the news cycle for a few days and hopefully we can heal. >> if republicans can't work with donald trump and get thing done, it can be a real disaster. maria: we'll see you next week. howie: our "buzzfeed" from los angeles this sunday. a violent protest by white nationalists in charlottesville plays out before the media. many denouncing the president for failing to call out white supremacists and neo-nazis by name. >> we condemn this display of bigotry and violence on many side. howie: does this give the fringe group too much attention.

the president vows to rein death on north korea if they threaten the united states. >> they best not make threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> if north korea launched a nuclear warhead toward the united states, how long would it take to go from launch to strike? >> can we dial this back? this is an important story. but it's an unconfirmed report of a possible technological development from north korea. and suddenly on television we are talking about people hiding in caves. >> our job tonight is to care people to death about the strike. >> we never had an american

president playing i'm rubber, you are glue in terms of a nuclear holocaust. there is a craziness surrealism problem in the u.s.-north korean relationship. >> he talks about fire and fury, i don't think it was happenstance. howie: is the press overreacting or are some journalists just scaring people. mike pence calling the press disgraceful for reporting he's exploring his options for a presidential run in 2020. is the piece on the vice president's political maneuvering really wrong? steve hilton says the american media are out of touch.

is he right? i'm howard curt and this is "mediabuzz." -- howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." the aftermath of yesterday's violent protest in charlottesville has eclipses briefly the confrontation with north korea. here to join me is christina bellantoni. mollie hemingway and jessica tarlov. just a tsunami of media criticism for denouncing violence on many side but not naming the group that carried out these attacks that drove the car into the crowd. mollie: the media are focusing

on this horribly tragic story that led to the death of a woman run over by a car who appears to be a white nationalist. but you see the media try to push and hype this rally. this is a nationwide rally and they were able to gather just a couple hundred people. you give it wall-to-wall coverage and marginalize this group or other people would say they want that kind of coverage. they want to provoke conflict and maybe the media shouldn't be playing into that quite so much. howie: by making donald trump the focus of this protest he had nothing to do with, aren't some critics in the media also being divisive?

jessica: i think the media does play a divisive role in what's going on in today's society. but he spent years criticizing barack obama for not saying radical islamic terrorism. we know why barack obama refused to do that, he didn't want to alienate moderate muslims. so i think the media hasn't gone too far. if you were listening to what karl rove said with maria bartiromo, he said this is a moment when the president could have said the moral thing to condemn this by name like his daughter did this morning on twitter. howie: it's been 24 hour since this awful violence.

the whole story turns to trump's response. christina: it's the president of the united states, so his word do matter and will get the focus. what's important here is condemning violence no matter who is perpetrating it. and the president should have called him out by name. his republican colleague and democrats across the aisle said you should have named this organization and condemned it. the idea that anybody who endorse any violence is wrong at the moment. this is like a tinder box. we have seen it across the country. now it's getting more severe. people need to condemn violence no matter where it's happening. at rallies or republicans or white nationalists.

howie: the president did do that. i think it would have been better if he had mentioned white nationalists like his daughter ivanka did. barack obama got criticized heavily for refusing to call out radical islamic terrorists. what explains the extraordinarily media coverage on presidential language. mollie: they take the first line of a lengthy statement he gave on the violence and they just take that one statement where he says there is violence on both sides or something to that effect. he also explicitly condemns racism and talks about the need to love one another. i don't think the full statement is being included here, and i think the media has wind itself into a frenzy. country has experienced in recent years a lot of violent rallies.

they are on different fringe sides, there is fringe left, fringe right. and we have seen rallies in charlotte and baltimore and new york and many other places. people understand there are fringe elements convincing themselves about being violent against their fellow american. that's not something just in one political enclave. and it's a good idea for a president to speak to all of those things. jessica: i take your point. the vast majority of white people in this country are not white supremacists or neo-nazis. every other republican was -- howie: let me turn this back to the press. it seems like to the extent the president did forcefully condemn

bigotry and violence with the specific language you or others preferred, the president doesn't have much interest in that. he only wanted to make what he didn't say the story. jessica: i think the media plays a divisive role here. but i don't think they have gone too far in asking why the president chose in the to use that language today. at this moment, i don't know why the press is wrong to be asking a president who was a leader in the birther movement why he isn't using the explicit language when his daughter is and his wife has to be the first from 1600 pennsylvania avenue to condemn it with her tweet. howie: let's pull back the camera. if there is violence at a

protest, we have to cover it. but there were lots of tv cameras there in charlottesville, virginia. do the media pay too much attention to these fringe groups? christina: during the republican convention there were fringe groups there. and the media spent a lot of time talking to the fringe groups. this is an element of society. this is out there. so trying to understand motivations, get them to say this is what it's about. it's a delicate situation, but it's important to listen and maybe that can solve some problems. howie: let me turn to the korea situation. the president didn't just talk about fire and fury, he kept talking about the confrontation with kim jong-un. >> he does something in guam, it will be an event the likes of

which nobody has seen before what will happen in north korea. >> what will you do? >> you will see, and he will see. it's not a dare, it's a statement. howie: what do you make of the tsunami of media criticism that president trump is being reckless and escalating the situation with north korea. mollie: i personally don't like that escalating rhetoric. but the truth is it's not that much outside the norm. you had bill clinton say he could end north korea. barack obama said we could. and john mccain said we could annihilate north korea.

the criticism is not born out by historical perspective. howie: does mollie have a point? is the press overreacting? jessica: i do think so. when i first heard it i had a blowback moment and said did he actually say that. then i saw the quotes in context. i think it reason the media undermines him is they don't trust him. when we saw other members of the cabinet clearly did not talk to him about the language he was going to use. mollie: the media can't be undermining him with his own words. we are watching on camera what he is saying. jessica: they can with their commentary. his words are on for 30 seconds and a bunch of pundits are talking about him and his words and if he's worse than kim

jong-un. christina: one of the reasons this blew up is he hasn't talked to the press that frequently. he's on vacation in new jersey. anything he says is going to be a major story because we don't hear from him enough. howie: vice president pence ripping the "new york times" for suggesting he has ambitions in 2020. phone with our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. so the incredibly minor accident that i had tonight- four weeks without the car. okay, yup. good night. with accident forgiveness your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it. her long day as anne. hair stylist starts with shoulder pain when... hey joanne, want to trade the all day relief of 2 aleve with 6 tylenol? give up my 2 aleve for 6 tylenol? no thanks.

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howie: more on the president's war of words with the media. you saw the reporting from a

hawaii bunker. are some going overboard on this situation and scaring people? mollie: there always seems to be a rush to war, particularly in broadcast media. when we struck syria, there was such excitement about that. the media has gotten into patterns of escalating rhetoric even when they are condemning what the president said and not thinking through the serious continues of what a global conflict with north korea would be like. it's news worthy that north korea going through several administrations does have some of these capabilities. but we need to remember how to cover these things a little bit more balanced. north korea is a country that has interests. they aren't likely to actually bomb the united states or guam and south korea. the moment they do that, they would be utter live annihilated

as many of these presidents have said. hosaid. jessica: i think there has been a lot of it blown up. if you listen to the experts there is an increased risk of a conflict. by the am not fire and brimstone. what is interesting is to see the effect on the american public. over 50% say they would be willing to go into a conflict with north korea. i think due to the media coverage like brian williams trumping it up, to use the trump word. howie: chris tina, how is the "l.a. times" handling this. continue require's important to have reality. i raised this in one of our news

meetings. what would you do in the events of a nuclear attack. how do you have approach this so people can inform themselves and take it home and into schools where people are asking the question. be as sober by the as you can and get the facts out there without being hysterical. no one wants to delight in this coverage. howie: all the people in the media who don't like president trump exaggerating it. so the same partisan sniping. but it's a serious issue. mollie: it is a serious issue. but we don't like to go back decades. we like to cover what's happening at the moment. going back to the 90s when

jimmy carter went to north korea and worked out this arrangement. he kinds of sabotaged bill clinton in so doing. this is a story decades in the making and a regional issue that goes back even longer. when you make everything about trump you miss out on big, significant stories. howie: when you make everything about donald trump you miss it's north korea that's stepping up the testing and rhetoric. jessica: they are the aggressor here and it's a regional issue more than anything else. the media needs to play a role in getting the facts out. if they want to push back on the white house, the media should be threading good or true information. howie: thank you very much for joining us.

ahead on "mediabuzz" from l.a. some fox news commentators trashing mitch mcconnell. google fires an engineer who dares to criticize its policy on hiring women in high-tech. ugh. heartburn. sorry ma'am. no burning here. try alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. they don't taste chalky and work fast. mmmm. incredible. can i try? she doesn't have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. enjoy the relief.

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take a walk through the past. meet new relatives and see how a place and its people are all a part of you. ancestrydna. save 30% through august 15th at ancestrydna.com. howie: google fired an engineer who wrote a memo saying females are a small percentage of google engineers. he said people got offended because silicon valley is a

progressive echo chamber and his comments go against ideology. the overall coverage portrays this guy as a sexist creep. mollie: so many people in the media portrayed his memo on how to be responsive to the biological differences between men and women. the media kept calling it an anti-diversity memo if you read it. it went viral. but you could read it yourself and see the wait was portrayed by various media outlets was incorrect. >> i'm not saying any of the female engineers at google are in any way worse than the average male engineer. i'm just saying that this may explain some of the disparity in representation in the population. howie: james demore writes women

are more neurotic than men and this is a factor in their employment. mollie: there are all sorts of things you might take issue of even his understanding about what social science says about the differences in men and women can be argued with. but the overall memo was how to do a better job with diversity program and deal with the reality that men and women are different. this is something people try not to accept. men and women are different. they have differences that show up in all sorts of scientific analysis. men and women have on average different strength and they will choose different career paths in different ways. that's anathema to many people in the media. howie: google canceled a meeting

on this topic. he seems to be milking his op-ed moment. have tech giants unintentionally turned him into a media hero. mollie: he was fired after google asked for feedback on these program. he gave feedback and then he got fired. i don't know that that's milking it. a lot of people in the country feel they are not free to engage and disagree with he sleet viewpoints. people feel this at their own workplaces and feel it on social media. that's why this has taken off and has a life of its own. howie: mollie hemingway, great

to see you as always. next on "mediabuzz." mike pence denounces the "new york times" reporting that he's positioning himself for 2020. cnn fires a contributor for invoking nazi terminology. choice for him is aleve. he's agreed to give it up. ok, but i have 30 acres to cover by sundown. we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. yeah, i was ok, but after lunch my knee started hurting again so... more pills. yep... another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? for my pain... i want my aleve. get all day minor arthritis pain relief with an easy open cap.

howie: the vice president called the piece in the "new york times" and he says it's the latest attempt to divide the administration. article said one of his aides said the pence team wants to be prepared in case there was an opening in 2020.

joining us from los angeles, gina loudon, and in new york, cathy areu. gina, what do you make of mike pence pushing back so hard against this "new york times" piece that includes him in the maneuvering for 2020. gina: he's probably asking the question if he were not doing those things would the media criticize him for not doing those things, saying he's not fully on board with the conservative agenda. there has become such a chasm between the conservatives in general and the media at this point. but there is a distrust overall. everything the media says is suspect to someone like vice president nuke pence. howie: wouldn't any vice president keep his options open? the story doesn't say that mike

pence is going to challenge trump. cathy: it was a story without facts. he did start a political committee. he is raising money. he hired a chief of staff that is known to be a campaign guy. his actions show he may be getting ready for 2020. it makes sense that he's upset because maybe it's the truth. howie: let me quote from the story. mr. pence has made no efforts to separate himself from the beleaguered president. and even in private he's careful to bow to the president. i'm told mike pence was truly offended. gina: going with the presumption this president is weak. a lot of conservatives will see that as a media bias in and of itself. some are saying it would be irresponsible for the vice

president not to be prepared to be president. he is the next in line. some people would say that it would be irresponsible for him not to be. then when the media tries to make a story out of this other than just reporting it, but reporting it with a little jab. is there a problem there? that's what the consumers of media may have a problem with. howie: pence wasn't at the top of the piece. butted the pence camp believes such key facts were left out as a former governor he needed a pac just to pay for his travel. and was introduced by ivanka trump. cathy: he was saying the republicans are coming up with a

plan b for 2020 given his numbers in the 30s. trump might be the only person who thinks he can win in 2020. the "new york times" are saying republicans are looking for a plan b and pence is one of them. if they didn't include he detail about his life it's because it wasn't about just mike pence. howie: let me turn now to mitch mcconnell who you know has been the subject of a number of attacks by various fox news hosts. lou dobbs and sean hannity. >> senator mcconnell, my message to you, if all you are going to do is whine like a 10-year-old and make excuses and blame the president for your failure after 8 months of him being in office, it's time to drain the sewer and swamp.

