only purple's gel flex grid passes the raw egg test. no other mattress cradles your body and simultaneously supports your spine. memory foam doesn't come close. get your best sleep guaranteed right now! save up to $400. visit purple.com or a store near you. howard: just ahead, how the media are covering the explosion of anti-semitic protests and

harassment of jewish students at college campuses across the country. david pecker is no saint. the former "national enquirer" testified at donald trump's trial that he willingly used his tab tabloid empire to help the campaign chute colluding the outright manufacturing of fake muse. and while he tied trump and his hen-fixer michael cohen to these unsavory claims, pecker was eager to play along. cohen would ask for a negative piece on an opponent, and the inquirer would embellish it. look at this, a totally bogus story. and this ludicrous piece tying cruz's father to lee harvey oswald and the jfk assassination tone by photo manipulation. most of the media a praised pecker's performance while others trashed t. a. alvin bragg's -- d.a. alvin bragg's case. >> trump's relationship with the "national enquirer" was even sleazier than it looked in 2016. >> david pecker was not a significant witness for the

prosecution. and i'll tell you why. because there is no crime. >> david pecker is very composed, a credible witness. he was being specific in his testimony. >> so it was the star witnesses of the case that wanted to catch and kill to protect trump, not trump. got it? howard: now to the catch and kill the inquirer paid a trump doorman $30,000 for a tale about the former president fathering an out of wedlock child which turned out to be totally false. the inquireerer paid $150,000 to cairn mcdougal to stay quiet about an alleged 10-month affair which trump denies. trump opposed the payments saying such things always come out, but pecker insisted. yet the publisher said he balked at playing off stormy daniels. another factor, perhaps, pecker hadn't been reimbursed for the payment to karen mc mcdougal, so michael cohen had

to give stormy the $130,000. it sets the stage for the alleged falsification of expense records to reimburse cohen. alvin bragg wants to tie it to a larger conspiracy, and trump hasn't actually been charged with conspiracy. i'm howard kurtz and this is mediabuzz. ♪ howard: joining us now to analyze the coverage, robby soave, a senior editor at reason magazine, and in los angeles, leslie marshall, radio talk show host and fox news contributor. robby, why do the media keep praising david pecker whose testimony clearly damaged trump when he voluntarily and eagerly was buying and suppressing these women's stories, publishing fictitious stories about trump's rivals? not exactly a boy scout. >> well, for the mainstream media, min is a hero if they are providing any sort of information that in any way

looks unfavorable to donald trump. so he'll be the hero of the day even though the actions are sleazily, i think anyone -- howard: no one's defending that. >> there's no way around that. but the question becomes can they prove that was directedly trump and that it's actually part of an election campaign violation. you know, we've seen so much bad behavior from the media over the years, the media, mainstream media a being in the tank for democrats contributing to the suppression of stories unfair to conservatives and to trump. maybe some of the american people are saying the other side did it so much, how is in any if different? howard: leslie, nobody thought david pecker was a paragon of journalism. the jfk cover alone was appalling. but he's testifying under immunity, so he has to tell the truth or face perjury if charges. so does that make him a hero? are there questions. >> is i think there's a couple of things here. first, i think it's funny that we talk about the "national enquirer" and sleazy in the same

sentence as if we never thought that before, sorry. howard: now we do. >> secondly -- yeah. [laughter] then secondly, you know, i think that a lot of people have the opinion especially on my side of the aisle that if you were in bed, if you will, with donald trump, if you were all in for donald trump which pecker certainly was, you know, as he admits, that you're not going to throw him under the bus. and i think because this testimony was damaging, it definitely starts to put, you know, the pieces of bread on the ground, you know, for the trail that the prosecution is leaving -- leading the jury to watch and to follow. i think that's what they're praising. and i un, i hear you, you know, when you have a deal like that, you have no choice in a sense, people would say your back's against the wall. heck, we should all tell the truth all the a time especially under oath -- howard: and especially on this show. >> his buddy and looking out for himself, just putting it out there. howard: to be-- robby, despite

