FNC’s Liz Trotta DISSES The Donald

“Vulgarian…celebrity journalist…lounge lizard.” Ouch! Fox News contributor Liz Trotta minced no words in her weekly America’s News HQ commentary about the prospect of real estate mogul Donald Trump’s moderating the GOP Presidential debate on December 27 in Iowa.* Instead of the almost worshipful tone usually adopted by FNC’s Fox & Friends co-hosts for The Donald during his own weekly appearances, Trotta employed a more iconoclastic attitude as she joyfully bashed the Celebrity Apprentice star.

When ANHQ co-host Eric Shawn introduced Trotta’s segment (about media reaction to the debate and candidate participation in it), he sardonically remarked, “So, from the venerable Howard K. Smith moderating the Kennedy-Nixon debate to The Donald.”

Chuckling in concurrence, Trotta first opined that the media were afraid of Trump or of losing access to him: Sneering, she added, “The man really is a vulgarian and really traipses in where he shouldn’t be such as Presidential debates.” Approvingly, she then noted GOP candidate Ron Paul had declined Trump’s invitation and quoted his issued statement which read, “The selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate that voters nationwide will be watching is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office’s history and dignity.” With less favor, she subsequently cited Republican frontrunner Newt Gingrich’s “whole-hearted” acceptance of Trump’s invitation and his assertion that he “loves entertainment,” Disdainfully, she declared, “Well, thank you, Newt, because that’s exactly what it’s going to be: It’s certainly not gonna have anything to do with journalism. I mean, Donald Trump as journalist or, we should say, as celebrity journalist.” When concluding her report, she snidely noted that Trump has a new book out and that he seems to surface whenever he does.

Smiling, Shawn sarcastically responded, “‘Seems to surface,’ I don’t think he ever goes away. But he does say, Mr. Trump in his defense says [that] he will talking about important issues…[that] it will be a serious debate and…[that] he gets high ratings.”

Dismissively, Trotta declared, “Well, I don’t know about the ratings but…he keeps just repeating the same thing: I’m sure [that] we’re gonna here the same old line about China and all his…sorta truck-driver tough remarks.” Scornfully, she snarked, “I mean, here is this lounge lizard trying to sound like a working man: It really is quite laughable….But, it will be entertainment.”

After Trotta tossed back to Shawn, he duly laughed, “Alright, vulgarian, lounge lizard, Liz, when you go home, stay away from Trump Tower. Okay? You don’t know what could come off the terraces.”

Other than the boiling oil.

*America’s News HQ – 12/4/11 (@ 11:56 a.m. ET)

Megyn Kelly Disappears

With her show without a word. Apparently, even America Live anchor Megyn Kelly’s lead-in, Happening Now guest host Greg Jarrett, was caught off guard this afternoon: as Jarrett confidently segued from HN to the next Fox News program at 1:00 pm. ET, Jarrett remarked, “America Live begins right now.” Apparently, getting a quick word from his producer, Jarrett quickly glanced at his computer screen and corrected himself, saying, “America’s News Headquarters.”

Subsequently, the screen switched to ANHQ and Kelly Wright began with a “News Alert”: Then, after finishing it, he remarked, “This is America’s News Headquarters. I’m Kelly Wright.” Thereafter, his comely blonde co-host chimed, “Great to see you, Kelly….I’m Jamie Colby.”

Oddly, neither Kelly nor Jamie mentioned that, at least, for the day, they were replacing Megyn Kelly and America’s News HQ was supplanting America Live. Furthermore, to the author’s knowledge, Megyn did not mention yesterday that she or her program would be absent today (Friday). Moreover, Megyn failed to alert her Twitter followers to any AL changes either. Not to mention, when the author consulted FNC’s on-air schedule at FNC’s foxnews.com/fnctv web site (at 1:55 p.m. ET), the “Now” tab showed no program for the 1:00pm slot but rather started with the 3:00 pm one (Studio B w/ Shepard Smith).

Strange indeed. Wherefore art thou, Megyn? Fox News flub-up or Shine “shakeup”?

[Author's aside: Even at the start of the second hour and at the end of show, both Jamie and Kelly failed to acknowledge the obvious--the absence of Megyn Kelly and her show America Live.]

Update: On Labor Day itself, Megyn answered: She and America Live reappeared. Perhaps, it had been merely a Fox News flub-up. Or, was it Shine’s inadvertent portent?

ANHQ: Who’s the New “Girl”?

Heather Childers. When a Twitter follower asked Julie Banderas yesterday about not seeing her on with Gregg Jarrett on the weekend [America's News HQ], she tersely Tweeted, “Yeah, he got a new co-anchor.” And, just who is that co-anchor? Her name is Heather Childers, a recent Fox News hire.”

According to her hometown paper Charlotte Observer, Heather was reared in Charlotte, North Carolina; graduated from UNC Chapel Hill; and worked for eight years at Time Warner Cable’s News 14 Carolina (a 24-hour news channel). The Observer reported that Heather left News 14 Carolina last year in search of “bigger things” and finally landed a job at Fox News. It quoted an apparently ecstatic Heather as saying, “Now my dreams have come true.”

At FNC, Heather co-anchors America’s News Headquarters with Gregg Jarrett on the weekend generally from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. She also Tweets her Twitter followers almost daily with a truly personal touch. (Cf. link here.)

A belated congrats, Heather!

Juliet: Texting or Sexting?

