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A segment on CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett on December 29, with Brianna Keilar filling in, unpacked a stunning New York Times report describing an explosive phone call between President Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to the report, Trump erupted in anger during a September conversation after learning that Greene was pressing to expose the names of powerful individuals allegedly implicated in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual exploitation of children. What makes the exchange so consequential is not just the intensity of Trump’s reaction, but what he is said to have yelled at Greene: that her efforts would “hurt his friends.”
#BREAKING: Brianna: “Tonight Congresswoman MTG revealing a stunning conversation that she had with President Trump about the #EpsteinFiles, Greene telling the NYT about a fiery phone call between them in September after Greene ‘threatened to identify alleged abusers involved with… pic.twitter.com/uJq9VwkxWQ
Greene, who has increasingly positioned herself as an advocate for Epstein’s victims, had warned that she was prepared to publicly name individuals connected to Epstein if the Department of Justice continued to stall on releasing the files. Many of the victims, most of them poor and lacking political or legal protection, have long expressed fear of retaliation if they come forward—fear not only of lawsuits, but of intimidation and physical harm from extraordinarily powerful people. That imbalance of power has been one of the central reasons the Epstein network has remained shrouded in secrecy for so long.
Unlike the victims themselves, Greene occupies a unique legal position. Under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, statements made by members of Congress during official proceedings are protected from civil liability. In other words, Greene can say things on the House floor that would expose an ordinary person to crushing lawsuits. That protection gives her leverage few others have, and it explains why her threat to name names carried real weight.
According to Greene, Trump berated her during the call, warning that continuing down this path would damage people close to him. That claim immediately collides with Trump’s long-standing public posture. For years, he has dismissed the Epstein files as a “Democrat hoax,” suggesting there is nothing real or consequential to be found in them. But if the files are meaningless fiction, then why the panic? Why the shouting? And why the concern that unnamed “friends” would be harmed by their release?
That contradiction is the heart of the story. Trump cannot simultaneously argue that the Epstein files are a baseless hoax and privately warn that exposing them would hurt people he knows. The two positions are mutually exclusive. If there is nothing there, no one should be worried. If, however, the revelations are dangerous—to reputations, careers, or worse—then the hoax narrative collapses under its own weight.
The most plausible explanation left is that Trump does not want the files released because they contain information that would cast him and people in his orbit in an extremely negative light. Whether that information rises to the level of criminal exposure is a separate question, but reputational damage alone would be reason enough to fight disclosure at every turn. At a minimum, the reported phone call suggests that Trump takes the contents of the Epstein files far more seriously in private than he does in public.
The White House dismissed Greene’s account by waving it off as bitterness and attacking her credibility, effectively portraying her as unstable rather than addressing the substance of the allegation. But that response does little to resolve the glaring inconsistency at the center of the story. If Greene is lying, the administration could directly deny the call or the quote attributed to Trump. Instead, it chose mockery and dismissal—an approach that raises more questions than it answers, and only deepens suspicion about what, exactly, remains buried in the Epstein files.
The 2022 midterm election will not only go down in history as one which produced the most unlikely outcome for the party in power, but also, one where the pollsters got it totally wrong. As a matter of fact, the pollsters got it so wrong, that the public is convinced, they were deliberately misled with the “red wave/tsunami” predictions. It’s therefore only fair that the mainstream media journalists who got sucked into the red wave mass hysteria be named and shamed, and their actions memorialized for future reference–sort of a handy list, if you will.
MSNBC did an interesting, and quite frankly, hilarious mashup of the “red wave” mass hysteria that appeared to suck up even some well respected journalists from reputable networks. This shows how these faulty/fake polls can affect mainstream media coverage of elections, which can then have negative consequences, up to and including depressing voter turnout. This is therefore an issue that needs to be addressed head on as we approach the 2024 general elections.
Politicians are known to exaggerate, so they are not the subject of this naming and shaming. Our interest here is only on journalists, who ought to know better.
Fox News’ Steve Doocey(1:39): “You know, your predictions of a red wave are accurate.”
Unidentified Fox News Reporter(1:42):”…a red wave is coming.”
Fox News star Anchor Laura Ingraham(1:44): “Red Wave Rising.” This is the title of a whole segment Ingraham dedicated on the “red wave” on 10/18/22. Not a good look, Laura, not a good look.
Unidentified Reporter on NewsMax(1:51): “Sleepy Joe just guaranteed a red wave in Pennsylvania.”
Fox News’ Dana Perino(2:01): “Democrats are bracing for the worst case scenario, a red Tsunami.”
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld(2:04): “We are officially on a red Tsunami watch.” He was apparently referring to an Axios piece by Josh Kraushaar titled “RED TSUNAMI WATCH.” Not a good look Josh, not a good look.
Fox News’ Clay Travis(2:09): “Red Tsunami grows…that means red Tsunami.”
Fox News’ Stephen Miller(2:16): “Poverty, joblessness, critical race theory, crazy gender ideology in our schools, we are going to see a red Tsunami.”
Unidentified host of Fox News’ The Five show(2:34): “Up next, Elon Musk ready to ride the big red wave.”