the saturation media coverage, what does bragg's office accomplish by playing up not just stormy daniels, but karen mcdougal and the doorman who made up a story when the heart of the case is these falsified expense records in. >> well, what they're treal accomplishing is keeping him from campaigning. [laughter] i mean, he's in court all day. that is the real blow and why many probably conservatives out there watching this are going to say was this, you know, is the main issue here not some actual criminal matter. we're all trying to understand what the first of all criminal case is, but to -- criminal case is. howard: he uses it as part of his campaign. >> but, frankly, he's not making news, i don't think, on grounds that is favorable to him. his ardent supporters, yes. they're going to vote for him a thousand percent, but they can'e vote for him. those people love this kind of stuff, and they're going to bat for donald trump, but the undecided, the moderate voters, the people in swing states who don't like biden, are frustrated with the last four year, they need to hear what he's going to do for the working class, for

the economy, on the border, foreign policy. and the more he's talking about these criminal cases even if he's the victim -- howard: right. >> -- even if he's right, i don't think it's good for the campaign. that's the frustrating thing. howard: well, trump did come out and talk about the sort of anemic growth rate. in other words, he's got a platform if after each session of court. leslie, david peck per's, i am not purchasing this story, i am not going to be involved with a porn star. a manhattan jury not terribly likely to be sympathetic to donald trump, but how many people are are going to be shocked eight years later that trump wanted his tabloid palhis fixer to use money to suppress this is salacious story which the former president denies from stormy daniels? if. >> that's not surprising, but what it does and why the prosecution is doing this, it's not to keep him from campaigning. you want to take your time presenting to the jury especially when you have a trial that is very, going to be paper trail heavy. that is hard to keep a jury's

attention on. it's sort of all of us like having statistical analysis and data all the time. so they start out with this, and you might say the sexier part of this -- no pun intended -- and then you start the out with this because you show a pattern of behavior that,s you know, if they do a, ergo, they could do b. and to robby's point, i would agree with him that this is actually hurting the people that are going to vote for him love him, they're going to the people that aren't going to vote for him that are going to vote for biden aren't going to vote for him. but there are people out there, especially people who sported nikki haley that say i don't want to go back to the circus that some of them remember the four years when trump was president as and this trial highlights more circus. howard: i think you're lying about the sexy part, the pun was intended. [laughter] anyway, robby, in my view this is the weak est and most openly partisan of the four criminal cases. even some media a liberals say it's too bad this case is going first. but pecker testified that trump

and cohen asked him to use his empire, he has a lot of magazines besides the inquirer, so catch and kill these bogus stories two months after the campaign launched and once elected in to 17, just days before the inauguration -- or this may have been a week or two, trump called and thanked david pecker for taking care of mcdougal and the doorman stories. so i can't say leaving aside the heelty because it's a criminal -- legality because it's a criminal trial, but one of that is going to help donald trump. >> well, yeah. if the jury decides this figure that the talked about the zodiac killer and all the other crazy stories, if they find that to be a credible person, if they find michael cohen who has repeatedly confirmed to have mess led the public on a variety of issues, to who michael avenatti thinks is not a credible person, then the jury gets to make that decision. but the question is they get to make concern it's a criminal case, so the jury makes that decision. but the broader case of whether

trump is fit for office, again, is a question the american people will get to decide in november. and some of this does feel, i'm sure it feels like this to trump supporters and conservative voters that this is all an effort. they feel like they can't beat him in november, so they have a jury of, you know, manhattan liberals who are going to reach a decision different from what the american people would reach. howard: yeah. but keep in mind it only takes one juror to produce a mistrial, and it depends on the strength of the defense's case. leslie, trump was angry about this "wall street journal" story. i went back and looked at it, on karen mcdougal that that ran just days before the election. he accused pecker of leaking it. he hung up without saying good-bye. but it didn't get much pick-up because in the last three days before an election, there were a million things going on. so it's interesting that after all the efforts to suppress the story, that it came out anyway at least in the journal. >> everything comes out in the end. i always tell my kids, you will

always get caught. i will always find out. [laughter] and i think for the most part, i think for the most parts that is true. and i also would agree with you, howie, be one of those liberals on the left that thinks this is the weakest of four cases and certainly not wanting this to go forward. but to your point, robby, it really irritates me that the everybody thinks we democrats have so much control over the criminal justice system and that we would misuse that power specifically, you know, to try to push an opponent off. joe biden beat donald trump before very, very tight the race, i believe he can do it again. we don't need to have these trials. there are four trials. you don't get to this point, you don't get to this number of indictments without evidence going forward. and, honestly, it helps him with his base with if you know, at least, you know, those that feel he's been victimized as the former president -- howard: right. just briefly, robby, it's weird watching this because all we have is the reporters' feed, and they put them up on the screen and the anchor says it.

t kind of like, i don't know, it's kind of like watching, it's kind of like watching jimmy fallon, jimmy kimmel and stephen colbert, and you can see the cue cards. it's all secondhand because there are no camera as in the courtroom. >> yeah. so we have to rely on their information about whether he's falling asleep in court, a whole news cycle of that, was that this week or last week? trump is certainly good for the ratings of mainstream media a and the diminishing audience of people who hang in for every new revelation. i'm sure this is good tv for people what watching on the other side as much as it infuriates so many conservatives in this country. howard: right. well, you know, on cross-examination, trump's lawyer brought out that pecker had been courting celebrities and paying sources for years before donald trump even got into politics. ahead, are the media exacerbating the anti-jewish protests at columbia and other major schools? but when we come back, the judge, the former president and the gag order.

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howard: the gag order in the hush money trial triggered a heated media a debate as manhattan prosecutors argued donald trump should be fined $10,000 for violating the ban on attacking witnesses. >> you have one president who acts like he's gagged, never talks, and you have another president who, let's face it, a little gagging sometimes wouldn't hurt him. but it's unconstitutional. >> that gag order wording could not be more clear. donald trump's criminal defense lawyer are insulted the intelligence of the judge and everyone else in the courtroom. >> so i can't talk other than minute's name is mentioned somewhere deep in the article, and i end up in violation of a gag order. i think it's a can disgrace.

it's totally unconstitutional. howard: so, robby, why is the gag order such a heated media issue when trump has attacked two witnesses, michael cohen and stormy, and the judge is weighing a grand total of $10,000 which is not exactly going to bankrupt the former president? >> look, he is running for president -- howard: that's right. good answer. >> he has a right to do that, and he should be able to discuss the case broadly. now, i agree, he shouldn't be giving personal information about the judge or other people involved in the court's whereabouts or specific information about jurors. now, of course, liberal media journal its have been doing that all week. i saw all the tweets about describing them very specifically -- howard: oh, hold on and got scolded by the judge for providing too much information and, therefore, undermining the anonymity of the jurors. >> yeah. everybody gets to do it except donald trump, so i understand the frustration. and, frankly, the gag order was more ridiculous in the federal case where he was not allowed to even describe or criticize mike pence who was running against him at the time for the

nomination. even the aclu thought that one did imperil his first amendment rights. in this case, you know, it's a little bit more ambiguous, and maybe he has to pay those $so 10,000 fines. lou howe leslie, in fact, when judge juan merchan expressed his frustration with trump lawyer todd blanch for not providing specifics, he raised his voice and said you're losing all credible, you provided nothing. not a great moment for the trump side. >> no, not a great moment at all. and, look, we do have a first amendment right. but a judge also has a right to impose a gag order. and there is a fine line, it's a very gray area, maybe an uncharted area. you can talk about the media all a you want as robby just mentioned. none of us are running for president, and none of us are under indictment. that's a big difference. also it's a big difference if you, in a political campaign as he is and i feel he has every right on social media and what

