Early Tuesday, America’s new leading family — as in the Hughes klan, including USA Hockey star and gold-medal-winning goal scorer Jack Hughes  — wadded into network morning newscasts and were sadly met on ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today with attempts to sully their reputations and maim both their character and the entire men’s team for taking a phone call Sunday from President Trump and accepting his invite to the State of the Union. Jack and brother Quinn Hughes both woke up early to appear on the two leading newscasts despite having arrived back from Italy less than 24 hours prior and spent the night partying in Miami. They first appeared on the superficial-yet-cartoonishly-partisan GMA and things seemed to be going well. Co-hosts Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos asked each brother if they had seen the replays of Jack’s game-winning goal over Canada. This continued with co-host former NFL player Michael Strahan wondering if they had dreamed of being NHL players seeing as how their dad was a coach and mom having played in college before becoming a USA Hockey executive. But in-between Roberts asking about Jack about a letter he wrote to himself seven years prior about winning a goal medal and Strahan welcoming Hughes as a new kindred spirit with misaligned teeth, Stephanopoulos interjected with the partisan hot take: “Quinn, Quinn, Jack mentioned the celebration with the women’s hockey team. They’ve said they’re not going to be able to go to the State of the Union tonight. Will you guys be going?” WATCH: Quinn Hughes was asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos about attending tonight's State of the Union... "I don't know how much we're allowed to say, but yes. Yeah, we're excited to go. Something you don't get to do -- I don't know what today is - every Tuesday. But yeah --… pic.twitter.com/POH9XIXqyv — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 Quinn conceded he’s unsure “how much we’re allowed to say, but yes” they’d be going and “we’re excited to go” because it’s “[s]omething you don’t get to do — I don’t know what today is — every Tuesday.” He went on to further expound on that as well as his support for the women’s team that dates back to before the Olympics: But yeah — but, it’s going to be special for us, but I’m glad you mentioned the women’s team again. You know, we’re really happy for them. Obviously, a lot going on on social media right now surrounding our team and their team. But, you know, the last couple we’ve done a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well. We’re extremely happy to come and, obviously, [inaudible]. Shifting to NBC’s Today, the entire Hughes family (except for younger brother Luke, who also plays in the NHL, but was’ ton the team) appeared at one point or another, starting with mother Ellen from the base of the Matterhorn in Switzerland. It evolved in the same fashion as ABC’s did with basic questions about what her experience was like both on Sunday and in the days leading up to the final. At one point, co-host Carson Daly even asked her to weigh in on how proud she was of Jack “not taking any credit for the goal, giving it to his team, talking about the future of USA hockey, the Brotherhood, talking about his patriotism for this country.” Hoda Kotb dragged out the Trump angle and sought to have her nitpick the men’s team and/or the President for the latter’s comments — which she said gained “a little traction” — joking about needing to also invite the women’s team to the State of the Union or he’d risk being impeached. Ellen similarly didn’t fall into the trap and instead focused on how “at the end of the day, it’s just about the country and the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country.” NBC’s ‘Today’ tried to trap Ellen Hughes — mother of Jack and Quinn — by seeing if she’d bash the men’s team and President Trump for inviting them to the State of the Union and joking he’d have to invite the women or he’d be impeached... Hoda Kotb: “Let me ask you about thing… pic.twitter.com/ApUVVfauO0 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 Ellen said that the games brought together “[p]eople...that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the men’s team care about.” Also sensing the media’s attempts to drive wedges between the two, Ellen brought up the camaraderie: If you could see what we see from the inside and the men and women sharing, you know, dorms — dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women. That’s what it’s all about. And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity, and they care about the country I love. Later, she concluded by reemphasizing that “I hope everybody just understands what we did in the moment, both the men and the women, to bring this country together and let everybody cheer in the same direction.” Jack and Quinn Hughes appeared roughly a half hour later on Today and, unlike ABC, there was no direct question about Trump. Having just come off ABC with Stephanopoulos’s gotcha, they seemed prepared and made sure to go out of their way to compliment the women’s team as “a very special team” that were “amazing to spend time with” and also bask in having achieved something for the country: Quinn Hughes on whether USA Hockey staying in the Olympic Village (whereas the Canadians stayed in hotel rooms) was an advantage... “I'm not sure if it played into us winning a gold medal, but I don't think it hurt. You know, I was able to room with Jack for a little over two… pic.twitter.com/yIUvWQUDTa — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 Jack Hughes on supporting the U.S. women’s hockey team... “I wish — if there's a camera on me and Quinn when the women's team won, we’d look like the biggest superfans of all time. We were just jumping up and down. We couldn't believe it. And we locked in, said goodbye because… pic.twitter.com/41Z8PnEjnd — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 Thankfully, the fourth hour of Today (with Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones) brought on Jim Hughes (and Ellen for a second visit) and completely avoided the forced politics and smears. Instead, they asked them to talk about what their sons achieved and advice for parents raising sons hoping they become as hard-working and patriotic as their boys: THIS is how this USA Hockey discourse should go -- NBC's fourth hour of 'Today with Jenna & Sheinelle' brought on Jim Hughes -- father of Jack and Quinn Hughes -- as well as mom Ellen again to talk about what their sons achieved as well as the women's team Ellen is in the front… pic.twitter.com/yP7ycH4Xtx — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil closed Monday’s show with an apologetically pro-America commentary that was a contrast to the purposeful injection of partisanship into what should be a unifying moment seemingly out of yesteryear. Dokoupil told viewers that he observed the team’s victory and postgame interviews “rang some sort of a bell in America” that “gave people chills, goose bumps, made them cry even” and reminded us that, while “America is a complicated place,” it’s our “home and, therefore, easy to love” (click “expand”): WATCH: ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor @TonyDokoupil on how the gold-medal-winning men’s hockey team and their unabashed patriotism “rang some sort of a bell in America” that “gave people chills, goose bumps, made them cry even” and reminded us that, while “America is a complicated… pic.twitter.com/FrfoQMaaU9 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 DOKOUPIL: Only in America, a moment that called to mind a picture of this country that it turns out millions of us were missing. I’m talking of course about Sunday’s USA hockey game. The men’s team won its first Olympic gold and 46 years, beating Canada in overtime and, by now, you’ve seen the images of Jack Hughes, 24, Florida born who left blood on the ice quite literally before scoring the winning goal and telling a reporter through broken teeth, “this is all about our country right now. I love the USA.” 5,000 miles away, those comments, as much as the win itself, rang some sort of a bell in America. It gave people chills, goose bumps, made them cry even. Countless masses took a social media to say exactly that and more. It was everything about this team. A bunch of guys who played Toby Keith in the locker room celebration, drank beers during the postgame press conference, cheers to you guys, even thanked the troops in another interview. Hughes was even patriotic in his commentary on American health care. JACK HUGHES: I’m lucky I’m from the best country in the world and we got great dentists there too, so I’m lucky I’m American. DOKOUPIL: They were gracious in victory and big hearted too, bringing to the ice the children of a teammate who was killed 18 months ago by an alleged drunk driver. They were, in short, American and nothing about that fact seemed complicated for them, even though we’re all grown ups and we know America is a complicated place. What they remind us is that it is also home and, therefore, easy to love. To see the relevant transcripts from January 24, click here (for ABC) and here (for NBC).

On Tuesday, ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) and CBS Mornings combined to offer widely negative rhetoric in previewing President Trump’s State of the Union, painting it as an almost hapless endeavor amid “his lowest numbers yet” to change the minds of voters poised to trigger a blue tsuanmi in November. Unsurprisingly, GMA was the most negative. In short, they were nothing like they were in 2024 ahead of Joe Biden’s final State of the Union as they heralded his plans to “tout his record” in a “critical moment” against a “rowdy” GOP. This time, co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos framed it as having come at a time when Trump is “facing his lowest numbers yet” plus “challenging midterms and a possible war with Iran.” ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ was entirely negative in its Trump State of the Union preview, emphasizing Trump’s sagging polls, touting the “counter-programming,” and suggesting voters have tuned him out on all major issues. pic.twitter.com/QkDJ2Ypeyl — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 Senior political correspondent Rachel Scott started by suggesting Trump was in turmoil on his own side, stating in part that “even Republicans acknowledge not how President Trump wanted to head into his first State of the Union address of his second term on the heels of that massive decision by the Supreme Court declaring most of his tariffs unconstitutional.” As for Democrats, Scott would only say “we have seen some outbursts during these State of the Union addresses” and, for this year, “we are learning that at least 39 Democrats plan to skip the speech altogether” with many attending “a counter-programming event over the National Mall.” Scott then leaned into negative polls, concluding with Iran (which Stephanopoulos threw in a jab of his own) (click “expand”): SCOTT: [A]ll of this comes at a critical midterm election year and as we learning the President is facing headwinds in the polls. According to our latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the President’s job in office. That’s the lowest since he was reelected. The majority of Americans also disapprove of the President’s handling on key issues, ranging from inflation, tariffs, immigration, and the economy. Tonight’s speech coming in the backdrop of a partial government shutdown with Democrats and Republicans at odds over funding for DHS. And one of the biggest questions tonight: Will the President outline for the American people, for Congress why he’s possibly considering a military strike in Iran, George. STEPHANOPOULOS: It has not been done yet. CBS Mornings had just over 15 minutes of preview coverage, but it too was almost entirely negative.  Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes’s segment was the only one of the four blocks that had any real balance. She had the courtesy to bring up lowering gas prices, Trump Accounts, and Trump RX alongside the negative polls before parroting the wholly manufactured leftist narrative smearing USA Hockey: Tuesday’s ‘CBS Mornings’ also joined in on the left’s smear campaign against the men’s U.S. hockey team. Here was chief WH correspondent Nancy Cordes claiming there’s “a bit of controversy” surrounding them... “Some new American sports heroes could be in attendance tonight. The… pic.twitter.com/6gWQzj3dgY — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 The other two segments — respective interviews with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) illustrated the double standards with the former facing hardballs and pressures whereas Slotkin was merely invited to explain her positions. Contrast: Tuesday’s ‘CBS Mornings’ interviewed @SteveScalise and here were the questions he was faced with... Gayle King: “You just heard the poll that said 74 percent of Americans say that the President has not been focused enough on lowering the prices. So, what do you think… pic.twitter.com/a6Bd3nRrk4 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 While Scalise was challenged from start to finish to defend the President/Republican positions, here were the tee ball questions Democrat Elissa Slotkin faced: Norah O’Donnell: “Tonight’s State of the Union address will be President Trump’s first since he returned to the White… pic.twitter.com/6J8yx4abgg — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 In the second hour, congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns went to bright-red Gastonia County, North Carolina to ask voters about Trump’s first year in office. That too was negative: The power of liberal smears -- Notice how this ‘CBS Mornings’ man-on-the-street segment in NC only found one person supportive of President Trump’s first year and the rest bought media narratives that ICE went into MN to round and beat at random innocent Americans and illegals. pic.twitter.com/DjGYDQPKN5 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 NBC’s Today offered the most balanced coverage. Senior White House correspondent Garrett Haake emphasized Trump will “focus heavily on the economy” since “[i]t’s the issue most important to voters as we begin this year’s midterm election year.” To his credit, Haake offered the only sentence between the Monday evening and Tuesday morning flagship newscasts of the Monday morning’s angel families event at the White House: “On Monday, speaking to a gathering of families of Americans killed by undocumented immigrants, the President previewing possible applause lines.” Surprisingly, NBC’s ‘Today’ was the most balanced of the broadcast network morning shows previewing the State of the Union.@GarrettHaake emphasized Trump will “focus heavily on the economy” and spent Monday “ speaking to a gathering of families of Americans killed by… pic.twitter.com/AuCmiR548Y — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2026 Haake balanced the sagging poll ratings with specific policy proposals Trump could unveil, which ABC refused to do (click “expand”): HAAKE: But recent polls show Americans don’t share the President’s positivity, with his approval rating hovering just below 40 percent. The public souring on his handling of the economy and even immigration, long his signature issue, though the President has shrugged off negative polls. The President is expected to unveil new domestic policies aimed at tackling affordability, among them a new commitment from tech companies to pay increased electricity costs in communities where new AI data centers are being built. President Trump also expected to devote a portion of his speech to foreign policy, against the backdrop of a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East as the President weighs a strike on Iran. Dozens of Democrats plan to skip the speech tonight in protest. CONGRESSMAN ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): It’s important to show the American public that someone that has led the single most corrupt government in U.S. history. There has to be action against that. HAAKE: Others will use their guests to send a message, including several lawmakers inviting survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, delivering the Democrats’ response. The President has spent the last several days slamming Supreme Court justices for overturning much of his tariff program, saying he was ashamed of them and that they perhaps shouldn’t even be invited to the speech tonight. Well, tonight, any justices that choose to attend will be seated just feet away from the President, which could create some awkward moments if he decides he has more to say about their work[.] Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker also played it to the middle in her analysis. Along with stating the obvious that “this is a critical speech for the President” and wondering “how exactly will he address the economy,” Welker questioned whether Trump will “stay on message” while “facing headwinds” such as being “underwater with his handling of the economy, 41 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove.” After alluding to foreign policy, Welker said Trump will reportedly “focus on the fact that this year marks America’s 250th birthday, so expect a hopeful tone as well.” She did the same with Democrats by pointing out past hijinks from Democrats have blown back in their faces and that one recent poll found the President is still more trusted than Democrats to handle major issues. To see the relevant transcripts from February 24, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).

