A daily roundup of the biggest stories in right-wing media.
The Wednesday night protests against alt-right figure Milo Yiannopoulos’ appearance at UC–Berkeley continued to dominate right-wing media on Friday.
On Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM, Yiannopoulos and Breitbart editor Alex Marlow discussed the Berkeley “riots” and the state of free speech in America. Marlow said, “How amazing is it that a British, gay conservative is the standard-bearer of the free speech movement in the United States of America at this point?” Yiannopoulos replied: “I suppose it is slightly unusual, but then America has a long history of having to import Europeans to remind you of how great you are, and to encourage you to stay that way. Whether it’s Christopher Hitchens or Alexis de Tocqueville, Milo Yiannopoulos is merely the latest name added to that list.” He also explained why he was disappointed that his talk on free speech was canceled:
I was so mad. OK, I care about the free speech stuff, but I was really most mad because I had a beautiful custom Native American headdress with my name embroidered on. It was massive, beautiful. … I was gonna look amazing, I was so excited about it, but yeah, I didn’t have to step on stage. I didn’t even have to go on stage to make my point.
Breitbart also reported on the insinuation made by former labor secretary and UC–Berkeley professor Robert Reich that right-wing activists were responsible for the more destructive part of the protest at Berkeley. Reich said on CNN: “Again, I saw these people. They all looked almost paramilitary, not from the campus. And I’ve heard—again I don’t want to say factually—but heard there’s some relationship there between these people and the right wing. And the movement that is affiliated with Breitbart news.” Breitbart wrote:
Despite admitting explicitly that the claim was not based on facts, Reich charged ahead in claiming that Breitbart News had an affiliation with the violent rioters that lit fires around campus and beat and pepper sprayed the MILO supporters who were waiting to get into the venue.
The Daily Caller also wrote about Reich’s remark, made “contrary to all evidence.” The post said, “Reich ignored that left-wing support for violence and pinned Wednesday’s agitation on Yiannopoulos and conservatives.”
National Review called two UC–Berkeley professors hypocritical for expressing support for the protests, accusing them of tacitly approving the destruction of property because it was “sanctified by progressive values.” The post sarcastically said: “Perhaps the next target destroyed ‘very sparingly’ will be a Berkeley professor’s million-dollar hillside bungalow or cherished Prius. We’ll see how quickly the owner calls the cops.”
In other news: Mike Ditka
On Thursday, the former Chicago Bears head coach slammed those calling for New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, who has repeatedly talked about his friendship with Donald Trump, to denounce the president’s policies. Many right-wing outlets picked up the story.
The Blaze wrote:
As the Super Bowl showdown between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons draws near, outspoken, no-nonsense NFL legend Mike Ditka had a message for sports reporters demanding that Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady denounce recent actions by his friend, Republican President Donald Trump.
“I think these people are—can I say this?—that they’re assholes,” Ditka proclaimed during interview on WABC-AM’s “Bernie & Sid Show” Thursday.
According to the Blaze, Ditka weighed in on Trump’s presidency too, saying, “I happen to support Donald Trump, I like Donald Trump, I think he’s the best man, the best-qualified person, I think he’ll do a great job for America.” Ditka also said he thinks San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is “a pretty unintelligent person” for kneeling during the national anthem as protest.
Breitbart also reported on Ditka’s comments: “‘If [Trump] can possibly screw it up half as much as Obama, I’ll be surprised,’ Ditka said. He added, ‘No leadership at all. None. Zero.’”
Fox News Insider also flagged Ditka’s comments, writing that he had “strong words” for Obama and Kaepernick.
The interview was also shared widely on conservative Facebook pages:
