or go to loveshriners.org right away. ♪ ♪ if. >> washington is a city in turmoil, paralyzed by gridlock, consumed by partisanship and that's just last few days. we have a supreme court hearing arguments on whether a single state can kick a former president of the united states

off the a ballot and making quite clear the answer will be now no. but the high court about to face another constitutional showdown on presidential immunity. we have the house attempting to impeach a cabinet officer, the homeland security chief, for the first time in 150 years and falling shocking hi short. we have the implosion of a bipartisan is border bill, and this will give you a sense of the media a debate. >> at this point jesse watters prime time is not sure house republicans are capable of anything. why are republicans writing border bills with democrats to keep the border open, dodging fox and selling it on cnn? because senators hoped nobody would read the bill. >> it failing is the fault of republicans. i mean, that's just obvious to anybody covering it. and it is the most conservative immigration bill or border bill that i've seen in this town in 25 years of covering this issue. howard: we also have republicans calling for the heads of their top leaders in the house and senate and now comes the extraordinary special counsel's report on the incumbent

president saying he willfully retained and disclosed classified documents recommending no criminal charges but saying his memory was so poor that a he couldn't remember what years he was vice president and that no jury would convict him. it was then that the oldest president in american history decidessed to hold a news conference and angrily took on the press pack. >> i'm well meaning and i'm an elderly man and i know what the hell i'm doing. i've been president, and i put this country back on its feet. i don't need his recommendation. >> reporter: how bad is your network, and is can you continue as president? >> my mitt romney memory is so bad -- my many memory is so bad, i let you speak. [inaudible conversations] >> -- your memory has gotten worse? >> my memory has not gotten -- me my memory has fine. my memory -- take a look at what i've done since i became president. none of you thought i could pass any of the things, how'd that happen in. >> [inaudible] the american people have been

watching, and they have expressed concerns about your age -- >> that is your judgment. that is your judgment -- >> [inaudible] >> that is not the judgment of the press. >> they express concerns about your mental acuity, they say that you are too old. mr. president, in december you told me that you believe there are many other democrats who could defeat donald trump, so why does it have to be you now? >> because i'm the most qualified person in country to be president of the united states and finish the job i started. howard: the pundits are going to war over joe biden's mental acuity and robert hur's legal judgment. >> what hur reveal ared in this report -- revealed in this report is what we've been telling you for years. the democrat party, the media, the party's plutocrat donors who have all been behind closed doors with biden the entire biden presidency has been a die -- has been a lie. >> he was pretty ticked off when i asked my question to him. >> we don't think he would be convicted because a jury might empathize with him because he's

a sympathetic, well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. so it really is sort of -- it's nasty and and if snarlly for no reason. >> he has a political piece of bad news woven in there which seems like cheap shot, derogatory attacks on him. >> we're now beyond concerned about whether joe biden can serve a second term. we should be concerned about whether he can finish serving his fist. and this press conference made it worse. howard: i'm howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." ♪ ♪ howard: joining us now to analyze the coverage, robby soave from reason magazine and ameshia cross, political analyst for siriusxm. we in the media specially knew robert hur wasn't going to bring charges against joe biden, but how much political damage did he do by saying biden has a poor

memory. >> i think it's so telling to see the mainstream media's frustration with him expressing a sentiment that most americans also feel. look at poll results. two-thirds of americans think joe biden is perhaps too old to be president. that includes a majority of democrats, slim majority of democrats. most democrats would have preferred to see another candidate, but the dnc didn't hold any, didn't do debates, real primaries. they're all behind joe biden, so people are going to ask this question that that sentiment exists out in america, that he is too old to be president and they can't stop people from expressing that view. howard: right. there are also no viable opponents at this point. ameshia, some are saying, gee, this reminds me of what fbi chief jim comey did to hillary clinton in 2016 saying we're not indicting you, but here's all the things you did wrong. there used to be a practice at the justice department if you didn't indict, you just shut up. >> exactly. and that practice should remain steadfast. of this was a spiteful hit job.

it had no correlation to any level of criminality. we know that there are no charges that are going to be filed. at that point, that is the end, that should be what we're reporting on. but because of the fact that there is a considerable amount of americans who honestly feel that both candidates are too old, that is taken off. it is problematic in reading it specifically because of the targets against his late son. i think that as a someone who also lost someone to cancer that was close to me, my own mother, there isn't a day that goes by that you don't know when that date is, that pain is in your head and heart. so that was really frustrating. but we've also seen up to and including today prime minister benjamin netanyahu coming out and talking about the strength and agility of joe biden, mark milley did the same thing, mitt romney, how strong he is, how on pointless in conversations -- howard: well, and then there's what the public sees and, robby, i want to play donald trump's response at a pennsylvania

rally. excuse me. >> if he's not going to be charged, that's up to them. but then i should not be charged! [cheers and applause] this is the nothing more than selective persecution of biden's political opponent, me. howard: some in the media are saying it's a double standard. but robert hur in the report made the point that trump withheld documents under subpoena and otherwise didn't cooperate. but the question is, will money of the public see these two cases -- much of the public see these two cases as similar? >> i think they will. mike pence had documents where he wasn't supposed to. this seems like a routine problem, frankly, and and not particularly serious. donald trump did keep the documents, he should have given them back, and he would have not been in this whole situation. howard: but he was indicted. >> yeah. and that speaks to a concern a lot of americans have is, republicans, conservatives right now hat justice department is weaponized against them, against free speech and due process and

they want donald trump, again, to rein in some of these administrative excesses. he can't do it the first time, he ran on it, they're going to give him another shot at it. i think that's very legitimate. a lot of people wish we had other choices, but it's going to be the trump or biden and, you know, you look at the poll numbers, a lot of americans are signaling they would prefer if another donald trump presidency. howard: right. >> because they're hearing from joe biden every day -- howard: but they may well have to choose. ameshia, i want to pick up on your point about losing somebody close to you. here is president biden talking about his son beau who died in 2015, and here is also vice president harris defending her boss. >> there's even reference that i don't remember when my son died. how in the hell dare he raise that. frankly, when i was asked the question, i thought to myself, it wasn't any of their damn business. >> the way that the president's demeanor in that report was

characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated, bra duetous. howard: ameshia. >> it was a partisan attack job. hur was appointed by president trump, and at this point we were seeing these memories brought back up. one, the death of joe biden's son has absolutely nothing to do with the documents case at all. but there is an incalls tragedy part of you that comes to play when someone digs in something that is so deeply painful for you, and we've seen joe biden talk about beau repeatedly. this is something that that man lives with every day. so to argue that he does not remember, i think, is extremely offensive. i think that it is egregious with, beyond the pale and, again, i watched my mom die from cannes. it is one of the most horrendous things you can see. you cannot tell me or the rest are of the public that you do not remember that. i think that was extremely offensive and beyond the pale. howard: of course, biden also

did those five hours of interviews on the two days after the hamas massacre october 7th, against israelis. i want to play a couple things real quick for you, robby. the first one is, and we're just showing the tail end of it, this was a 30-second pause and vuz were painful, when biden could not come up with the word hamas. >> there's been a response from the opposition but -- yes, i'm sorry, from hamas. howard: a reporter helping him out this. and at this news conference where he's saying my memory is find, he said this about el sisi. >> the president of mexico, sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. howard: mexico. so how much is he hurting himself with these, not being able to come up9 with the right name or mixing up world leaders? >> he's hurting himself very badly and deservedly. look, we all say the wrong word

sometimes. he said germany when he meant france, that's fine, but then he went on to tell an anecdote about the wrong political figure. and listening to him talk about hamas, being able to negotiate a point about ending hostiles -- hostilities, the world is getting very dangerous right now. american troops being fired on, being killed and, look, the american people need to have faith that their president can handle very important negotiations with our ally, israel, as they're at war with this terrorist organization. these are sensitive and important matters, and i don't think joe biden is sending a message to the country that he's up for the job. that's just the way people are receiving it. at some point it's not even my opinion, it's how most americans feel about the job he's doing. howard: right. biden and his defenders count canner that he is manage or trying to manage but binetanyahu and israel's counterattacks, that he got a lot of legislation passed. you heard biden say, well, how did i do that?

iowa a me shah, you have democrats and the white house damage control machine going after robert hur as we noted just like bill clinton went after ken starr, just like donald trump. is going after jack smith, leticia is james, judge an gore ran -- an gore ron and earlier bob mueller. so this drives media coverage, but does it sway public opinion? >> i don't think it sways public opinion. in the case of donald trump, the document case didn't sway public opinion, and this one doesn't either. they see what joe biden is doing on the ground. he literally has pushed forward targets when it comes to really fighting existence what happened where those three -- against what happened where those three american soldiers died, and he took out one of the leaders there. that just happened haas week. when we're talking about joe biden, we have to talk about where the policy meets the road. he's reduced the cost of prescription drugs, insulin being one of the main ones, worked to create environmental policy that makes our air safer, that makes the quality of our water safer, or he's someone who

has passed the most seismic infrastructure bull that we've ever seen. those things matter. howard: but i've never seen reporters so aggressive with this president. you know, you think about it, and the press has been questioning biden's age and mental fitness for months. there was a long time when it was kind of only whispered about and now comes these series of gaffes. >> yeah. i think -- i'm glad reporters are asking him very hard questions about the age issue because i do think, frankly, this issue is almost undercovered. if you talk to real people out in america, republicans, democrats, they will express the sentiment that they see him on tv, and they have a lot of questions. i think he reminds people, frankly, of elderly relatives and friends at the end of their life when they start mixing up anecdotes, and you have sympathy for them. howard: yeah. >> reporters help him, they gave him the answer. howard: right. >> but does that -- >> donald trump missed up nancy employees sky and nikki haley -- nancy moses and nikki haley.

it's very bizarre. howard: yeah. of he's7; but he projects a more vigorous image. i've been saying for a couple years now that it is a mistake for biden's inner circle to shield him from the press because then when he does commit a gaffe, mix up name, can't remember a word with with, it e gets huge attention because we hardly ever see him. i mean, this is a guy who's turned down a super bowl interview. he's given up that megaphone, and a lot of people now saying he needs to do more media. >> what matters to joe bide spend what matters to voters -- joe biden and what a matters to voters is policy. he's been out on the campaign trail, he's going to the battle ground states, we know what voters think. particularly tried and true democratic voters, we saw the results in south carolina. these polls mean nothing when the rubber meets the road and people get to the ballot box. they've been proven false time and time again. howard: that may be true, it's not that we have the right to question the president, i think

that's how you reach the brick. when we come back, the supreme court hearing donald trump's appeal of colorado's ballot banker and and it's pretty clear which way the justices are headed.om ♪ a ♪ with the water in your body to help you go... ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try new mirafiber gummies. ♪(song in french)♪ (♪) book in the hotels.com app to find your perfect somewhere.

howard: the cable news networks took the it all live, the audio that is, as the supreme court herd donald trump's appeal of colorado's highest court kicking him off the ballot because of january 6th. and most of the justices, conservative and liberal, were openly skeptical about disqualifying him. >> a goodly number of states will say whoever the democratic candidate is, you're off the ballot, and others for the republican candidate, you're off the ballot. that's a pretty daunting consequence. >> i think that the question that you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the united states.

>> justices from across the ideological spectrum for better or worse say this really shouldn't be up to colorado. >> seems to me that the votes are clearly on the side of overturning the discussion of the colorado supreme court -- the decision of the colorado supreme court. >> i listened today, and i thought arguments were very, very strong. and and can you take the person that's leading everywhere and say is, hey, we're not going to let you run. you know, i think that's pretty tough to do. howard: first time i've listened to two hours of supreme court oral argument as. robby, any question in your with mind that the supreme court was extremely skeptical of donald trump being kicked off the a ballot and is going to knock that down? >> not at all. they asked all the right questions, they gave every indication that they think it would be too much of a blow to democracy. the thing democrats are running on -- howard: right. yeah. >> but you can't have the other candidate on the ballot, we can't even give people the option to vote for him even though he's not been convicted

of insurrection? there's a question whether what happened is insurrection, these are all questions that have not been litigated yet. so to proactively strip donald trump off the ballot would be an incredible movement the justices were, i think, rightly skeptical of out. hu hu even elena kagan and ketanji brown jackson while a bit more sympathetic to the idea that trump under the 14th amendment may have contributed to an insurrection, skeptically challenged the all-democratic appointees on the colorado supreme court about saying you can't vote for this guy. >> no, and colorados has an interesting path of not voting for -- past of not voting for trump anyway, so they can carry on the same way -- howard: but there's also and other states. >> i actually agree with chief justice roberts here because if this was something that they were to uphold in the colorado ruling, there is nothing to say that another democrat, another republican on down the line, so on and so forth, states could also kick them off. i do think there's something to be said about letting the voters

decide. donald trump seems to be the republican nominee. there's no signs of stopping that, and colorado again has proven time and time again at the ballot box they reject donald trump. there's no reason to stop now. howard: most of the justices when you get beyond the legal weeds about self-executing laws and precedents and so so forth just question how impact if call this would be. what about if other states followed colorado's lead? what if some tried to kick joe biden off the ballot? and i think that may have been the crux of it for the nine members of the supremes. >> absolutely. and it's, look, at some level it's a -- it's a political question. if you want to hold donald trump accountable for what happened on january 6th, etc., well, then tonight vote for him or contribute to his opponent, campaign against him. it's a fundamentally political question -- howard: and the supreme court hates political questions of this a nature. >> right. they think it should be left to the people, and that's the whole premise of our democracy. so it is incredible to me that ostensibly the democratic party has taken this elaborate step.

also the media a taking steps to shield you from even hearing what donald trump has to say, how many times do they cut away from his speeches -- ow howe we're going the get to that in a second. but the other case, ameshia, a federal possible, two democrat, one republican appointee, ruled against trump's claims of full immunity this week saying this would be a license for any president or former president to commit if crimes and not be held accountable. and donald trump has until tomorrow to appeal that a ruling to the supreme court. so could there be a split decision? the former president maybe loses on immunity but wins on ballot access? >> absolutely, and i think that's 100% way that's going to go. howard: me too. [laughter] >> this was always ridiculous. there's no to say and it's not written in our constitution that a president can, you know, have all types of criminal the city and never be held accountable. that's not how this country works. this is not a fiefdom, he is not a king, this is not a monarchy.

that's not how this works. and he is being held accountable. i think in this case he's definitely going to lose and lose big because it was never really an an opportune time to make that a claim to begin with. it was a little bit shady from the jump. they think that what donald trump tried to do was basically say that because i'm president, all powers are invested in me, i am a untouchable. and what the court is going to tell him is that that is absolutely -- howard: i don't know if shady is the right word. there's arguments on both side, but i think you may be right on the outcome. now, you alluded to this earlier, robby. i want to get a quick comment from both of you. msnbc did take donald trump's comments after the supreme court hearing. he started out by talking about politics, and then this happened. finish. >> in watching the supreme court today, i thought it was very, very -- >> and we've been listening to donald trump. howard: so he was just getting to the supreme court ruling, and some executive i think decided

to cut away. >> their view is that they can't allow audiences to hear him say things that might be wrong or exaggerated or something, that they're protecting people from his words. i don't understand this strategy at all. donald trump is more popular than ever. he's ahead in all the swing states, it's not a good strategy. >> his words lead to extreme violence, we've seen that a time and time again -- howard: not only are we talking about a supreme court case which i think some in the audience might like to hear. thank you so much. up next, the press is stunned when house republicans fall just short of impeaching alejandro mayorkas. ♪ if and unforgettable scenery with viking. unpack once, and get closer to iconic landmarks, local life, and cultural treasures. because when you experience europe on a viking longship, you'll spend less time getting there and more time being there.

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howard: as the house moved to impeach alejandro mayorkas, virtually everyone in the media assumed it would be a slam dunk, but with three republican lawmakers breaking with their party, the press was stunned as the effort failed 216-214. >> it was a complete political stunt in an election year and

still somehow the republican majority screwed up their own whip count. >> mayorkas is just the stooge carrying out the orders, right? son't i don't really -- i can't stand what he's done, i think it's reprehensible, but with why isn't it biden that's impeached? why mayorkas? howard: the issue surfaced when the homeland security chief was taking questions at the super bowl. >> how do you feel this morning after narrowly avoiding impeachment yesterday? >> the allegations are baseless, and i'm focused on the work which is what brings me to las vegas today. >> are republicans vindicated? they may hold another vote, and they might have the numbers at that point. if that happened, would you consider stepping aside? >> no, i would not. >> thank you, one last question. >> [inaudible] howard: no last question. joining us now in palm beach, caroline downey, a reporter for "national review," and here in the studio with, lydia beavers who covers the hill for politico. everyone, including me, thought mayorkas would easily be impeached, and then the

republicans fall two votes short. is, are the media right to portray this as an embarrassing defeat? >> no. despite the media a's portrayal that this is a humiliating loss, it was a very close vote, and house republicans will get a second chance most likely. and if they succeed, it will bring political clarity to this issue even if mayorkas is not convicted by the democratic senate. the fact is that knew your cat is the implementer and symbol of biden's dereliction of duty and conspiracy against the country. the secretary himself has presided over an unprecedented border scandal. cbp in fiscal year 2023 alone seized over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl that has killed countless americans. and all of that fits the definition for high crimes and misdemeanors. howard: right. >> it's very fitting that on the fist day of mayorkas' impeachment hearings new york city kicked out its own students from a brooklyn high school to temporarily house 2,000

migrants. howard: temporarily because of weather. i've got to jump in because i want to give everybody equal time. look, chances of mayorkas being convicted in the democratic senate, i would say, are zero. but there was quite a scene on the floor, lots of shouting when there was a tie vote, republicans were trying to get mike gallagher of wisconsin to flip. >> yes, and you could see is it. i was in the gallery. there was pointing, clearly yelling. mark green, the chairman of homeland security, was going up to him, speaker mike if johnson. i was told the argument is you do not know what kind of blowback you're going to get politically, and gallagher's arms were crossed, he was shaking his head, and the next thing you know, gallagher does not back off. howard: but also he says two days later -- >> he's retiring. howard: do you think they a may be related? >> i want to ask him when i see him next. howard: all right. caroline, in the senate you have ted cruz and others saying mitch mcconnell should step down from his leadership post. mcconnell now going up against what's become a trump party. is this, as the press would have

it, a sign of chaos? >> it's not a sign of chaos in the sense that there's this terrible disruption and lack of unity in the gop. i think on the question of mayorkas a'er the restriction oy alongside biden, it's almost unanimous. it's, like, the easiest issue at this point for both independents and moderates to agree on as well as democrats and republicans. it's an absolute chaotic situation at our southern border. it's flooding into so many communities across this country. and so i think there is general consent among the republican caucus but, yeah, mitch mcconnell, he's miscalculated a number of different things. and so i think, i think, you know, younger generations are recognizing that. howard: almost unanimous among republicans but, of course, almost doesn't count. how serious should the press take these rumblings that the new speaker, mike mike johnson, could lose his job like kevin

mccarthy triggered by just one motion from one conservative hard-liner,? >> i think it's making it tough for him to govern, but watching him he'll claim he's not paying attention to that, and yet politics always play a role. marjorie taylor greene is starting to use it if he brings ukraine aid to the floor. you just have to watch it because sometimes when you're covering these stories, you see some bluster, you see some kind of public maybe fund raising stunt, and the next thing you know they actually do pull the trigger, so it's something you have to track carefully. howard: in other words, it's not over til it's over. so we'll get more into this next block. next on "mediabuzz," the bipartisan border bill collapses despite the media support as washington remains paralyzed. ♪ ♪

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major liability for the democrats one casualty of the failed measure is it also included military aid for israel and ukraine. >> they are playing politics with the border, and they are putting lives at risk in ukraine. and in the fullness of history, this is going to look like a neville chamberlain moment. >> the disastrous border bill is nothing more than a blatant attempt by biden and the left, they just want to shift the blame for his border crisis squarely onto the shoulders of republicans. this is his and his alone. howe many of -- howard: many of the pundits are unloading on speaker mike johnson. >> it was a mess, what happened here, but we're cleaning it up. the chasm between the two parties right now is wider than it's ever been, and there are lots of emotions. and we live in the age of social media and 24-hour news psych. >> it's been made pretty clear to us by the speaker that it will not become law. howard: president biden, in a

rare television appearance, tried to assign blame for a bill clearly on life support. >> donald trump thinks it's bad for him politically, therefore, he doesn't -- even though it helps the country, he's not for it. he'd rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it. howard: caroline downey, do you agree that most of the media have been rooting for this border bill and, therefore, are portray thing its defeat, or apparent if defeat, at the urging essentially of donald trump as a republican disaster? >> it doesn't matter what the media with believes about trump's sentiments on the bill. we have to be able to separate the legislative text on its merits. and despite the media's spin that this bill is a amazing, bipartisan comp prohis, that republicans are maliciously obstructing, it's just simply not the case. biden already had the authority to lock down the border, he just lacks the political will to do so. and so the impression among

house republicans is that this is a band-aid bill. howard: uh-huh, okay. trump himself said we killed it and said blame me. he's happy to take credit or blame, depending on how you see it. lydia, some republicans, it's true, didn't like the text once it was finally released. for example, biden would have the power to shut down the border once the number of illegal crossings by migrants reached 5,000 a day. that seems absurdly high to me. but many others, i think, were following donald trumps' lead. >> i think donald trump certainly had a huge influence, and that was sort of something republicans just did not expect him to do, which was to weigh in and kill it before it really had a hasn't to be pitched, to be sold, to hear people event. and i think senator lankford and a few others described that as something that surprised them as factoring into the bill. another thing that a factored into this is which we've seen before, we've seen it with immigration bills before, you get a little detail, and the reporters write something up,

and the next thing you know, you already have people spinning the narrative about what that bill is. howard: right. a lot of leaks. >> it was dead before the text put even out. howard: interesting. that happens a lot on capitol hill, stuff gets leaked. caroline, joe biden, let's be clear are, bears primary responsibility for the debacle at the border after three years in office. many reporters say donald trump handed him an issue by saying this would be a gift for the democrats and a death knell for the republicans. so the democratic spin is the border will remain a mess until next january. . >> house republicans argued that regardless of whether the bill was passed or not, unfettered illegal immigration would be perpetuated. and and so again, trump's opinion on whether it's going to, you know, faze his electoral prospects is irrelevant here. we have to be able to isolate what the text did. and the fact is why do we need a trigger number to ask biden to

simply make sure that the laws of this country are faithfully executed? he's engaged -- his administration, including mayorkas, are engained in a conspiracy to on accelerate our national sovereignty. and many americans, i think, despite the fact this bill failed are wondering why do we need congress to intervene? to our laws are fine, it's a lack of will. howard: well, i wouldn't call it a conspiracy, but it is fair to say why couldn't president biden declare a national emergency and then crack down on the border. olivia, caught in the crossfire here is badly needed aid to israel and especially ukraine. many republicans are not supporting more aid for volodymyr zelenskyy, and the ukrainians are in a tough position. but that's why the media a are portraying this as a huge foreign policy setback as well. >> certainly, there was the belief that if they tied border or and ukraine and israel aid, they'd be able to get past the conservative base that would be opposed to it. howard: a trade-off.

yeah. >> and then the border bill didn't work. it didn't -- speaker johnson said it was dead in the house, and it failed in the senate. so now they're back to square one, and and they tried to pass a israel, taiwan, ukraine bill -- howard: right. >> -- straight. now we have to see if it can have a chance in the house. speaker johnson doesn't seem open to it, but then democrats might try to do a discharge position which means they might have to get some republican support. howard: yeah. mike johnson, excuse me, had also tried to get an israel-only bill figuring it's less controversial than ukraine. that went down the other day. so i want to take a look at a senator james lankford, the republican who was the lead negotiator on this ultimately unsuccessful bill. he spoke on the floor about his conversation with an unnamed conservative pundit, and let's take a look. >> i had a popular commentator four weeks ago that i talked to that told me flat out if you try

to move a bill that solves the border crisis during this presidential year, i will do whatever i can to destroy you. howard: caroline, that sounds like bigtime pressure. [laughter] >> well, it's kind of a salacious speech because with this bill would have not solved the border crisis. it would have continued effectively unrestrained because, again, the idea of a trigger number is nonsensical at face value. we have the authority in the executive to enforce immigration law. but biden is flouting that. he's not detaining illegal immigrants coming into this country, and mayorkas is extremely complicit in that. and so, you know, i kind of reject the premise of lankford's statement although i will say, yeah, i think some pundits are maybe concerned about a rump's electoral prospects. but i think most americans don't care about that. howard: olivia, i didn't know

media people were so powerful, those kind of threats. >> you know, it depends who it is. howard: we don't know. >> if it's someone who has a lot of sway with the republican base, then that's a different calculation than just the media writing up some sort of story that they can argue against with their voters back home. howard: right. >> but we we don't know who it is. i'd love for him to name it because we love naming names. howard: he says this stuff happened. o live ya beavers, caroline downey, thank you so much for joining us. after the break, king charles undergoing cancer treatment as the media turn on prince harry. ♪ e laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now, get max strength topical pain relief precisely where you need it. with new tylenol precise.

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♪ howard: it was huge news not just in the u.k., but here in the states when buckingham palace announced that king charles has been diagnosed with cancer. very sad news. prince harry flew to britain to see his father who started immediate treatment with prince william slated to fill in for the ailing monarch. joining us now from new york to talk about the coverage, charlie langston, top editor at "the daily mail." why has the king's cancer diagnosis touched a nerve? certainly, he was more candid than the pentagon's lloyd austin who covered up his prostate cancer, and do you think buckingham palace should disclose what kind of cancer he has? >> i think it's a very rare thing for a reign aring monarch to be so open about their health struggles, and that's why the media has responded, quite frankly, with a fair if amount

of shock. and then you add into the fact that the cancer diagnosis comes off the back of a very troubling time for the royal family, kate middleton was in hospital, then charles was having treatment for an enlarged prostate and and something that the media on both sides of the atlantic have been focusing on is just how bauer the cupboards are in terms of royal family members who are able to step into the fray. and that's another aspect of this cancer diagnosis that has really caused some concern especially among the british public. howard: right. i think i'll answer my question and say, yes, i think the cancer should be disclosed. meanwhile, the king saying he's heartened he's able to promote and draw attention to people struggling with cancer. but the british press, as you know, have totally gone after prince harry for flying to britain for 26 hours, spending 45 minutes to talk to his dad and then returning to california and meghan markle. his father has a