not to talk about the political campaign, you know, to keep saying he's victimized, you know, to take out his violin. the problem is when you get into talking about -- which he has -- the judge, the jurors and the witnesses. that is a line that is crossed. i'm sorry, that's law school 101 if you're looking to be a criminal attorney. >> i think a lot of what he said, though, is editorial kind of this is unfair if, i'm not going to get a favor trial here, the judge is against me -- a fair trial here. not my mob should do something about this judge at this specific time and this is where he lives. that, obviously, is not something that should take place. a lot of what i'm hearing from him sounds like editorial complaints. that is part of his re-election effort, and do we want to go down the direction in the road of that being something he's not allowed to say as he up runs for president. i think a lot of americans feel that's not the case. of course, the judge gets to do what he wants, it is a criminal matter as a leslie points out, but we should be aware of throwing out our climate of free speech around elections.

howard: welsh trump says it's unfair and unconstitutional for people involved in the case, michael cohen and stormy daniels go on tv and attack him, and he can't fight back. but he's the defendant. leslie, trump's argument, as you know because he repeats it a lot, crooked judge, crooked d.a. trying to silence hem in the middle of the campaign. but it's not like he can't defend himself at all a, there are just certain restrictions on who he can talk about and how he can talk about them. >> exactly. to my point, you cannot talk about witnesses because then you get into that blurry, gray dangerous area of witness tampering or end dangering a witness because you do have some people that, you know, are on the bring of the maga fringe, if you will, that could be very dangerous when you hear some of the things they're saying online. you cannot be saying things about the judge. you cannot be saying things about the jurors. you know, that's the bottom line. there is a line in the sand. you know, honestly, i have to say i have two teens, okay? one of them doesn't come up to the line, one of them puts his

toe over the line almost on a daily basis. and i have to tell you donald trump reminds if me of him. and if that's what he's doing with the judge. he's putting his toe over that line on a daily basis s and tha, and he is the judge, and he is allowed to do that and is within his scope to do that. and, you know, donald trump may be doing this because he thinks it helps him. i don't know with those voters that look at him are you a leader for the free world. howard: well, look, he may also be doing it to have something to deal with in an appeal in the event that he is convicted. and, meanwhile, if there were cameras in the courtroom, the ratings would be ten times higher than the setup we have now. leslie, robby, thanks so much for joining us. >> up next, andy mccarthy on the supreme court sending mixed signals on presidential immunity. and later, house speaker mike johnson gets heckled at columbia. ♪ ♪ there are so many tina feys i could be.

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howard: the cable networks carried the audio live as the supreme court heard oral arguments on donald trump's claims of absolute presidential immunity, and justices on the left and right challenged the notion if. >> how about if a president orders the military to stage a coup? >>9 if the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military or orders someone to assassinate him, is that within his official acts for which he can give immunity? >> it would fend on the hypothetical. howe how but when chief justice roberts who had raised a question about bribery suggested sending the case back to the appeals court, the outcome seemed clear. >> given how things went today at the supreme court, the reregime immediate i ya a is in total depair. >> look, this is a delay for former president trump. he wants to keep delaying and delaying and delaying until after the election.

howard: joining us now from chicago, andy mccarthy, the former federal prosecutor, fox news contributor and national are review writer. andy, the justices seemed to agree no president can have absolute, total immunity, certainly not for a hit by seal team six as one of them suggested. so why did the conservative members seem to favor kicking the case back to the appeals court which would be a huge they for the january 6th prosecution? >> well, i think the court is not all that concerned about the campaign calendar. and i don't think that's just the conservative justices, howie. the fact that this is, you know, a mad rush to get this done by the election is not a rule of law thing. that's a political objective. it's really not in the court's realm of concerns. i actually thought the oral argument was one of the court's finest hours because it e seemed clear to me that watt justices were -- what the justices were concerned about was the future of the presidency. they're not really particularly

