Rises to 66 and for trump voters, 98 . These are mostly selfinflicted wounds. Sensationalism and serious mistakes have decimated public trust in the press especially on the right. Now, for some pokes in this hyperpolarized era, threat to democracy may be a pox city for i just dont like the media or i think theyre ooh nice to the other side. And the trumpstyle pressbashing has taken its toll. Im not going to sugar coat it, we have lost our role as a fair umpire of political disputes. The gaps want to throw us off the field. Even the Fact Checkers believe its partisan. I hate that so Many Americans now view my profession as a threat to them can crass, but i cant say im shocked. Im howard kurtz, and this is mediabuzz. Howard one sign just over two to weeks before the midterms that the election is moving in the republicans direction is that even liberal pundits and news outlets are conceding the point. The party of woke scolds and Gender Studies grads knockout now realizing the momentum over the em summer is melting away faster than joe bidens ice cream. If not red wave, the the prospects of large republican pickups in the house are like now a lot greater than they were even six weeks ago. We are about to see a wave. I think the real question is whether Kevin Mccarthy gets 40 seats. Democrats are pessimistic by nature. Only 7 of voters rank a threat to democracy as a major issue this election cycle. Yeah. I find that so depressing, i cant begin to tell you. Thats why i dont like polls. Howard joining us now to analyze the coverage, robby soave and is in san diego, laura fink. Robby,most of the Mainstream Media are acknowledging the republicans again have the upper hand in the midterms, it must be true in. Yeah. The situation is looking very good for reflips. I mean, its still very close in a number of races. 4951, 5050, 4852, these are plausible outcomes. Hare fun from, like, a sportshandicapping perspective. Howard was there are some damage from the media with until the last beak or so . Yeah, i think the mainstream video doesnt understand the voters. That clip really got at it, that the Mainstream Media is obsessed with election, trump, etc. Voters care about how much gas costs, how much food costs, that sort of thing. Howe. Howard oh, its so depressing. But its true. In the summer when the picture looked a little bit brighter for a minute democrats were coming back. The economic reality is hitting voters again very hard, and that is to the republicans advantage, and theres no way to claim that not. Howard laura, its a fact of life that both parties take talk up their chances when things look bleak, but when you have democratic strategists who believe theyre extremely likely to lose the house, sounds like theres something there. Well, thats been true for quite some time. Howard yeah. Because the margin is so small, i mean, five seats, you can news and lose five seats sneeze. Anybody thats smart if understands that. I will say this, be careful with turnout. And i also love that republicans are lauding and celebrating the polls once again now that they seem to be shifting a little bit in their favor. But watch out for turnout, because there could be undersampling among young voters, in particular women and the Abortion Issue donts to drive continues to drive in a subtle way. I also will say the focus has been in the media on gas prices throughout, which is understandable. But also drives the focus there. Be careful. Go ahead. Your overconfidence, republicans, could hurt you because there are very, very tight races in the senate. Howard just briefly, you said all the republicans are lauding polls again and suggesting the polls seem to be favoring democratic momentum, that they were questioning the polls . Well, i just havelied through multiple years where the polls were irrelevant and didnt make any sense, and they were undersampling trump voters, all of which had kernels of truth in it, but there was a willful distrust in polls, and now we see its like the republicans have caught religion with respect to polling again. That, i would say, take with a grape of salt. Howard yeah, right. And joy is right, we are a little bit of pessimistic beings, democrats. I think this is still going to be a very, very tight race with early voting happening right now. Howard polls are only right, obviously, when they favor my side. Maybe pollsters have finally figured out how to sample republican voters. Theyve made so many mistakes these last couple cycles, and so the question is have they finally figured out how to call on the phone, you know, a voter who is skeptical of Mainstream Institutions and, you know, doesnt want to be reached and doesnt want to give you their opinion, doesnt want to be shamed but privately is going to vote for conservatives . Howard on that point, robby, the press does tend to hyperventilate over every few poll. When the polls with our as they were in the last two cycles, they have tended to overestimate democratic strength, and we could see that again. We absolutely could. What do you make of finding, for instance, brian kemp its likely hes going to win with a significant margin the Gubernatorial Race in georgia, but then you have walker maybe a little bit behind rafael war, no in arizona you have candidate Kari Lake Doing better than Blake Masters, the Republican Senate candidate. Are voters really saying we like this republican and not that republican . Its hard to imagine, like, a large number of people voting that a way. So then you question, well, are the polls undersampling the Republican Senate candidate in those cases. Howard well, its not crazy that voters or might decide to split their tickets. But when