life-threatening disease. does the press hate harry that much? >> it's less about hating on harry and more about highlighting harry's behavior when it comes to his interactions with the royal family. let's keep in the mind this wasn't a case of charles saying, hi, hello, i would really love you by my side, this was harry doing what looked very much to be a press-facing trip to the u.k. he didn't stay there for a prolonged amount of time. it was very clear that schedules had to be hastily rearrange ared in order for this meeting between charles and harry to take place, and the media is no longer going to let harry have a part. they're going to call him out when his behavior doesn't sit right. and in this case it really didn't sit right. the fact that he didn't see william with or kate just highlights how hasty a trip this was. howard: maybe he wasn't all that welcome. but, or look, a lot of media praise, well deserved, i think, for prince william for taking over duty while his wife kate

recuperates from her surgery. but is some of the coverage kind of maudlin because he's next in line for the throne? >> you know, charles ascended to the throne at a very old age, and i think it's only natural that people look to william as the next monarch, and they understand that william will be on the throne a lot sooner than charles was, for example. i don't think it's maudlin more so than it is just people getting ready and looking to william to how he might act when he does become king. no one is really causing panic here, no one's predicting the worst. the palace has been very clear in their language -- howard: right. >> -- that they are very hopeful and positive. but william really has an opportunity to prove himself here, and i think the media are responding very well to that. howard: thanks for your insight. still to come covering the super bowl and taylor swift, cnn blowing up its morning show and with kanye west. ♪ ♪

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♪ howard: it's super bowl sunday in las vegas for the first time as the kansas city chiefs with travis kelce take on the san francisco 49ers. now, a crazy amount of coverage has focused on kelce's girlfriend, taylor swift, who -- while everyone speculated whether she'd endorse joe biden -- had herself a good week, winning a record fourth best album award at the grammys. >> i would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my high, but i feel this happy when i finish a song. >> the women who run the biden campaign want to set the big guy up. the most unpopular president of all time wants to have a relationship with taylor swift. >> i mean, my goodness, if you need taylor swift to get you another four years, that's how bad your first four years have been. >> for some conservatives it was

downright unconscionable that she would actually voice her opinions, how dare she. why wouldn't joe biden want her endorsement? howard: a reporter even asked coach andy reid about all the unfounded taylor swift conspiracy talk. [laughter] >> that's way out of my league. howard: can't get in trouble if you don't take a swing. also, plenty of media salutes after the passion of country music star the toby keith, a cultural conservative also known for his patriotic anthems. cnn's new boss, mark thompson, has blown up the low rated morning show created by his predecessor. it started out with don lemm mornings caitlin collins and poppy harlow, and after lemon was fire thed and collins moved to prime time, it was left to pop poppy harlow and phil managemently. cnn is shop chopping the show up into three new programs the last of which hosted by the

opinionated liberal jim acosta who is openly hostile to president trump. that's quite a break from a chummy show without an ideological edge. instagram will stop promoting political copy cat along with threads and later on sister company facebook. if you decide to follow accounts that post political content, you don't want -- we don't want to get between you and their posts, but we also don't want to proactively recommend political content from accounts you don't follow. hbo's bill maher sat down for a lengthy interview with khan kanye west -- kanye with a long series of anti-semitic comments. we won't get to see that interview with ye. maher is spiking it. this is from tmz investigates streaming on hulu. >> i thought it was going to be

a learning moment. i mean, we were here for two hours. we, by the way, we had an amazing, fun time. he's a very charming anti semite appointment. howard: and with that decision, maher or is taking a stand against kanye's bigotry. that's it for this edition of "mediabuzz" on super bowl sunday. i'm howard kurtz. enjoy the game. we all a try to cram too much into this show, but this week was tough. you can subscribe to my daily podcast media buzz meter as we riff on the day's top five stories and have a lot of fun doing it. we are back here next sunday, 11 eastern, with the only media analysis show on national television. ♪ if. ♪ ar is like... ♪ is she? playing with the confidence of a pro and getting all up in that grass as if she doesn't have allergies? yeah. nice. this looks like an actual farm. it looked cute on the app. ( ♪ )

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let's take a live look at the senate form. as is centers are mulling around to start the debate expected to vote to break the filibuster at $95 billion aid package to hel