Sunday morning talking heads

A post-holiday Sunday morning brings a respite from impeachment chitchat on the talk shows — sort of. There’ll still be interviews with minor players in the process, like members of the House Judiciary Committee, but no heavy hitters. Adam Schiff’s nowhere to be found in the schedule as I write this on Friday night. Neither is Jerry Nadler, nor Pelosi, nor any top Trump surrogates like Kellyanne Conway or Lindsey Graham. Which, I guess, makes sense: The major impeachment work is being done behind the scenes right now, as Schiff’s Intelligence Committee gets cracking on its final report on the Ukraine matter, and there are no new hearings set until Wednesday of this coming week. Today’s like a lull in a bar fight as everyone catches their breath so that they can start swinging chairs at each other again.

Advertisement

There’s stuff to watch, though. The star guest is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’ll be on “Meet the Press” to discuss … God knows what, really. He hasn’t been in the news lately for any non-Terminator reasons. Presumably he’s on to talk about climate change and dog Trump out as a weakling, his two most reliable political hobbyhorses nowadays. Maybe he’s prepared to endorse Mike Bloomberg for president; Bloomy seems like his type of politician, a rich centrist technocrat. And speaking of rich technocrats, Arnold will be followed on MTP by John Kerry and an in-depth discussion of … God knows what, again. Kerry’s not about to announce that he’s jumping into the race, I hope. Presumably he’s booked to discuss the protests that have rocked Iran over the last few weeks and whether Trump’s economic pressure campaign against the regime is working. Given the scale of the demonstrations, the correct answer is “yes, quite clearly,” but Kerry will find a way to argue otherwise.

This morning will also feature a few Democratic 2020 hopefuls, starting with the subject of this not-at-all-resentful ad by an outside group:

Booker is one of two Democratic middle-tier candidates whom most pundits feel *should* be doing better in the race and possibly could still be poised for a surge in Iowa or New Hampshire but whose polling remains flat as December begins. He’ll be on “Face the Nation” to give viewers a sense of how much longer he’s prepared to carry on. Remember, it was only a few months ago that his campaign threatened to shut down if it didn’t hit a particular fundraising target by a deadline it set. The end might be near. Not coincidentally, the other should-be-doing-better candidate is also scheduled this morning, not once but twice: Amy Klobuchar will be on “Meet the Press” as well as “State of the Union” to answer questions about her own jealous contempt for Pete Buttigieg and to preview her own benchmarks for continuing in the race. Klobuchar is like Buttigieg in that both are Iowa-or-bust candidates. If it doesn’t happen for Amy in a state that borders her home state of Minnesota, it ain’t happening in New Hampshire or South Carolina. She’s one-and-done if the caucuses don’t boost her.

Advertisement

If none of that grabs you, pro-Trump chatter on impeachment can be found this morning from Sen. John Kennedy on “Meet the Press” and Judiciary Committee member Rep. Doug Collins on “Fox News Sunday.” Collins is of special note because he’s been leaning hard on Trump to lean on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to appoint him to Johnny Isakson’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat. Kemp seems inclined to go in a different direction, to Trump’s annoyance. Collins will address that this morning and doubtless try to sound even Trumpier than usual in hopes of persuading grassroots Republicans in Georgia to put more pressure on Kemp to tap him to fill the vacancy instead. The full line-up is at the AP.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | December 23, 2024
Advertisement
David Strom 7:20 PM | December 23, 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement