from Michigan arrived in Washington on Friday as part of President Donald Trump's Hail Mary attempt to usurp the results of the election he lost.

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News, NPR, Reuters, RedState, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Florida Politics, Conservative News Today, The Daily Poster, The Week and Political Wire

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
More GOP Senators Have COVID Than Have Acknowledged That Joe Biden Won

Discussion: CNBC and The Atlantic

Richard Fausset / New York Times:
Top Georgia Election Official Certifies Biden's Win: 'Numbers Don't Lie'

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Michigan Advance, News & Views …, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Common Dreams, Political⚡Charge, Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, Democracy Journal, HotAir, Salon, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Fox News and Alternet.org

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook PM: What Pelosi said about Trump behind the scenes — NEW ... SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI said on a House Democratic leadership call Thursday night that President DONALD TRUMP is a “psychopathic nut,” according to several sources. The remark wasn't referring to anything specific …

Discussion: Washington Post, KTLA and WTOP

Wall Street Journal:
Biden Team Lacks Full U.S. Cybersecurity Support in Transition Fracas

Discussion: 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

New York Times: How Steve Bannon and a Chinese Billionaire Created a Right-Wing Coronavirus Media Sensation

Reuters:

Why Republican voters say there's ‘no way in hell’ Trump lost — SUNDOWN, Texas (Reuters) - Brett Fryar is like many mainstream Republicans. A 50-year-old chiropractor in this west Texas town, he owns a small business. He has two undergraduate degrees and a master's degree, in organic chemistry.

Discussion: Progress Pond, Al Jazeera, CNN, ABC News, Raw Story, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, The Week, Blue Virginia and Breitbart

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Republican Senate signals it will confirm Biden Cabinet — Senate Republicans are signaling they will confirm most of President-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet picks in January — a rare bright spot for a White House that may clash with a GOP majority for years to come.

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, CNN, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, POLITICUSUSA, Forbes, The Hill, NPR, ChiefExecutive.net and Raw Story

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:
Sanders, Warren under scrutiny as Biden weighs Cabinet picks

Discussion: NBC News, The Daily Caller, Denver Post and Associated Press

New York Times:

Trump Tax Write-Offs Are Ensnared in 2 New York Fraud Investigations — Inquiries into the president and his businesses, one criminal and one civil, are now looking at tax deductions taken on consulting fees. Some of the payments appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump.

New York Times:

Covid-19 Live Updates: Explosive Growth of Virus Is Recorded Across the U.S. — The country is close to recording 200,000 new cases a day and has set a hospitalization record. Deaths are rising steadily and hospitals are struggling to cope. The C.D.C. urged Americans to rethink Thanksgiving plans.

Discussion: HotAir, POLITICUSUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Business Insider

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Rudy Giuliani's son tests positive for coronavirus

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Daily Caller and New York Post

Wall Street Journal:

Airbnb Executive Resigned Last Year Over Chinese Request for More Data Sharing — Company says it declined to disclose more details with China and is transparent with users; former FBI official was told by co-founder, 'We're not here to promote American values'

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Merrick Garland Among Biden Candidates For Attorney General, Sources Say — Federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland is under consideration to serve as attorney general in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, NPR has learned from two people closely following the process.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review, The Week, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal and CBS News

Bart Jansen / USA Today:

President-elect Biden names four White House staffers, including directors for legislative affairs and personnel — President-elect Joe Biden named four more officials Friday to White House posts - including directors overseeing congressional lobbying and personnel - as he prepares to take office Jan. 20.

Discussion: Democracy Journal, Politico, CBS News, CNN, New York Post, WTOP, Roll Call and NBC News

Katherine Doyle / Washington Examiner:
Kayleigh McEnany: Michigan GOP visit to White House not a campaign meeting

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Washington Times, The American Independent, Mediaite and WWLP-TV

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Trump's Attempts to Overturn the Election Are Unparalleled in U.S. History — The president's push to prevent states from certifying electors and get legislators to override voters' will eclipses even the bitter 1876 election as an audacious use of brute political force.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Outside the Beltway, Cyprus Mail, Reuters, ABC13, Politico, Fox News, Washington Times, WTOP, Vanity Fair, USA Today and Michigan Advance

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Trump's Clown Coup Crisis — On another terrible week for American democracy. — In a way, we are ending the week where we began it: Donald Trump still did not win the 2020 Presidential election, and he is still, on Friday as he was on Monday, holed up in the White House, challenging Joe Biden's victory.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Axios, Vox, The Guardian, HuffPost, HotAir, One America News Network and Bloomberg

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Trump's lawsuits challenging the election have turned into a clown show

Discussion: Alternet.org, Reason and Digby's Hullabaloo

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

Blunt 2020 lessons for media, America — All of us — and the media, in particular — need some clear-eyed, humble self-reflection as the dust settles on the 2020 election results. — Here are a few preliminary Axios learnings. — The media remains fairly clueless about the America …

Discussion: Washingtonian

Robert Faturechi / Georgia Public Broadcasting:

Georgia Senator David Perdue Privately Pushed For Tax Break For Rich Sports Team Owners — Robert Faturechi and - Justin Elliott — It's unclear why Senator Perdue was interested in tax regulation that would impact only a tiny set of the richest Americans.

Discussion: Democratic Party of Georgia

Ed Yong / The Atlantic:

Hospitals Know What's Coming — Editor's Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. — Perhaps no hospital in the United States was better-prepared for a pandemic than the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

JR Radcliffe / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin recount live: Dane County election officials reject initial attempts to throw out ballots — President Donald Trump is pursuing an election recount in Wisconsin's two largest counties, Milwaukee and Dane, in a process that gets under way Friday. — Trump could see a long-shot chance …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars