howie: with the government shutdown in its third week, nancy pelosi becomes speaker of the house. another democratic congresswoman curses her way with the mother of all obscenities, demanding president trump's impeachment. >> the language is unacceptable. we are talk abouting a congresswoman none much us heard before yesterday. >> i can't believe this is a big deal, scandalous or offensive in any way. howie: is the press holdings labor actable for her blistering

attack. and romney slams the president in an op-ed. >> mitt romney is different from flake and corker because he's sticking around. >> mitt romney will give republicans an opening to use their big boy voices and speak out when something is blatantly wrong, cruel or offensive. >> he's reprehensible. i can't believe the people of utah elected this creep. howie: warn rrp becomes the first candidate in the presidential race. >> the problem with arounden in addition to lying about her heritage. she has a problem not being herself. elizabeth warren is too left

wing probably to be elected nationwide. >> you have been fighting your whole life, your whole career for people getting screwed by the financial system. howie: a view that she is unlikeable is a charge often aimed at women. a former "new york times" editor says the paper is unmistakably anti-trump. i'm howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." partial government shutdown is dragging on with little progress being made after that weekend meeting between president trump, chuck schumer and the new house speaker nancy pelosi followed by another marathon white house news conference. >> the shutdown could go on for

months or a year longer. did you say that? president trump: absolutely i said that. >> you ran your campaign promising supporters mexico would pay for the wall and the wall would be made of concrete. president trump: beautiful question though it was already asked. howie: joining us, capri cafaro, guy benson, and susan ferrechio. nancy pelosi got a wave of positive press in regaining the gavel. ben: i think typically when it comes to government shutdowns

and these funding fights. reporters lean to the left, and challenge conservative views and talking points that didn't work last time for chuck schumer when the democrats were clearly responsible for the shutdown. what nancy pelosi is saying we are going to pass what the republican senate passed a few days ago. mitch mcconnell would not have brought that bill up if the white house hadn't given him the go ahead, then the president changed his mind. the media i think is treating this relatively fairly because it's a smart, normal play by nancy pelosi. howie: beyond the initial honeymoon, first female speaker for the second time. are reporters holding nancy

pelosi and her party as responsible for the partial shutdown? susan: no, but there are questions on the hill, aren't you willing to give any money for wall funding? what's being missed is what the true fight is about. what's the compromise between a wall and no wall. democrats are sticking to the point of not allowing any kind of wall. you can make the argument they are the ones not compromising. the question is posed, mr. president, you are the one that's not compromising. howie: this has become a highly symbolic fight and reporters know that. the president spoke against reporters before leaving for camp david. he said the money we are talking about is very small compared to potential returns. but i see the media blaming

president trump. capri: particularly those in the mainstream media, what they are basically saying is look, president trump agreed to this continuing resolution. he was for it before he was against it. this is the interesting thing from the media perspective. many on the left are saying you know what changed? the conservative media stepped up and said look you shouldn't back down on a wall. now democrats are saying president trump you are governing because this is what ann coulter and rush limbaugh told you to do. what is the media's role in president trump's decision making. susan: it's right there on

twitter. he said i won't sign a government funding bill unless it has wall funding. republicans put the bill forward anyway. it was never guaranteed he would sign it. i don't recall there being an understanding. howie: i want to move on to newly elected democratic representative rashida tlaib. she was at a reception with microphones and recounting a conversation with her son. >> bullies don't win. i said baby, they don't. we are going to go in there and [bleep]. >> i thought her comments were disgraceful. this is a person i don't know. i assume she's new. i think she dishonored herself and i think she dishonored her

family. howie: there has been a lot of press coverage over this. and people are saying president trump also insults people. ben: i have seen people try to work the best with the press. o'brien was attacking the media and "new york times" for covering this. howie: a cnn anchor. ben: but to me it's a simple test. if it were 2010 or 2011 and there were a newly elected freshman congressman who said that sentence about president obama wouldn't we be having a massive firestorm in the press about civility and comportment and i think the answer is undeniably yes. i don't think it's being

overblown or overcovered. howie: tlaib tweeted that she is unapologetic about it. the "new york times" ran all the words. it's not just the word, but the full-throated cry for impeachment. here is the "huffington post" headline, "the gop finally cares about language." capri: i think the real story is not about this language. we have become desensitized. it's not 2011, it's 2019 and president trump has set the bar. howie: he talks about morons and idiots and s-hole countries.

capri: i'm not supporting what she said. but the real story is a woman who is unapologetic with impeachment. but pelosi and the chair of the judiciary committee, jerry nadler, are saying whos, maybe we shouldn't go that far. howie: nancy pelosi was asked about impeachment or indictment of a sitting president. she said it's not conclusive. the press didn't report that as an aggressive act. susan: i know she doesn't want to do it and neither do the chairs of the committees. they want to see the mueller report. they want an outrage over whatever the mueller report produces.

she can't be down entirely like she did the first time she took over as speaker. at that time there wasn't such a strong cry from her base to do that. howie: the president made his first ever appearance in the white house briefing room to make his pitch for wall funding and so forth. then he walks off and this happens. >> we are not taking any questions at all. >> the purpose of the briefing room is to take questions. howie: the journalists are not happy. this is a day when nancy pelosi was dominating the news. one reporter called it an act of desperation. ben: it was messaging. that particular media appearance was one of the most effective

pieces of media work we have seen in a long time. howie: but you can't call it a press conference. ben: some of the objections of him not taking questions were overblown because he took lots of questions the day before and that morning. howie: the press conference went on for 45 minutes. but you can't accuse this president of ducking the press. capri: how many times you see these meetings. look at we did with chuck and nancy, owning the shutdown. he doesn't duck from the press. this was more about messaging and trying to get the spotlight off nancy pelosi. howie: the "new york times" exposes allegations of sexual harassment in the bernie sanders

campaign. i am a family man.

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at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience. my name is mike, i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. [♪] howie: mitt romney hadn't even been sworn in as a senator from utah when he ripped president trump in an op-ed. romney was noticeably milder with cnn's jake tapper. >> the charlottesville response gave me concern and support for roy moore. his attack on the media. it's important for a president to demonstrate the qualities of integrity, honesty, forthrightness and empathy and

respect for the institutions of our democratic republic. president trump: i was surprised at mitt romney. i hope he'll be a team player. i will say this. if he fought really hard against president trump like he does against me, he would have won the election. howie: how is it the media is suddenly portraying romney'. ben: i are happen to agree with a lot of what romney wrote. but he set off that to the side and you look at the media response to it. there is no easier way for a republican to gain kudos from the press than to criticize the

party. particularly the president. if you are pursuing conservative policies you are seen as the opposition, the adversary of the press. but when you are useful to the press by criticizing your own team, then the headlines are more positive. howie: he accepted the president's endorsement in 2012. then he vilified him in 2016 calling him a fraud and a phoney. then he had dinner with the president when he thinks secretary of state might be on the menu. capri: the "huffington post" had a headline to the effect romney will support whatever 51% of americans want him to support. there is a faction of the media saying look, mitt romney, you are doing what is advantageous

for you. maybe you are not the moral compass of the gop but you are in line for whatever is going to benefit mitt romney. howie: this was right on new year's day. romney said i won't comment on every tweet. susan: now jeff flake is gone and romney will be the go-to guy. the press looks for the naysayer in the party because it's a more interesting story and always has been. we had jeff flake who is no longer here. and bob cork kerr, also out of office. mitt romney has six years ahead of him. you will see the reporters chasing him down the hallway to get a reaction on morality,

judgment and character. ben: he signaled in the op-ed he's going to no comment that. when it comes to actual voting a lot of democrats will say what are you going to do? are you voting against the president? susan: that was the criticism of jeff flake. it's not about policy, it's about personality. howie: the media's favorite part of the story has to be ronna mcdaniels, his niece, the chair of the rnc take on uncle mitt. capri: i think we can anticipate a back and forth.

she was diplomatic. ben: trump was diplomatic. it was so mild. susan: he got zero praise from the media about that. howie: guy benson, susan ferrechio, capri cafaro, great to see you. the "new york times" news koinches unmistakably anti-trump according to the former executive editor of the

howie: the "new york times" abruptly fired the only female editor in its history. >> it's strange to go from being

a editor to being the story. i'm a hard-charging editor and i'm sure some people didn't like that style. howie: she says the newspaper is unmistakably anti-trump. the president picked up on my tweet. he said miss abramson is right. she said her book shows she reveres the "new york times" and praise its tough coverage of you. she says given its mostly audience there was an implicit financial reward for the "times" running mostly anti-trump stories. but there is a larger cost. the more anti-trump the "times"

was perceived to be the more it was distrusted for being biased. but the younger staffers are so alarmed by what they see as the danger of trump's presidency, they want to throw out the old journalistic statements. she told "politico" i quoted her out of con next an attempt to foxify the story. absolutely untrue. i quoted whole passages. whole sentences. and she offered both praise and criticism for her successor who as her number two played a role in the paper dumping her. some may pear troy abramson -- some may portray abramson's criticism of the paper is sour grapes.

abramson's words have weight precisely because she is not a trump fan and because she ran the "new york times." elizabeth warren runs into media scepticism about her likability.

[♪] howie: president trump took lots of questions from reporters before a cabinet meeting, rambling at times. and it provided fodder for pundits questioning his mental stability. president trump: it's the craziest thing i have ever seen. >> i think the president is mentally incapacitated and i thought so for a long time. >> if you thought his

pathological lying could not become more pathological or he could not become more twhriewtional. you were wrong. this man is obviously not fit to hold the office and we have known that for a very long time. howie: joining me is ben domenech, editor of "the federalist." he says things that are funny or fact challenges. .that justify questioning his mental stability? ben: absolutely it doesn't. the reality is this is a breach from a group of people who have been insisting the walls are closing in on the president and he's unfit for office from the day he arrived, virtually.

it two two months for the "new york times" to call for the invoking of the 5th amendment. they are boxed in they understand as much as they would like to see this president removed. the democrats, even nancy pelosi are not ready to move. her new standard is to look for a bipartisan wave of support before we would proceed with impeachment hearings which we have seen this week the fringe of her party already support. howie: chris hayes tweeted after that presser, his brain is broken. i am sure people in this country who don't like president trump say he's crazy. how do these attacks talking about change his diapers, do they undermine the credibility of those make these charges or

does it reinforce their popularity? >> it undermines the authority i think they have to speak to the middle of the country which is experiencing incredible job growth. several developments the last several months. the problem they run into where you might in a normal situation be trying to convince some significant portion of republicans to go a step beyond what mitt romney was saying. this is unacceptable and it might rise to the level where he needs to be removed. none of these commentators are engage in that evangelism. they are just preaching to the crowd that agreed with them from day one and showed up in the marches the day he was inaugurated. howie: where does it put a conservative site like a

federalist. ben: we have seen the developments the past couple months. the demise of "the weekly standard" is a significant event. howie: which the president gloated about. there were a lot of voices opposed to president trump. ben: in this environment the most of important thing is to keep a level head while everyone around you might be losing theirs. evaluate the facts as we know them as opposed to letting your hair get on fire every time the president engages in the latest tweet storms. i think the media organizations misjudge the country in a lot of ways. what we'll rye to do is cover -- what we'll try to do is correspond the culture and

politics of this country as they are. howie: is it a challenge for you and your colleagues when he does things relate together government shutdown or pulling out of syria that clash with the principles you happen to believe in? ben: i happen to agree with the president's decision when it comes to syria. but i don't think we should use these things as being of only one ideological spectrum. he does things that are conservative and non-conservative. i think you can evaluate those things as they are. particularly on issues of trade and unfortunately not debated on the right for so long. the president cracked that open in ways i don't necessarily like in every aspect. but he makes them a focus of debate. it's as opposed to pretending

they didn't exist. what we got out of that was a 2016 cycle where people didn't have an answer on whether the iraq war was the right thing to do. howie: the "new york times" because of the jill abramson book, the former executive editor. does that help donald trump or is it background noise? ben: i think it's background noise. there are a lot of media entities that benefited. in the absence of these attacks people might be asking about their ratings. the president is making a significant critique but he's not targeting the right place. there are a number of organizations that reside in silicon valley. the most of powerful organization in america is facebook, not the "new york times."

if not the enemies of freedom of speech, they are the enemies of freedom of thought. it's concerning to a lot of old guard people on the left who believed what the aclu was saying in the 1990s and are concerned about this today. there is a problem in fake news but it's primarily being spread by those in social media seizing on small bits of information and spinning them out of control that can't be corrected even if you come back the next day or even within a few hours. howie: the president has taken a few backs at facebook and twitter. these companies have become dominant and the rest of the media are dependent on them. ben domenech thanks for being with us from new york. howie: elizabeth warren edging

into the presidential race. why didn't the press uncover sexual harassment in the bernie campaign until

howie: elizabeth warren grabbed all kind of coverage by becoming the first democrat to declare her intentions to run in the 020

race. >> i am so glad you are here. howie: she followed up with an extremely sympathetic interview with msnbc's rachel maddow. >> donald trump is not just the next republican president. he's a special kind of departure from even what had been republican politics in the past. >> i see him as what happens when corruption invades a system. howie: joining us, mara liasson. let's start with his political piece. how does elizabeth warren avoid a clinton redux written off as to unlikeable before her campaign gets off the ground. is this question of unlikeable most of often aimed at female