matt bennett told politico that we peaked a little early, speaking of democrats meaning over the summer when the party did have momentum, that quote was picked up everywhere. And todays Washington Post headline, democrats fear the midterm map is slipping away. So, certainly, the press is now beyond board onboard with this notion. Well, the press loves a swing in momentum. The press knows, as you loves, as you know, howie, a horse race. There are two factors happening in the midterms that arent being widely reported. One is trump and the impact he can have on motivating voters to the democratic side, those swing voters that people want, and his sort of anemic rallies that hes been having and his lack of impact but Still Necessary appearances to motivate swing voters. Hes having will less of an impact where he used to have more, and hes having an impact on those swing voters we know hes always had, throwing them to the democratic side. The other thing i would say, of course, turnout. I dont think the polls are necessarily sampling those young voters, i dont think theyre capturing the durability of the fact that a fundamental right has been taken away from women. I think youre going to see that. You have seen it in special elections all across the country. You are going to see it again, and were seeing it in the early voting. So be careful to toss the confetti before the votes are counted. Howard right. Look, midterm election, turn outout is everything, and its also hard to predict. Robby, was it a blunder for almost all the Mainstream Media to write off these trumpbacked, conservative candidates as too extreme . Oh, its type for a primary fine for a primary, but theyre going to get decimated in an actual election when the Real Clear Politics average shows Herschel Walker in georgia down by 2 points, Blake Masters in arizona down by 2. 5 points, dr. Oz trailing fetterman by 2. 5 points. Absolutely a mistake to write hem off, again, because voters are not they dont have the luxury of worrying about these loftier threats to democracy kinds of claims. Theyre worried about being able to afford food, being able to afford gas howard and crime. And some of the things going on in their school districts. Independent dem Can9 Accurates are going to vote republicans for the first time because they dont like some of the curriculum issues. At the same time, it still is true, theyre slightly behind in some of these races. I do have the sense that different republican candidates could be polling as well as a brian kemp or a kari lake in those races, and it is not its not wrong to say, well, if Blake Masters loses by half a percentage point, would some other republican have won by three Percentage Points . Thats fair. Howard right. Laura, with these numbers in the media recognizing what every poll shows which is that the absolute top issue is the economy and inflation, not impossible republicans could take the senate as well, true . Possible, but i dont underestimate democrats ability to harness that issue in their favor. Corporations right now are making record profits, 70year highs, while real wages are at 70year lows. Weve seen it in the data that democrats are trusted to do things like lower the cost of prescription drugs. So i expect that that messaging will happen on the Campaign Trail because it is a way to talk to voters about what democrats would actually do, where they trust democrats o. That messaging will shift, and i imagine youre going to see strong candidates like fetterman, youre going to see strong candidates like Raphael Warnock stand up to these truly flawed candidates that got all the Media Attention that they deserve for waving around crude today in a Grocery Store and for financing abortions. That level of hypocrisy and substandard candidacy is manager that was given appropriate attention. And i dont think they were written off because nobody underestimates the ability of republicans to punch the ticket no matter what. Howard with John Fetterman recovering from a stroke, whether hes a strong candidate remains to be seen. What changed my mind was seeing there might be in a threeway race in oregon for above the first republican governor in 40 years, and in new York Governor Kathy Hochul now in a tighter race with congressman lee zeldin where crime has become a big issue, now shes starting to talk about crime. So new york and oregon, if the democrats are even in competitive races in two of the bluest states in the country, that is a harbinger, i think. Let me get a break. When we come back, for all the Media Condemnation of prolife, republican candidates, some journalists are starting to ask their democratic opponents uncomfortable questions. Since theres zero Overdraft Fees if she overdraws by 50 or less. And, kyle, well, hes keeping calm with another day to adjust his balance if he overdraws by more than 50. Overdraft assist from chase. Make more of whats yours. [ coughing sneezing ] [ Door Knocking ] dude, you coming . Alkaseltzer plus powermax gels cold flu relief with more concentrated power. Because the only thing dripping should be your style plop plop fizz fizz, Winter Warriors with alkaseltzer plus. Tower cam for a hey folks, we seem to have a visitor. It looks like looks like you paid too much for your glasses. Who . Anyone who isnt shopping at americas best where two pairs and a free exam start at just 79. 