i did in my newsletter: view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...

to reporters :-) i wrote about it in detail in my newsletter: view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...

i was specific in my newsletter, which dan linked to up above: view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...

i wrote about it in detail in my newsletter: view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...

Some breaking news just now: FBI director Kash Patel has followed through on his threat to sue The Atlantic. Scroll down for all the details. But first...

to reporters. i wrote about it in detail in my newsletter: view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...

Donald J. Trump @realDonald Trump I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim. For me it began with a phone call from Tim at the beginning of my First Term. He had a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix. Most people would have paid millions of dollars to a consultant, who I probably would not have known, but who would say that he knew me well.

The fees would be paid but the job would not have gotten done. When I got the call I said, wow, it's Tim Apple (Cook!) calling, how big is that? I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to "kiss my ass." Anyway, he explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively. That was the beginning of a long and very nice relationship. During my five years as President, Tim would call me, but never too much, and I would help him where I could. Years latter, after 3 or 4 BIG HELPS, I started to say to people, anyone who would listen, that this guy is an amazing manager and leader. He makes these calls to me,

Thelp him out (but not always, because he will, on occasion, be too aggressive in his ask!), and he gets the job done, QUICKLY, without a dime being given to those very expensive (millions of dollars!) consultants around town who sometimes get it done, and sometimes don't. Anyway, Tim Cook had an AMAZING career, almost incomparable, and will go on and continue to do great work for Apple, and whatever else he chooses to work on. Quite simply, Tim Cook is an incredible guy!!! President DONALD J. TRUMP 235 ReTruths 1.07k Li... 4/21/26, 5:42 AM

Trump on Tim Cook:

“I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to ‘kiss my ass.’”

@brianstelter.bsky.social: Breaking: "Apple announced that Tim Cook will become executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors and John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will become Apple’s next chief executive officer effective on September 1, 2026."

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman called it last month: "Tim Cook doesn’t want to talk about retirement yet, but John Ternus is emerging as his most likely successor." www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

We've been waiting for this project for over a year.

All merch is on The Onion Store: store.theonion.com?srsltid=AfmB...

Story: www.cnn.com/2026/04/20/m...

Sorry to be overly sincere for a second, but here's why we decided to persevere through all of the bullshit and take over InfoWars.

There's just gotta be a line somewhere.

Thank you @pablo.show for letting me talk so openly about this.

In today's Reliable Sources:
The case for inviting POTUS to dinner
'Free Ahmed' campaign continues
Trump's soft spot for Joe Rogan
Nexstar-Tegna's uphill battle
cnn.it/4cwe9iF

it's been useful every year i have attended. just like other similar dinners and events are.

Brian Stelter talks about Kash Patel’s $250M lawsuit against The Atlantic: “[Patel] is performing what Patel knows his boss, president Trump, wants to see: a very aggressive response to these charges in The Atlantic”

@brianstelter.bsky.social

FBI director Kash Patel files $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic | CNN Business FBI director Kash Patel has sued The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick over a story that alleged Patel has “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

Kash Patel has followed through on his vow to sue The Atlantic over Sarah Fitzpatrick's investigative story, "The FBI Director Is MIA." The Atlantic says the suit is "meritless" >>>

ICYMI in today's Reliable Sources:
A 'huge blow' to Trump's TV consolidation push
Measuring the top news 'influencers' in America
'Hungary election results bring hope for media freedom'
and 7️⃣ more great weekend reads
cnn.it/41LPx0u

In short - this is the problem with modern media consumption:

‘Bro with a podcast’ is mistaken for actual journalism.

Another possible takeaway about Trump and Rogan's photo op in the Oval Office today: Trump voters who break with him for one reason or another often find their way back to him. In Rogan's case, it was an exec order about psychedelic drugs

Poll - NewsLab Survey reveals Facebook, Reddit, Joe Rogan, Jimmy Kimmel among top and untraditional sources of information for the electorate

In short: Joe Rogan is a unique figure with a uniquely popular platform. Researchers at Ole Miss just released a poll about who Americans trust for info. Many "online influencers" were mentioned. Rogan was in the #1 spot. newslab.org/school/jorda...

His millions of viewers think so, yes

Trump has tried to excommunicate other podcasters who have criticized him over the Iran war, but he's playing nice with Joe Rogan, and today Rogan was in the Oval Office for an exec order signing. Here's my two cents about that

In the Oval Office today (via @brianstelter.bsky.social )

Hey, happy Saturday. There's more than enough media news for a special weekend edition. Here's the latest on Joe Rogan, Kash Patel, The Atlantic, Dianna Russini, Bill Maher, QVC, and more...

Saturday special edition of Reliable Sources just landed 🛬 full of Nexstar-Tegna news + great weekend reads cnn.it/41LPx0u

Two big wins for state attorneys general this week: First the jury verdict in the Live Nation Ticketmaster trial, and now the judge halting the Nexstar-Tegna merger. Stark divide between the federal and state approach to antitrust right now

NEW: A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger of Nexstar (Fox31) and TEGNA (9NEWS) while an anti-monopoly lawsuit proceeds.

The Trump admin OKed the Nexstar-Tegna deal (after Nexstar went out of its way to appeal to President Trump personally) but a group of Democratic state AGs sued to block it. And for now the states have prevailed

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media The artificial-intelligence-generated fake influencers have surged on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in an apparent bid to hook conservative voters.

In the months leading up to the midterm elections, hundreds of accounts have emerged on social media featuring A.I.-generated pro-Trump influencers posting at a rapid pace. Several accounts have already amassed thousands followers. Some of the posts have more than half a million views.

Federal judge blocks politically fraught TV station merger | CNN Business Nexstar’s politically charged acquisition of a rival TV station owner, Tegna, has been halted by a federal judge in California.

Breaking: Nexstar's politically charged acquisition of a rival TV station owner, Tegna, has been halted by a federal judge in California. This is a major victory for the Democratic state attorneys general who sued to block the deal last month. Here's my full story >>> www.cnn.com/2026/04/17/m...

In today's Reliable Sources:

>> Kennedy Center insider speaks out
>> Netflix stock slides on unchanged outlook
>> Tarlov turns Trump's criticism into a book plug
>> Disney tries to set a $10M bar for Super Bowl ads

+ much more right here: cnn.it/4sKaUuj

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"The event that set in motion Eric Swalwell's swift downfall, from congressman running for governor to political outcast accused of sexual assault, was the most routine act in journalism: a cold call."

"I am heartened by the fact that we are still hearing from whistleblowers, given the way that whistleblowers have been treated just in this past week by this administration" – @aliciamenendez.bsky.social cnn.it/4sKaUuj