politicians. mara: absolutely and it's lazy. her favorable ratings are low. guess what? so are donald trump. usually he's called polarizing. with the exception of ted cruz, i'm racking my brains to think of a man, a male politician who has been called unlikeable. they are ambitious, loud mouthed. howie: i give elizabeth warren credit for taking questions from reporters. she was asked about the botched dna and she tried to deflect it. let's play a little bit of it. she also took a shot at fox news. >> the whole scam is propped up by an echo chamber of fear and hate designed to distract and divide us. howie: does it make sense for

her to start her campaign by slamming fox? mara: when i watched that video and closed your eyes, it reminds me of republicans who bash the liberal media. but people don't always close their eyes. her video was a real populist message. the system is rigged against ordinary people. here she says big corporations, billionaires, and they have their media cheer leaders. the republican would have delivered that same message. >> i respect may havele maddow. but this interview she did with elizabeth warren. let me show you the setup piece. they did this thing on tape about warren's career. >> when credit card companies prey on the vulnerable.

it's a way to fleece the young people of america. >> elizabeth warren has long had a knack for explaining what young people were experiencing in america and explaining why it was not necessarily their fault. howie: that looked like a campaign video. she wasn't asked one single tough question. mara: what was so interesting about that line of questions you played earlier. is donald trump different in degree or kind. is he just like a regular republican or something completely different. elizabeth warren never bit on that. she said it's the system not working for ordinary people. she didn't bite on that. howie: if foxconn deducted that kind of super friendly interview with a republican there would have been criticism. there is a piece is rachel maddow a democratic king or

queen maker. mara: i think that's silly. elizabeth warren is going to run in a democratic primary with a lot of other candidates and she'll be subjected to close scrutiny. but she'll be running in a primary that we have no idea how it's going to turn out. if we learned anything from 2016, the conventional wisdom is off. howie: i thought it was worth spotlighting her debut. thanks for coming by. after the break. bernie sanders apologizes to women harassed in his

howie: bernie sanders ran for president last time. a number of female staffers complained about sexual harassment and were brushed off by their bosses. sanders did some damage control on cnn. >> i certainly apologize to any woman who felt she was not treated appropriately and if i run, we'll do better next time. >> to be clear, you are saying you did not know at the time about the allegations, correct? >> correct. i was a little bit busy running around the country trying to make the case. >> joining us, paul steinhauser. what else your take on getting these women on the record and

why is this piece running knew? paul: why wasn't it running in 2016? in 2016 he was a long-shot for the presidency and he didn't get the scrutiny he is getting now. if he runs, he'll be one of the top contenders and he'll get more media scrutiny. howie: i think a lot of the press were fascinated by bernie returning against hillary. if he had had trump-level scrutiny or hillary-level scrutiny, i suspect some of this would have come out. paul: he was considered a long-shot for the nomination, an outsider running an insurgent campaign. there wasn't much opo research. they basically had kid gloves when it came to bernie.

c. . seeing the story. howie: when you talk about feeding the media when bernie is gearing up to run again. some people opposed to his candidacy might have had something to do with this story coming out in the "new york times." paul: from what i'm hearing these where from campaign workers who if bernie runs again, i think they were upset with the way the campaign was stwruk tiewrd. i don't think this is direct as much at bernie as the campaign and hopefully they will do things differently a second time around if there is a second run from bernie. howie: what did you make about the approach of bernie sanders saying i apologize but i didn't

know anything about it. paul: here is what top democrats who were bernie supporters are telling me. they felt the apology needed to be a little bit stronger. they are not jumping ship. but they are saying this needs to be resolved and dealt with. if bernie does run it will be a much more crowded field. howie: so the scrutiny won't be that intense because we have so many front runners. paul: some will get more scrutiny than others. bernie sanders, joe biden and elizabeth warren, they are well-known across the country and they will get more scrutiny. howie: the press likes to cover people with a national reputation. great to see you.

paul steinhauser from new hampshire. still to come, that twitter attack on alexandria ocasio-cortez backfired. my name is jeff sheldon, and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everything's pretty much done. it's so much easier so now, we're ready, bring on t. shipstation. the number one ch of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get two months free.

>> we are looking at national emergency because we have a national emergency. we have an absolute crisis and a crimals and gang members coming through. >> heather: monday january 7th and this is "fox & friends first", happening right now at 4:00 a.m. on the east coast, president trump says the shutdown shows no signs of slowing down until democrats get serious about securing the border, if the left refuses to budge, is it time to side-stepped congress, we are live in washington? >> thank you for giving me inspiration on thousand play this role. heather: and it wouldn't be a hollywood award show without celebrity i