concerned about trump. i don't think there were a lot of good cues for trump in the argument a, and i do think there's a way that they can send it back to the lower court, to the trial court, where it will be up to jack smith in the way that he structures the case whether the case can go forward or not. howard: yeah. there was all this argument about official acts versus private acts, private acts being wrongdoing. but some of the justices actually said they were more concerned, and and i understand your point about it's not just about this case, but this case is being appealed. >> right. howard: rogue prosecutors or payback indictments by the next president, are they trying to appear even handed? because i was surprised at the emphasis that was placed on that. >> it's kind of alice in wonderland though, isn't it? you have the -- mike dravin who was arguing for the special counsel is there the telling the court, look, you don't have to worry about any politicized prosecutions. and, by the way, we need to get this resolved before election

day. [laughter] and trump can't be there because he's on trial in manhattan in a case that's brought by a progressive-elected democratic district attorney which is charging a crime that isn't even in the indictment. so the thought that you can't have an abusive prosecution under those circumstances was peculiar. howard: that's a new legal term for me, alice in wonderland. i like that. [laughter] in the hush money case, is donald trump's lawyer helping or hurting the case by the way that he cross-examined the inquirer's david pecker especially on the hush money payments to the former playboy model, karen mcdougal? >> i think trump's lawyer's in a hard spot because of a lot of the rulings that the court has made. but i also think that if you're going to take the position that the hush money payments which are really nonif disclosure agreements that are a staple of civil litigation and settlements in the united states, if your position is that those are lawful, it doesn't make sense to me to cross-examine pecker in a

way that tries to distance trump there those agreements -- from those agreements. you shouldn't worry about them if they're lawful. and the other thing, howie, that's very disturbing is the judge is letting a lot of evidence in about the belief of pecker, and i'm sure this will be with michael cohen as well, that that they violated the federal campaign laws. because the state is teeing this up as a conspiracy to violate those laws even though that's not the charge in the indictment. howard: so you make it sound bad and you take it seriously when maybe that's not such a good idea. always appreciate your insights, andy mccarthy. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, howie. howard: next on "mediabuzz," columbia's campus shut down, aests are rests at nyu, yale, how did these pro-hamas protests get out of control? ♪ ♪ a really long time to find some relief. cosentyx works for me. cosentyx helps real people get real relief

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howard: as anti-semitic and

anti-israel protests spread from columbia university to major colleges across the country, president biden did not step before the cameras. instead, he tersely responded to a reporter's shouted question and was hard to hear. >> reporter: do you condemn the anti-semitic protests on college campuses? >> i condemn the anti-semitic protests, that's why i've set up a program to deal with that. ment i also condemn those who don't really understand what's going on with the palestinians. howard: house speaker mike johnson called for columbia's president to resign. >> they place a target on the backs of jewish students in the united states and here on this campus. a growing number of students have chanted in support of terrorists. they have chased down jewish students. they have mocked them and reviled them. howard: after the nypd arrested more than 100 pro-palestinian protesters at columbia last week, they set up the illegal tents again and as we see there, and thing psychological's been negotiating with them, switching

to hybrid classes as most jewish students have fled. there were other arrests at a schools including usc, we see there, which has canceled graduation, and the demonstrate theres have been harassing those who support israel. [inaudible conversations] >> never forget the 7th of october. [inaudible conversations] >> 10 more times, 100 more times, 1,000 more times -- [inaudible conversations] >> nypd, kkk! howard: joining us now from new york if, rich lowry, editor-in-chief of "national review." and here with me, health by talcott, a reporter for semifor. rich, why after last week's arrests at a columbia where i went to journalism school has the university been unable to regain control after even pro-gaza protesters including some faculty members were either demonstrating or setting up all of these tents in the middle of

a private space at a private university? >> yeah, the it's a real failure, howie. makes no sense to clear them out and then let them come right back. either don't clear them out in the first place which would have been wrong or keep clearing them out including the president there. she feels she's caught between, because there's a right thing to do -- making them go -- and there's what the faculty wants her to do, let them stay. so she's stuck in this horrible position. look, or i'm a free speech guy, but this is dress terracing -- trespassing. and, two, if you're in favor of free peach, that includes viewpoint neutrality. there's no way in a million years that these were white spectrum if cyst kids -- if these were white supremacist kids that she'd be negotiating. they would have been cleared out never to come back again. howard: yeah. i'm also for free speech and peaceful protests, but when you take over a chunk of a campus, we're talking about a university that has basically surrendered. gone to hybrid classes, most jewish students have fled the school. shelley, is the constant

presence of -- can shelby, is the constant presence of tv cameras drawing more anti-israel protesters because they are seizing the moment to get attention? >> yeah. i think, and i covered all of the protests and riots back in 2020 on the ground extensively, and and one of the things i noticed was, you know, a, there was this massive media focus but for portions at a time. and and i think in order to really accurately report on something like this, you have to have these, you know, you have to have cameras there from 5:00 in the afternoon when it's peaceful until 3:00 in the morning when often times it becomes less peaceful. and so that's something that i'm seeing occur again this time around where that's not happening. and if you talk to biden officials, they've argued that the media is blowing this up into a bigger deal than it actually is. and they say that their internal, you know, polling and data suggests that young voters are concerned about this, but they're more concerned about ore other issues. howard: maybe you could argue

that a couple weeks ago. right now i think this is the hottest issue in america, and i think the tide is starting to turn with these arrests. let me play a video that's gotten a lot of attention by a columbia student talking to columbia officials, and here's what he said. >> zionists don't deserve to live. the same way we're very comfortable accepting that nazis don't deserve to live. and so, yes, i feel very comfortable, very comfortable calling for those people to die. howard: it's james, i apologize for the error. a columbia statement says this is extremely alarming and calls for violence depending on ethnicity, religion, etc. are unacceptable and violate university policy. rich. >> yeah. shocking that one of the leaders of these student protests would be saying this sort of stuff on video, you know, he wants to

kill zionists. and part of that, howie, was a private video after he had this interview with school officials about some violent things he had said. but a lot of he said to one or i believe two columbia officials, so why are we only learning about it now or is it becoming ap issue now? howard: that's really a good point. let me stop you. back in january he said all these things. i didn't see any, you know, suspension, expulsion or outrage. but now that it's become public, suddenly columbia is really worried about it. and there are lots of other people who agree with this guy. >> yeah. so, again, if this was a white supremacist, he's gone the next day. [laughter] but he's pro-hamas and says he wants to kill zionists or at least interested in the idea, and he's still there. and in terms of the images and the media coverage a spreading this, i thinkty it's worked on both sides of the equation. yes, it's created more protests around the country, but the other thing is the administrations have learned from what's happened at a columbia, and a lot of them is

clear it out immediately and be forceful about it and then the problem's taken care of. princeton, they cleared out the encampment. in, i think, literally five minutes. howard: yeah. you're saying there's basically a double standard when jewish students are the target. i'll come back to you with that. when i see some of these jewish students interviewed, those who are still trying to go to campus, those who are not, you can just hear the pain and frustration and here's a woman named katie was interviewed on fox who said that, you know, i watch videos of people being screamed at. because people condone their rape and murder as we saw from james. >> yeah. and it's that sort of rhetoric that one of the things about their rhetoric is once one person says it, it becomes far easier for more people to say it. again, as a i saw in 2020 in very different circumstances, but the same thing. that sort of violent speech can spread quite quickly. and so understandably, jewish students across the country are

incredibly concerned and upset. and it's really unfortunate, right? it's ruining a lot of college experiences not to mention it's dangerous. howard: rich, you seemed to say in something you've written9 that the anti-semitic right gets criticized, but the anti-semitic left gets a pass. i wonder if you would address that and also the parallel you draw to the very violent 1968 anti-vietnam protests at columbia. >> yeah. so columbia has a history of this, very notable protests in 1968. they were bigger. these are really kind of small scale actions, i think most places 10 students or less. -- 100 students or less. in '68 they took over four or five buildings and held an administrator hostage for at least 24 hours. [laughter] not that position yet. but this double standard, i think, is very notable. joe biden said he ran for president because of charlottesville and because of trump's supposed inadequate response. i think he tells falsehoods about what trump said in the

