The Mirror

Afternoon Mirror: Monica Lewinsky — A White House Internship On A Resumé? Please, Think Again

By The Daily Caller

Betsy Rothstein Gossip blogger
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Quote of the Day:

“When twitter was down I wrote my thoughts on tiny slips of paper and threw them into the wind.”

Josh Greenman, op-ed editor, New York Daily News.

CNN host plots a morning of negative coverage of President Trump 

“THIS MORNING: The phone lines are open. If you are a Republican member of Congress who has issues with the President’s racist comments this weekend, we will take your call. @NewDay.” — John Berman, CNN, at 6:35 a.m,.

Mood: “Sad to watch my friend @realDonaldTrump take low road regarding @AOC of the Bronx, @RashidaTlaib of Detroit @AyannaPressley of Boston & @Ilhan of Somalia & Minneapolis. Let’s stick to issues & steer clear of language that’s xenophobic even racist. @POTUS you’re better than that.” — Geraldo Rivera, Fox News.

Julia Davis (WaPo, The Daily Beast): “No, this is exactly who he is.”

Mark Follman, National Affairs Editor, Mother Jones: “If Geraldo is urging you to take the high road you are doing something very wrong.”

Adam Best, host of “The Left” podcast: “But Trump is not ‘better than that,’ Geraldo. This is who he’s always been. Did you sleep through Birtherism and what he said about Judge Curiel?”

Max Burns, Democratic strategist: “The entire @GOP is silent on Trump’s racist tirade. The best we’re gonna get is Geraldo.”

Sophia Nelson, MSNBC commentator: “Too little too late Geraldo–he is NOT better than this. This is who he is and has always been. Buckle-up he will get worse before we hit the 2020 Campaign trail. He is testing the waters as all good authoritarians do. #TrumpIsARacist.”

Journo spends Manhattan blackout watching ‘Love Island’ 

“This is the part of Manhattan I live in where there has been no blackout because I have been watching Love Island for four hours and was blissfully unaware of any disupruptions in midtown lol.” — Ben Dreyfuss, editorial director, Mother Jones.

SIGHTING: Monica Lewinsky on the New York Subway 

MONICA LEWINSKY: “Just witnessed a sometimes-the-world-is-ok moment! ⁦‪@taffyakner‬⁩ encountering a fan reading her new book #FleishmanIsinTrouble on the subway! Both excited to meet each other. #AnAwwwwMoment”

TAFFY BRODESSER-AKNER, New York Mag: “This was the most surreal moment of my life and I hadn’t even realized that the person who cheered for me and offered me a pen to sign the book was actual Monica Lewinsky!”

Katie Couric weighs in… “@MonicaLewinsky @taffyakner Two legends.”

Speaking of Monica….

What’s the worst piece of career advice she’s ever received? 

Lewinsky: “An internship at the White House will be amazing on your resume.”

Mississippi senator to Alyssa Milano: ‘My truck, my rules.’ 

Alyssa Milano, actress, Democratic activist: “If Mississippi gubernatorial candidate,  @RobertFoster4MS, feels he can’t be alone with a woman without being accused of assault, why would we allow him to govern women?”

Robert Foster, GOP senator, Mississippi: “Unless you move to Mississippi, @Alyssa_Milano, you don’t have a dog in this hunt. My truck. My rules.”

Yelling at Jim Acosta in the Rose Garden 

“The fake news is claiming I was ‘shouting at’ Jim Acosta and “harassed him” in the White House Rose Garden Keep spreading your lies scum, and I’ll post the video Monday and everyone will see that I was simply TALKING to him in a normal conversational volume level and tone.’ — Mark Dice, YouTube personality, creator of high pitch Brian Stelter.

NYT columnist offers unsolicited advice on tweeting 

“I’ll say again:

Don’t quote-tweet dunk.

It’s just really bad form.

It unmasks you as just real thirsty for tribal adoration, and you should have some chill.