Huddy: “Because I don’t think that’s appropriate: You have a wife!” Poor Rick Folbaum! Introducing an America’s News HQ segment by Casey Stegall on candidates using text messages to reach voters, co-host Juliet Huddy joked that she probably sent three of the four billion text messages that Americans send every day.* After the story, Juliet commented, “Already, Case, thanks very much for that report, I got to get back to texting now.” Sounding hurt, co-anchor Rick asked, “How come you never text me?”

Looking down and smiling coyly, Julie responded, “Because I don’t think that’s appropriate: You have a wife!” Nodding his head and grinning rakishly, Rick queried, “Yeah. What kind of texts are you sending?” Her eyes widening and her countenance reddening, Juliet heartily laughed, “I didn’t mean that! Oh, geez, forget it! Just move on.”

Feigning ignorance, a smiling Rick replied, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” A giggling Juliet could barely contain herself as Rick read out the block. Perhaps, she thought or knew that he simply wanted the bare facts.

*America’s News HQ – 10/09/10 (@1:20 a.m. ET)

“Weird Cal”: Just Repeat It

A possible successor to embattled RNC Chair Michael Steele? According to FNC contributor Cal Thomas, another African American, Ken Blackwell, who is “very, very intelligent, and articulate, and smart, and as Joe Biden would say, ‘clean.’”

During an America’s News HQ segment Saturday, co-anchor Rick Folbaum  asked the conservative columnist whether Steele should stay at his GOP post after his controversial comments about the Afghan war. After saying that he “was an early supporter of  Michael Steele…because he represented a different face for the party” and had a compelling life story, Thomas answered, “But, he’s not the only African-American in the party. One of those who ran against him for the chairmanship, Ken Blackwell, former Secretary of  state of Ohio, very, very intelligent, articulate, and smart, and as Joe Biden would say, ‘clean’ candidate.”* After smiling at his peculiar homage to the Veep, he continued, “If he’s still out there and still wants the job, I think…he might be a good candidate for it.”

As the reader may recall, Biden apologized for similar remarks about then Senator Barack Obama, his then Democratic primary opponent during the 2008 election season. (Biden characterized Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”) To the author, it seemed strange at best that Thomas would intentionally happily echo what many consider to be a racially-charged “compliment” for another charismatic black candidate. Perhaps, he was tippling before his holiday weekend appearance on the America’s News HQ: It might help explain his racially rasping remark but it certainly does not excuse it.

*America’s News HQ – 07/03/10 (@6:06 p.m. ET

Rosenfeld: Doctor Without a Heart?

Fox News’ kindly and curmudgeonly cardiologist-in-residence Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld gave a rather awkward “compliment” to his “Sunday Housecall with Dr. Rosenfeld” audience this morning. Before sympathetically discussing the National Institute of Health’s report indicating that Alzheimer’s Disease was not preventable, “America’s Doctor” jested, “I know no one who is watching this program has Alzheimer’s: they’re too smart for that.”* Obviously, Dr. Rosenfeld understands that intelligence is not the issue but that a disease ravaging possibly 5.3 million Americans in its progressive stages (ranging from “no impairment” to “very severe decline”) is.

Assuredly, more than a few of these Alzheimer’s sufferers  were watching this morning when Dr. Rosenfeld made his regrettable remark: undoubtedly, some even had knowledge of their condition. At the very least, they and their loved ones deserve an apology from the self-described “Doctor of the Heart.”

America’s News HQ - 05/02/10 (@10:32 a.m. ET)

Ainsley: Poor Thing

She did not just say that! “Poor thing”: Intended double entendre or merely mistimed Southern colloquialism? Either way, today Ainsley Earhardt, America’s News HQ co-host, made viewers grit their teeth and roll their eyes when she uttered those words.

Initially, Ainsley introduced a segment on South African runner Caster Semenya, a purported hermaphrodite in danger of being stripped of her women’s 800 meter medal in the  world championships. When it was over, co-anchor Rick Folbaum repeatedly referred to Semenya as a female and expressed deep sympathy with her plight. Ainsley concurred, “I know. I know. Poor thing! Hopefully, they’ll figure it all out.”* [Italics added for emphasis.]

Ouch! Assuredly, one would not think that Ainsley was being intentionally hurtful. However, her choice of words was most regrettable. Obviously, no human is a thing whether male, female, or otherwise classified.

*America’s News HQ – 09/12/09 (@6:26 p.m. ET)

Biden’s Bite: Puppy Pick Message?

Vice President-elect Joe Biden appeared to send a subliminal message to Obama bashers: smiling, kissing Joe still has his bark and his bite. Picking a purebred German shepherd pup for himself before Barack Obama gets his children’s canine, seemed a subtle reminder that no matter how cuddly and gentle Obama may be, that Biting Biden will be on guard.

Opining on Biden’s buy, Fox & Friends co-hosts Aly, Dave, and Clayton seemed to agree that it was a bid to get back in the public eye. Ironically, in the next show, America’s News HQ, FNC displayed a similarly colored German shepherd watching over JFK, Jackie, Little John, and Caroline apparently at the Kennedy compound. The author began to wonder if Biden’s selection was a part of a larger play: remember, the Obama team has patterned itself after Reagan’s resonance, Kennedy’s Camelot, and Clinton’s politics.

In the new Obama administration, Biden will play a role. He may agree to a shrinking Veep script but he’ll be no shrinking violet.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/28/biden_comes_out_punching?mode=PF

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081214/pl_politico/16558;_ylt=AlqTra8FRD75tve5AoaK33myFz4D