wake with of charlottesville, but charlottesville was horrible. it was terrible, there was a murder and violent clashes. but even these tiki tack, these marchers with the city key torch, who didn't -- tiki torches who didn't kill anyone, they were just menacing and saying anti-semitic slogans, and this was a national crisis. and i think the same standard should apply here. howard: well, there were more arrests yesterday at a even more schools, about 200. let's look at some of the earlier footage. yale with, i want to put up -- which school is that? okay, university of texas at austin. governor greg abbott called out state troopers. and also -- we see that. and also at nyu a few days ago, a lot of police came out and made these arrests. and this is why i say the tide is turning, because if they'd done this right away, i think it might have come as a shock to the system. i think people now want some semblance of order returned to these college campuses. and, you know, i mentioned i

went to columbia. it's kind of more embarrassing to talk about it now, but i think, again, that the tide is turning. let me get a break. joe biden, howard stern and the friendliest interview ever. ♪ , “space pod.” cheese. [door creaks open] [ominous music] (♪) [ding] meanwhile, at a vrbo... when other vacation rentals are just for likes, try one you'll actually like.

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howard: joe biden is the still avoiding interviews with serious or journalists, but he did spend more than an hour with a huge fan, howard stern.

>> if you're a good father to your family, which you are, i know you'd be a good father to the country. i can't imagine you're going to lose, but -- >> well, look, he's promised if he doesn't win, there's going to be a bloodbath. howard: the siriusxm host tee thed up chances to attack donald trump such as a his conduct on january 6th. >> it was derelict, it was almost criminal. he did nothing. he just sat there and watched what was happening. >> you're the kind of leader i love because we're lucky to have you the oval office. howard: rich allow by -- rich lowry, howard stern made clear he is totally in the tank for joe biden and despises trump politically. smart move for joe? >> totally start move. you have to tip your had -- hat to the white house communications office, this was a wise thing to do, just an hour of lap dog type interview from someone who used to be a cultural touchstone. i don't know whether he is anymore, but certainly a big name. and it was friendlier than an

interview he could have gotten anywhere else, friendlier than cnn because even if stern wanted to challenge him, of course he didn't, but i'm not sure he knew enough -- howard: right. howard stern was so enamored of joe biden, he read off a list of his accomplishments. but the irony is he used to do locker room talk interviews with donald trump. they would rate women. but as a politician, he's made clear that he is completely and totally opposed. >> yeah. and, again, i would just reiterate that this was intentionally, this interview was intentional, right? when i talk to biden campaign officials, they've argued they want to put forward the image of biden that is a family guy and everyday joe. and you can see how those sorts of questions that he got from howard stern get at that image. and what they want to avoid, it seems, is interviews with, for example, the new york times which as we know has caused this massive controversy over why the president hasn't interviewed

with the new york times. howard: i know. it's fascinating. and other newspapers as well. biden did say when asked by howard that he is ready to debate donald trump, but trump says he doesn't really believe it, and i'm not so sure he intended -- i think he was just deflecting the question. we'll see. so the president knows how to make news on camera when he wants to. so he gave a televised speech this week with, rich. about winning, finally, military aid for ukraine, israel and taiwan. but he also, you know, the white house orchestrated briefings for mike johnson, and he couldn't have done it without johnson bucking his own party. >> yeah. so the media loves bipartisan accomplishments, and the coverage has been pretty favorable, a bipartisan deal that actually happens i supported myself. i'm not sure mike johnson has gotten enough credit. he changed his mind on this. a different attitude from being a back bencher or to being the speaker of the house who has a