You’re going to be tempted to quote-tweet this tweet with an ironic dunk.

Fight that impulse! It’s beneath you.”

Farhad Manjoo, NYT, longtime tech writer.

 Brett Kavanaugh likes beer, but maybe Diet Coke more

“Brett Kavanaugh chugs 6-8 Diet Cokes a day and is a meticulous writer. He often requires hundreds of rewrites on opinions from his clerks. I thought former clerks were exaggerating when they told me that, but no: literally HUNDREDS of drafts.” — Tessa Berenson, TIME.

Pence spox says Dems were invited but said no 

Seung Min Kim, WaPo: “Pence earlier this week touted a bipartisan codel to the border today. It appears no Dems decided to go.”

Alyssa Farah, flack, VP: “We invited the entire Senate Judiciary Committee – including Democrats – to see border processing & detention facilities. Dems declined. It’s a shame – the crisis at the border requires bipartisan solutions. But we are bringing cameras in for the American people to see.”

Journo tells the world that elephants are not joy rides 

“DO NOT RIDE ELEPHANTS EVER. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE PLACE CALLS THEMSELVES. YOU MAY GO TO A PLACE THAT CALLS ITSELF A ‘RESCUE ORGANIZATION’ OR A ‘SANCTUARY’ – THAT’S ALL A SCAM NO REPUTABLE SANCTUARY WOULD ALLOW ANYONE TO RIDE AN ELEPHANT.” — Yashar Ali, writer, New York Mag, HuffPost.

Political reporter requires certain level of cat devotion 

“Level of cat devotion I require of my followers: cry when someone else’s cat dies. see yourself out otherwise.” — Libby Watson, political reporter, Splinter News.

Atlantic editor is paranoid about emojis 

“Every time I use an emoji I’m terrified it has some secret, lurid meaning I don’t know about.” — Ian Bogost, contributing editor, The Atlantic.

Women’s rights takes a twist 

“I just want a scenario where men line up to play Serena and she just bounces balls off their faces.” — Lyz Lenz, writer, Columbia Journalism Review.

CONVO BETWEEN A FLACK AND A WRITER 

Laura Bassett, writer, WaPo, GW, HuffPost, InStyle.“The conservative backlash against the US women’s soccer team— which just won a world event for this country — is kind of hilarious? America first, unless us winning means having to celebrate a lesbian with pink hair.”

Lyndsey Fifield, digital, Heritage Foundation: “You realize there is no need to distort or caricature this right? So why do it? The team has behaved shamefully as representatives of this country. They made the event a political spectacle, not the many Americans (many of whom aren’t conservatives) who are repulsed by it.”

Slate writer faces wrenching dilemma: Church or birthday parties? 

“My kid was just invited to yet another birthday party scheduled on a Sunday morning when we’re normally in church. It’s perfectly rational given that almost no one goes to church in this area, but what am I supposed to do, NOT complain about it?” — Ruth Graham, writer, Slate.

Journo wants his kids educated not poor kids taking up teach’s time 

“When I send my kids off to school, I want them educated. Not indoctrinated. And not forced to stand by while the poor kids with dirtball parents takes up all the teacher’s time and energy. No thanks.” — Jesse Kelly, contributor, The Federalist.

Mitt Romney has love for ex-Speaker Paul Ryan 

“His selfless leadership and lifelong policy work were critical to the tax and regulatory reform that have helped propel the economy. A man like Paul Ryan does not often come along.” — Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.).

Lefty commentator Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America, cracked, “Once every 30 days, Mitt Romney has to flex those atrophying Never Trump muscles or he loses his free subscription to the Bulwark.”

MORE DRAMA: On AOC being sworn in… 

Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC: “What is this? Why?”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.): “Hey Mika – GOP has alleged that I am lying about the accounts of migrant women at the border, particularly about the fact that they were were told to drink out of a toilet bowl. Committee staff conferred with me ahead of time about formally requesting to be sworn in.”

Grace Segers, CBS News: “I was in the room reporting on the hearing — it was clear that @AOC asked to be sworn in because her claims had been directly challenged by the Republicans who had spoken before her just minutes before.”

The Complainer

“It’s 7:46am and Prime Day is already exhausting.” — Ian Bogost, contributing editor, The Atlantic.

Gossip Roundup 

SPOTTED: Ex-TNR literary editor Leon Wieseltier was seen having lunch on Monday at a popular Washington hotel with a twenty-something woman with a Russian accent. He ordered a Diet Coke and said he knew the menu by heart. He ordered the Burrata and French Fries with ketchup. He was extremely polite with the server.

The conversation inevitably turned to TNR‘s flub:  “Such idiots,” he said of the pub publishing a raunchy story on Pete Buttigieg’s sexual preference that it later removed. The story has led to environmentalists pulling out of an upcoming TNR forum with Gizmodo on climate change. Wieseltier said he wasn’t surprised: “I know that guy,” he said. What did surprise him, however, was that the editors didn’t have enough sense to not allow it to go through. So what’s happening with him these days? “I’m going through a divorce, thank God,” he said. He recently spent 10 days on a Greek island. He says he may start writing again about all the bad things happening in the world: “Liberalism is almost forgotten. Someone needs to remind people.”

In several instances, the conversation turned personal. At least on his part. During the lunch, the 67-year-old ex-TNR editor asked how old she is, where she lives, if certain males she was discussing are romantic interests or ex-boyfriends. He said he may be able to use her skills at some point. He said he could help her with political contacts in her travels. Last question, he said: “Is there a boyfriend or a husband?” The woman laughed and said she has promised herself to her second cousin. The iconic journo was delighted and said she should use this line on men who annoy her.

Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.

“So no boyfriend?” he asked again.

She says there’s someone in Paris, but they’ve been fighting a lot.

“You’ll tell me when I should send you interesting men,” he said eventually.

He asked if she cooked well. She’s good at fish. He told her he picked fruit as a boy. He wants to give her a book he wrote. He wants her to take him to a Georgian restaurant. “We’ll all go,” he said, not specifying who else he wanted there.

Before the lunch wrapped up, he said he had a vast collection of movies and she should come over and watch sometime. She did not respond. He asked her to go to lunch again. He asked her to the movies. He asked if she stayed up late at night. To lunch, she said yes. To the movie, she replied in the affirmative. To staying up late, she said no.

Wieseltier left TNR in 2014 after three decades when he led a mass exodus out the door. In 2017, he was on the cusp of heading up a new publication, Idea, but the plan was killed after several women with whom he worked at TNR came forward with accusations of “inappropriate advances.” He apologized profusely and said he felt “ashamed” for making them feel “demeaned.”

Bon appétit.

Patricia Arquette praises Beto for coming clean on his ancestry owning slaves 

Beto O’Rourke: “Something that we’ve been talking about in town hall meetings —  the legacy of slavery in the United States  — now has a much more personal connection. I was recently given documents showing that both Amy and I are descended from people who owned slaves.”

Patricia Arquette: “Thank you for being honest about this. This whole country has an ancestral debt to pay.”

Ramifications for TNR‘s dick piece on Pete Buttigieg: A sponsor bails on an upcoming climate forum. Here.

TMZ chatted up the angry Bagel Boss guy.  He wants an educated woman who is not an “greedy bimbo.” He says he wants “pure love.” The “N” word may come out of his mouth if he gets angry. Here.

Ed Henry donates 30 percent of his liver:UPDATE

The Ass Kisser: “I am told by several people the round tables that occurred before the main summit were VERY productive. Congrats to the WH team who put this on against all odds.” — “His Excellency” Raheem Kassam, editor, Human Events.

It’s summer. Journos are traveling. 

(Olivia Nuzzi writes for New York Mag.)

(Mary Chasten writes for The Hill, Reason and The Examiner.)