June 5th - Week 1

     On June 5, 2016, I watched Face the Nation with John Dickerson on CBS. John included an interview with presidential candidate Donald Trump. The many other guests and pundits on this week's show included: David Axelrod, Dan Balz, Susan Page, Reihan Salam, Amy Walter, Bill Rhoden, and Thomas Hauser. I also watched FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace on Fox News channel. John Podesta, Newt Gingrich, Brit Hume, Anne Gearan, Karl Rove, and Charles Lane were guests on the show.
     I first watched Face the Nation, and it began with host, John Dickerson, interviewing Donald Trump. John asked questions about Hillary Clinton's recent attacks towards Trump's fitness to be president. Trump's response was that Hillary herself was not fit for the Oval Office. Dickerson then proceeded with questions about the rumors of the re-opening of Trump University and judge Gonzalo Curiel's court rulings about the university's lawsuits. Trump claims Curiel is "biased" against him because of his Hispanic heritage. Dickerson shoots back to say that Gonzalo is an American citizen and was born in Indiana and hints that people could receive that as racism. Once the interview ends, Dickerson and other political analysts discuss all the candidate's political techniques and tricks. Reihan Salam says that when Donald Trump is asked a question, he uses several words from the question and redirects the question to avoid a straightforward answer. On the Democratic side, Amy Walter discusses how Bernie Sanders would "lay low" and gather votes will getting his campaign message across through every outlet by making connections. I personally do not think it was a fair analysis on both sides, since they mostly talked positively of Bernie but only discussed Trump and Clinton's faults in their campaign. Sport columnist Bill Rhoden and author Thomas Hauser discuss Muhammad Ali's impact on the world and his life as a man who always fought for his faith and beliefs, It was a very respectful and tasteful memorial for Ali.
     I later watched FOX News Sunday. They first brought on John Podesta, the head of the Clinton campaign. He was asked about Hillary's "attacks" on Trump during her speech and Chris Wallace asked if Hillary could "pull the ethics card on Trump" while she has her email scandals and instances like Benghazi. Podesta stated that Clinton has apologized for her mistakes, but it seems like he was avoiding a real answer. Podesta later says that "Trump is full of bluster" when asked to respond to Trump's comments about Clinton's private email server, saying he will put Clinton in jail if he wins the election. Next, Chris talked with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich about Trump's comments about Federal judge Gonzalo Curiel. Newt thinks it was a huge mistake and discusses how people may receive it as racism. Newt is one of the few people on Trump's running mate list, and Newt says he can be blunt with Donald. He still supports him even though he disagrees with some of his political tactics, which I respect and think Newt's support will leave a good impression on the Republican party. Later on, Chris and his discuss team talk about the violent attacks against Trump supporters. The attackers were first believed to be Clinton supporters, and Hillary came out and said she did not condone the violence. The attackers were actually immigrants who were not politically active, and the team discusses Trump's and Clinton's reactions to the attacks. The show closes with a memorial to remember the exciting life of Muhammad Ali.
     In conclusion, there were several interesting discussions on Trump's controversial comments and Clinton's recent attacks on other candidates in her speech, which is a different tactic for her. I am excited to learn more about the race for president and witness how the election plays out.