huge role in whether it's going to happen or not and really put his job on the line, you know? we'll learn how serious the threat is, but he has a one-vote majority and three members of his own party saying they want to depose him. howard: right. >> this is the kind of courage that is usually applauded. there was some, but i think there would have been more if he were a democrat. howard: he listened and changed his mind really. a lot of conservatives now beating up on marjorie taylor greene because she introduced this motion to vacate although she hasn't made it official yet. there's even a new york post cover calling her moscow marjorie because she's so to opposed to aid to ukraine. do you think this is a serious divide? >> right now i would say no particularly because republicans have already gone through the republicans in chaos headline time and time and time again -- howard: yeah. >> -- and that is not something they want to do again particularly in an election year, and so you've seen this

significant hold off of repeating what we saw with mccarthy. with that being said, speaker johnson could do one or two thing things more that faction of republicans dislike, and it could snowball. howard: yeah, look, the guy risked his job. rich are, i've got this last one for you, it's a short sound bite that's gotten a lot of attention. let's roll it. >> imagine what we can do next. four more years, pause. howard: and then -- [laughter] everybody started chanting four more years and kind of bailed him out. what do you think about his prompter reading? >> can it's like a lot of stuff with biden. once, anyone could do it, right? make a stupid mistake. but he does it over and over again which clearly is a symptom of his age and decline, and it's why no matter what they do, this issue is never going away, and they're never going to alleviate it. howard: brief comment from you? i've made my share of prompter

flubs. >> yeah. i think this underscores how big age is in this election particularly with joe biden. and it will likely continue to be an issue. howard: yeah. and which is why i would like to see the 81-year-old and the 77-year-old debate. but i'm not sure that's going to happen. rich lowry, schell by talcott, thanks for stopping by. still to come, the secret strategy the calls with some bigtime anti-trump lawyers and pundits. ♪ this is steve's stomach, where voquezna can kick some acid, heal acid-related damage to the esophagus called erosive esophagitis, and relieve related heartburn. voquezna is the first and only fda-approved treatment of its kind. 93% of adults were healed by two months. of those healed, 79% stayed healed. and voquezna can provide heartburn-free days and nights. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. don't take if allergic

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howard: every friday big name former prosecutors and pundits join a secret, off the record zoom call to debate and strategize about donald trump's legal woes. what unites them, reports politico, is that nearly all a can't stand trump.

we're talking about msnbc legal analyst joyce vance and andrew weissman who investigated trump for supposed russian collusion, bill kristol, watergate figure john dean, george conway, an msnbc fixture and mary mccord not to mention cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin, ellie williams and the founder, normanizen. this looks awful because it's exactly what trump and conservatives have been saying, that the media are part of an organized resistance dedicated to getting him. there were the usual jokes and jabs at last night's white house correspondents' dinner, some of them thanks to s, nl's col run jost aimed rather mildly at president biden. >> i have to admit, it's not easy following president biden. it's not always easy following what he's saying. howard: as for biden and his joke-writing team, or donald

trump was a prime target. >> donald has had a few tough days lately. you might call it stormy weather. [laughter] what the hell? [laughter] trump's so desperate, he started reading those bibles he's selling. if. howard: and, of course, there were shots at the media. >> to all my friends in the press, and fox news -- [laughter] some of you complain that i don't talk enough of your questions. take enough of your questions. no comment. [laughter] of course, "the new york times" issued a statement blasting me for, quote, actively and effectively avoiding independent journalists. hey -- [laughter] if that's what a it takes to get "the new york times" to say i'm active and effective, i'm for it. [laughter] howard: the president said he didn't expect the media to be on his side, but -- >> i'd ask you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment.

move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distraction, the side shows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics. howard: but i'm disappointed in colin jost who played patty cake with the president sitting right there. it doesn't matter. everyone spent their time looking at his wife, scarlett go hanson. there are. that's it for this edition of "mediabuzz." i'm howard kurtz. you can sin scribe to my daily podcast, media buzz meter. we riff on the top deadline -- headlines. we're back here next sunday with the only media analysis show on national television. ♪ mike had a heart attack a year ago. but he's still living in the red. with a very high risk of another attack. with his risk factors his recommended ldl-c level should be below 55. find out if you're living in the red. learn how to get a free ldl-c test.

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