Happy Saturday. Let's check in on the media this week.
DeSantis derangement syndrome: Rolling Stone had to update a report and delete a tweet that suggested neo-Nazi marchers in Florida were DeSantis supporters. The backtrack came after footage showed that the one Neo-Nazi who Rolling Stone quoted as supporting DeSantis had immediately made clear he was joking, adding, "Fuck Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis is a joke."
Other news outlets similarly grasped for ways to connect the anti-Semitic thugs to DeSantis, a vocal ally of Israel and his state's Orthodox Jews.
USA Today: "About 15 people with flags displaying Nazi insignia gathered outside Walt Disney World in Orlando for about two hours on Saturday, the Orange County Sheriff's Office told NBC News, as others displayed messaging in support of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"The incident is not the first time the entertainment resort has been visited by neo-Nazi demonstrators. In June, multiple people waved red and black flags with swastikas, and at least one person held a poster of DeSantis outside the Orlando theme park. ...
"While the governor has been quick to tout his pro-Israel support and legislation, critics say his office has in the past been slower to weigh in on public anti-Semitic displays."
Newsweek: "Florida attracted neo-Nazi protestors who gathered in support of DeSantis' so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill outside the Walt Disney World theme park in June, a move that was condemned by Sen. Rick Scott."
Business Insider: "The ADL said U.S. Nazis were increasingly brazen, and some had been outspoken in favor of Gov. Ron DeSantis. The presidential candidate argues that these individuals are not his true supporters."
Meanwhile, other outlets stretched to find an anti-DeSantis angle in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. They warned that a new DeSantis-backed law cracking down on illegal immigration might possibly lead to a shortage of workers needed to rebuild Florida's Gulf Coast.
NBC News: "Immigrants Cleaning up After Hurricane Idalia Wonder if DeSantis's Immigration Law Will Limit Their Ability to Rebuild Florida."
New York Times: "DeSantis’s Immigration Law May Affect Hurricane Cleanup in Florida."
CNN: "Some Workers Who Rebuild Homes After Hurricanes Are Afraid To Go to Florida. They Blame a Law DeSantis Championed."
In the 21st paragraph, however, CNN acknowledged that its "teams reporting in Florida since Idalia hit haven’t observed any worker shortages."
Where's Hunter?: A large majority of Americans believe President Joe Biden was involved in his son's business dealings, according to a new CNN poll. Indeed, proof has piled up that Biden, when he was vice president, schmoozed and did favors for Hunter Biden's business partners.
Still, the mainstream media have continued to insist there is "no evidence" tying Joe Biden to Hunter Biden's business.
Washington Post: "The president has denied any involvement in his son’s affairs, and no evidence has emerged proving otherwise."
CNN: "President Biden has denied being involved in any of his son’s business dealings, and House Oversight Republicans have not presented any direct evidence that the president personally benefited from any of them."
NBC News: "The [impeachment] push comes as even some in the House GOP concede they don't have proof of wrongdoing by the president."
Fair and balanced: A "blue state" migrant crisis has exposed Democrats' pro-immigration politics as disastrously unserious. But for much of the media, the real problem is that Republicans could get an electoral boost as a result.
New York Times: "GOP Gets the Democratic Border Crisis It Wanted."
Politico: "New York Voters Down on Democrats Over Migrant Crisis, Poll Finds."
Axios: "Blue State Migrant Crisis Sparks Political Disaster for Biden."
Gold nugget: To its credit, the Times pushed back on efforts to portray the migrant crisis as entirely a GOP creation:
Of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in all 50 states, according to demographers’ estimates, most began their new lives with a trip from a border city or airport—usually paid for by a relative, an aid group or their own savings, not the Texas governor. ...
Many migrants have been grateful for the free transportation [offered by Abbott], because they often have little money left by the time they complete a monthslong trek to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Lever Alejos, a Venezuelan delivered to Washington, D.C., last July, said, "I feel fortunate the governor put me on a bus to Washington." He has found work and started sending money and gifts to his young son back home. He recently bought a car.
Stay safe out there, and see you next week.