Fox News’ Steve Doocey(2:37): “Elon Musk tweeted massive red wave.” For the record, Musk did indeed tweet about a red wave. Other Fox News personalities who used this Elon Musk tweet to proclaim a “red wave” were Tucker Carlson(biggest star on Fox), Maria Bartiromo, among others. Not a good look, Elon, not a good look.
Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro(2:43): “You’re about to see a red wave, that makes ‘Day After Tomorrow’ [the popular movie] look like nothing.”
Leading Podcaster Joe Rogan(2:47): “That’s going to be responsible for the red wave. I think the red wave that’s coming is going to be like the elevator doors opening up in ‘The Shining'[popular 80’s movie]”
Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro(2:55): “Rogan said that the red wave is going to look like the elevator doors opening, and the blood pouring out of the elevator in ‘The Shining’, that is correct, except it’s not going to be an elevator, it’s going to look more like ‘Deep Impact ‘[popular movie], the tsunami at the end, but colored red.” Good Lord have mercy!!
Fox News Contributor Dan Bongino(3:10): “Remember that Teo Leone ‘Deep Impact’ disaster movie? That’s the red wave tsunami that will come ashore.”
Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro(3:17): “It’s going to be a brutal week for the Democrats beginning on Tuesday.”
Fox News’ Clay Travis(3:21): “Frankly, I’ve already DVR-ed CNN and MSNBC for election night, not because I’m going to watch, but just because I want to enjoy the tears post-red tsumami.” Hope you’re enjoying those DVRs, Clay.
Fox News’ Jesse Watters(0:05): “It’s going to be a wave election, and you [Democrats] gonna lose the Senate, I’ll bet you $1,000 now.”
Fox News’ Lisa Boothe(0:12): “Democrats are going to be crushed on November 8th because a red wave is coming.”
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld(0:16): “Betting that Joy will learn two new words on Tuesday, red wave.”
Unidentified Fox Business host(0:21): “How big could that looming red wave get?”
Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo(0:23): “We begin this Sunday morning with expectations of a red wave this Tuesday.”
Fox News Contributor Marc Thiessen(0:39): “We’ve been hearing, ‘is it going to be a red wave?’, ‘is it going to be a red tsunami?’, I think it’s going to be a red hurricane.”
Fox News’ Pete Hegseth(0:43): “When the red wave comes, and it is coming, Joe Biden’s political utility is over.”
Fox News’ John Roberts(0:48): “Are we in for a red wind here, or a red wave?”
Fox News’ Martha MacCallum(0:51): “Red wave or red tsunami, what are you feeling today?”
Fox News’ Jesse Watters(0:54): “And don’t listen to the lies they are spewing, that this could take days…to know who won. This is total bs. A wave like this, we should know that night, basically, who won the Senate and the House, and even if it happens Wednesday into Thursday, it’s gravy.”
Unidentified Fox News Reporter reporting on an actual tropical storm approaching Florida(1:09): “Right out the back door, I’ve got a tropical storm brewing right now. I think they’re saying it could be a category one by the end of the day. However, let me tell you what is the storm, that red wave…” Oh boy!!
There’s also this clip from MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber which shows even journalists from CNN sucked into the “red wave” mass hysteria. Not a good look, CNN, not a good look.
CNN & ABC’s Alyssa Farah Griffin(7:28): “A red wave is coming. Republicans are going to win the midterms…”
New York Post’s Karol Markowicz(7:32): “Forget red wave, I’m rooting for a red tsunami. “
CNN’s Jake Tapper(7:34): “Politicos with whom I spoke today all agree, as of now, a modest red wave at the very least, seems to be building.”
Fox News’ Dana Perino(7:49): “Signs of a red wave are kind of getting bigger than ever, but not everybody in the media wants to hear that.” Dana is a former White House Press Secretary.
Fox News’ Jesse Watters(7:55): “It wasn’t looking like a red wave earlier in August, and now it looks like a tsunami.”
As MSNBC host Ari Melber aptly summarized it (8:00): “The point there is not that multiple news channels over there echo Fox and sound similar, as they make those predictions that have been proven false…It’s bigger than the media or polls. This is a larger effort to hack your mind, and the discourse, and shape the ultimate turnout for the results in our democracy itself…It is legal to be sure, but it’s also misleading with real consequences…If you really have a huge bankable lead, you don’t need to hype it. You just turn your voters out and win, but so many Republican leaders know their slate of MAGA candidates lately, is very weak…So Republicans concluded they needed to inflate their perceived support in the hopes that that might then create more support than they have actually have…”
Bottom line folks, this stuff is serious. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also addressed this fake poll issue, which featured prominently in her race. What Gov Hochul said about this serious issue lines up with the assessment by MSNBC’s Ari Melber.
Voters have a right to know which polling firms are credible, and those with a history of manipulating polls to aid campaigns. This will prevent reputable news channels from getting sucked into these “wave” hoaxes, as they report on elections.
For the record, Yours Truly never fell for the “red wave/tsunami” mass hysteria for one minute.
Can’t wait for doom & gloom MSMers with their “polls” next week.I know my Dems will kick @GOP’s a$$, especially in Senate races