95. Book an exam today. My most important kitchen tool . My brain. So i choose neuriva plus. Unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. To help keep me sharp. Neuriva think bigger. Back when i had a working circulatory system, you had to give your right arm to find great talent. But with upwork, theres highly skilled talent from all over the globe right at your fingertips. Its where businesses meet great remote talent and remote talent meets great opportunity. This is how we work now howard for all the media focus on abortion rights, some republican conservative nominees have been abandoning their previous support for a total ban with no exceptions. Among them, Herschel Walker. I supported the georgia heartbeat bill because thats the bill of the people from governor kemp. And i said that has exceptions in it. Im a christian, but im also representing the people of georgia. Howard journalists have pressed some Democratic Candidates such as arizona gubernatorial nominee katie hobbs, theyve refused to modify their positions at all, Leaving Hem Open to the countercharge that they back lateterm abortion. So just to be clear, if you become governor, you will push for a law that has absolutely no limits in any point of the pregnancy on abortion . The fact is right now that we have very limited options and that we need to get politicians out of way and let doctors provide the care that they are trained to provide. Howard robby, why are some journalists suddenly trying to pin down Democratic Candidates on whether theyd accept any limits whatsoever on abortion. Its just fair to ask them the, right . They put this question to republicans, so of course they should ask the democrats what their views are. And whats emerging in a lot of this questioning is for all the talk of republicans being extreme itselfs on abortion, several of the Democratic Candidates favor absolutely no restrictions whatsoever, which is not the median view of the american voter. Its not a view anywhere. Many of our peer countries in europe, for instance, have somewhere in the middle, 10, 12, 14 weeks, Something Like that. My sense is thats where most American Voters are. Abortion may be safe, legal and rare. Allowable, and theres a point we only have it in special exceptions. Thats what most people instinctively think. Democrats are way outside that. Howard cnn did the a good job asking that question repeatedly. Laura, when theres a softennenning like Herschel Walker over during the whole fuhrer of when he had furor he said he was for a total ban. We saw him softening there. It tends not to draw as much coverage. I think thats right. And i think we saw republicans removing their abortion stance from their web site, changing their abortion stance like Blake Masters who went from a total ban to accepting some limitations, and that level of untrustworthiness deserves coverage. I think its also deserving to cover the reallife complications for women, something that has been agrege egregiously missing. People like the missouri woman that had to travel out of state when she had a miscarriage because she was going to go into sepsis. Or speaking of sepsis, the texas woman who had sort of a longterm miscarriage where her doctors were recommending that she have to go home and wait for her condition to be lifethreatening which then she may not be able to have churn in the future, and it rick children in the future, and it risked her life. The impact of lawyers and Politicses Intervening between the medical recommendation ares of doctors and their patients are something that a deserves far greater coverage. Howard all right. But i think were a little too interested in the horse race and not enough in the impact of these Abortion Restrictions on womens lives and health [inaudible conversations] howard i want to get robby back in. For all of it. Howard call it hypocrisy by republican candidates, maybe they have gauged public sentiment and decided to change their minds which is not necessarily a bad thing well, what would you call that . Howard our maybe theyre just trying to do you trust that . Howard robby i think chem can democrats have forfeited the moral high ground. Medical decisions are being made at the Top Health Officials for everyone in country. In d. C. The schools were trying to force young kids to be vaccinated in order to come back, and theyve put that on hold howard let me stick with its not, its not sure. Howard are the media waking up to the fact that just 5 of voters in the latest New York Times poll say abortion is the top issue for them in the election compared with 44 who say its either the inflation or the economy . I think some in the media are getting it, yeah. And i was excited to see that question on cnn that you just highlighted. Look, i think its fair to Grile Candidates answers on multiple questions. Republicans have scored this incredible Supreme Court victory, something their base had wanted for a long time, so its totally appropriate to ask them how far theyre going to go now that some of the guardrails have been taken off of and asking the democrats in response. Some of them have views that are quite extreme. Yes, the number one issue that comes out in polls, if you talk to to real voters its clear, its the economy followed by some crime concerns, child, family, school concerns. Thats the bread and butter issues, and all of that is favoring republicans right now because democrats is have lost their way in municipalities and cities where they have control, and theyre losing the trust of many of their own voters, people who vote democrat previously. Howard you know whats fast fascinating in the 5 of the New York Times poll, 9 of women and 1 of men, which is kind of depressing, as if men dont have responsibility for children that they might be involved with or care for womens bodily autonomy. And thats, unfortunately, true. But one swing group you may want to keep in mind are fathers. Fathers of daughters are swinging to the demo