howie: president trump was asked about this, and he said he has to get repeal and replace done. the majority leader said trump with no political experience had excessive expectations how quickly capitol hill could move. in terms of the attacks from the conservative media, it's a sign of divide between trump and the gop leaders. gina: this is the media taking great liberties. the american public doesn't see it the way the media sees it. a lot of the trump base sees the media as an enemy. the media's approval rating are far lower. howie: we are talking about conservative commentators who in a normallian would be champions of mitch mcconnell and paul ryan. but taking into effect that

major initiatives are failed. gina: they have had 7 years. don't forget the uprising of the tea party movement. that was about getting rid of establishment types like mitch mcconnell who talk a good game during the campaign and don't deliver the goods. this is something that's interesting about conservatives they will criticize their own much more readily than tips those on the other side of the aisle. howie: some people on the conservative side in the media are perhaps trying to protect president trump by blaming it on mcconnell when you have a failed congressional issue. there is a responsibility on both side. >> sometimes we forget the media is the people. the media asks a tough question, and i think the fox hosts are correct. one of the fox hosts said ditch

mitch. so the fox hosts are getting it right and they are speaking on behalf of the people because that's what the media is. the media serves the people. they are of the people. i think the media is getting it right. howie: let me use the remaining tame to come back to our lead story, the violence in charlottesville and the president not calling out white nationalists by name. what do you make of the covering overall? gina: i think it's sad that trump became the topic. if trump identified immediately the media would have jumped to why is he elevating their set. we know this is a tiny minority of people. that would have been the reaction from the media had he done what they are saying they wish he had done.

is it an honest conversation? i don't think so. i think the thing america misses about the media and the way the media could get back into the good graces of america, forget the political correctness for five minute and have a conversation. in a tragedy like this we should be discussing the victims and the heart of america, and not discussing what the president did or didn't say. cathy: i agree. these are tough situations to cover. let's get down to the victims and talk about these thing. these are always tough topics to cover. it's tough for the media. thing are never easy for the media. howie: i hate when the spotlight gets off those who are killed or injured or wounded for political sniping that always follows

these thing. after the break, one-time british operative with a unique take on the american media. ugh. heartburn. sorry ma'am. no burning here. try alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. they don't taste chalky and work fast. mmmm. incredible. can i try? she doesn't have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. enjoy the relief.

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howie: steve hilton was an advisor to former prime minister of britain, david cameron.

he's joining us in his studio here in los angeles. you told "forbes" magazine i don't think anyone believes the "new york times" and washington times are anything but aggressive toward president trump. steve: if you look at the balance of the coverage and the commentary that come out of what we describe as the mainstream media. it's actually the whole conversation. then this element of complete condescension, i think, toward the lives and views and opinions of those people who supported donald trump in the election. there is no real attempt to understand why they may have done that, to look at the failures of the last few decade that left working people poorer, their lives tough. all that stuff that drives support. they don't want to try to understand it. howie: another quote from you. much of the media is decadent.

they have comfortable lives far removed from the crisis in america. howie: you have a $12 million house in the silicon valley. steve: i think that is one of the reasons for the bias covering is that the people who are generating that coverage, the journalists, the editors, the people who produce that, they typically live in the wealthy parts of cities like new york, washington and los angeles. and their lives are great. they have rising incomes, their neighborhoods are pleasant places and free of crime. howie: your life seems pretty great, too. steve: it is and i'm grateful for that mostly due to my fantastic wife who allowed us to have that great benefit.

but there is different between being part of the elite and elitism. it's the attitude of elitism that's the problem. howie: the "times" piece says you get harassed as a conservative. someone left toilet paper with trump's face on oath. do you feel like you are in hostile territory? steve: definitely. i patiently try and make the argument. saying look at what's going on in the lives of working americans. not those who live in this bubble in san francisco or new york or d.c. in d.c., the wealthiest parts of the whole country. look at the lives of people outside of that. you don't have to live there or be part of it to see what's going on. there is data that tells you the story of what happened to incomes. you don't have to be part of it to understand it.

i think what happened with the media is this colossal failure of empathy for their fellow americans. howie: i said throughout the campaign that the media didn't understand the people who supported donald trump. let's talk about the evening near who was fired for the diversity memo. steve: there is a bad sexism problem in silicon valley. but i think throughout corporate america. this has been going on for a long time. if you talk to working women they will tell you about their experiences. howie: it's hard to be bad in the high-tech culture because of the bro problem? steve: that's true. but the response goes to the point of narrow mindedness that

i think is characteristic of our liberal elite in the media and the business world. any view that doesn't fit with the prescribed set of opinions the elite have are dismissed. it's not even taken seriously. even if you have that view, you don't have the right to be listened to. it's closing down any alternative viewpoint. howie: a quick break. more with steve hilton. the fascinating thing about david letterman's comeback. it's ok that everybody ignores me when i drive. it's fine. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. because i don't use my cellphone when i'm driving. even though my family does, and leaves me all alone. here's something else... i don't share it with mom. i don't. right, mom? i have a brand new putter you don't even know about! it's awesome. safe driving bonus checks, only from allstate.

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howie: we are with steve hilton,

host of "the next revolution." breitbart says fluffy liberal steve hilton is the original rino. republican in name only. steve: when i was working with david cameron and making changes trying to get conservative party elected. howie: appealing to some north middle? steve: enough to win an election. something that was always hard to convey but i will do my best. it's not a betrayal of your conservative principles to try to relate them to the problems people are facing in their lives today. so one of the big things we tried to do in the u.k. was to show conservative solutions to those long-standing questions of poverty and inequality that troubled british society would actually work. showing an interest in the lives

of the poorest and of working people was seen by some as some kind of betrayal. howie: this "new york times" profile published today said you see yourself on american tv as trying to unite and find common ground between trump supporters and bernie sanders supporters. steve: i think one of the really interesting things happening in politics is actually the divide is increasingly not left-right but what i would describe as the elitists and populists. you can find them in both parties. your conversation about mitch mcconnell and the establishment republicans. they are part of the problem. that agenda pro globalization, uncritical with what's going on in terms of automation. that agenda is being pursued by politicians in the left and right for the last few decades.

and what you are seeing with the populist response to that. working people say we have been screwed by these changes. that's different from the alt-right conversation. hour. howie: on your show a washington times columnist says he doesn't interrupt his guest. his program is civilized. this is cable news, you can't keep this up. steve: we'll see if we keep going. howie: i interrupt people. are you trying to establish a different kinds of conversation with this show. steve: that's true. a thoughtful conversation. some of these problems that hurt people for so long in their daily lives. they require a substantive thoughtful response. and not the you are right, you

are wrong left-right battle that did a disservice to people living in this country. that's what we are trying to get at. howie: steve hilton, thanks for joining us. still to come. cnn -- dumps a commentator over a nazi salute. this is joanne. her long day as a hair stylist starts with shoulder pain when... hey joanne, want to trade the all day relief of 2 aleve with 6 tylenol? give up my 2 aleve for 6 tylenol? no thanks. for me... it's aleve.

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cleanse you house of evil spirits. we'll do anything, (spiritual chatter) seriously anything to help you get your dream home. ally. do it right. >> i want to say something mere that i know will probably drive some one crazy. think of president trump as the martin luther king of healthcare. howie: after writing a column for the american spectator where he attacked media matters as fastist he said sieg heil.

an was fired. he says cnn caused over a joke and violated his free speech right. there is no first amendment right to have a network contract if you say dumb stuff. sieg heil. why even go there. david letterman gave up the late night show. but he's going to do a series stop netflix. people can watch whenever they want. this is why outfits like to threat application and other prime videos are landing big names and spending big bucks.

mediabuzz@foxnews.com. if you want to email us and come at me on twitter @howardkurtz. [♪] arthel reporter: the justice department and the fbi, a tragic day for u.s. forces in iraq. two u.s. service members have been killed and five others injured during combat operations in the northern part of the country. an investigation is under way. but initial reports suggest the incident was not due to enemy contact. we'll bring you more details as they come in. meanwhile the justice department and the fbi on the case in charlottesville launching a civil rights investigation into the deadly car