Maybe ABC News should consider finding someone to replace moderator Whoopi Goldberg on The View. We know they won’t get rid of her the unhinged nonsense she spews, but maybe they’d act on her refusing to do the bare minimum required for the gig: keeping up-to-date on the current events they talk about. On Tuesday’s show, Goldberg announced that she wouldn’t be watching President Trump’s State of the Union later that night and only watch the news about it. Knowing full well they were going to discuss the address on Wednesday’s show, Goldberg led into their preview discussion by boasted that she wasn’t going to watch. She instead was going to watch a cartoon show: What are you all expecting to hear tonight? I'll tell you what I'm expecting. I'll be watching Bob's Burgers tonight and I will catch the highlights of this. Because I just -- I can't -- you know, we -- because we have to absorb so much of it, I just -- I have to keep my evenings for myself. So I'll watch Bob's Burgers. “Yeah, but you know I have to say, with this snowstorm, I need a good laugh so I'm going to watch it,” co-host Joy Behar responded.   Despite it being her literal job to discuss politics and current events, Whoopi Goldberg says she's refusing to watch the State of the Union tonight. So tomorrow she'll be spouting off about something she isn't knowledgeable about (the same a always, i guess). "I'll be watching… pic.twitter.com/FTf1747JVU — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 24, 2026   Later in the segment, Goldberg tried to reframe her refusal as some kind of moral stand and suggested that watching Trump’s address somehow meant she was supporting it; and would only watch what liberal news media wanted to report about it: GOLDBERG: For me, because of the work that we do every day where we have to, like, know everything that he's been saying, I'm keeping my night for myself. And so, I will find out what he said on the news tonight because I don't want to just take it anymore. I don't like just sitting there and taking it. BEHAR: I want to see for myself. GOLDBERG: And when you're by yourself at home you are taking it. You are taking it. You’re accept of it.   Whoopi doubles down on not watching Trump's State of the Union address and admits she'll just be getting her talking points from the liberal media coverage. She's so ignorant that she claims she'll get the information from the evening newscasts, but the speech doesn't start until… pic.twitter.com/04Kfpa7p5j — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 24, 2026   Her argument was a little ridiculous because us here at NewsBusters were in a similar position. Just because we watched and reported on The View, didn’t mean we individually were fans of the show, it just meant we covered it for work. While Behar said she was going to watch the address, she was adamant that Congressional Democrats should boycott because, according to her, Trump was an “illegitimate president”: SUNNY HOSTIN: And I do think, though that Democrats should show up to the State of the Union. This is the president of the United States reporting to Congress as he is supposed to do. It's been happening since the times of George Washington. BEHAR: I don't agree with you Sunny. (…) BEHAR: I disagree because I don't think that he is a legitimate president. In my lifetime, and that includes Nixon and Reagan both conservative Republicans that I did not vote for, neither one of them would behave the way this man behaves.     Joy Behar claims Trump is an "illegitimate president" and says Democrats should not attend the State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/korV8ea20l — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 24, 2026   In an effort to get ahead of accusations of election denialism, co-host Sunny Hostin and guest co-host Amanda Carpenter jumped in to have Behar clarify why she felt Trump was an “illegitimate president” (Click “expand”): HOSTIN: When you say he's not a legitimate president, you don't mean that -- CARPENTER: You mean he was duly elected. BEHAR: I'm not talking about that. HOSTIN: Yeah, he was duly elected but you believe he - BEHAR: He was elected. HOSTIN: He lacks the decorum. BEHAR: He lacks any kind of sense about what he's supposed to do. Behar also didn’t seem to remember that the party out of power got to deliver a rebuttal following the end of the State of the Union. “So, what are the Democrats [going to do], just sit there and let him spew his lies?!” she decried. Hostin had to reminder that, “The Democrats do have an opportunity to rebut what he says. Right? So you have someone at the end of the State of the Union who will rebut.” Maybe The View should be shopping for two replacements. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View February 24, 2026 11:04:28 a.m. Eastern (…) WHOOPI GOLDBERG: What are you all expecting to hear tonight? I'll tell you what I'm expecting. I'll be watching Bob's Burgers tonight and I will catch the highlights of this. Because I just -- I can't -- you know, we -- because we have to absorb so much of it, I just -- I have to keep my evenings for myself. SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah. GOLDBERG: So I'll watch Bob's Burgers. JOY BEHAR: Yeah, but you know I have to say, with this snowstorm, I need a good laugh so I'm going to watch it. AMANDA CARPENTER: I'm going to be watching it because I'm really curious to see how he handles spinning the brutal ICE tactics that he has been using in places like Maine and Minnesota. I'm curious to see what the Democrats will do. Because I don't feel they've matched the energy of the activists there. I need them to match that energy of the people who are in the streets. My organization - BEHAR: You expect who to, the Democrats? CARPENTER: Yeah, the Democrats. BEHAR: I thought you were a conservative. CARPENTER: No. Well, I am. (…) 11:07:00 a.m. Eastern HOSTIN: And I do think, though that Democrats should show up to the State of the Union. This is the president of the United States reporting to Congress as he is supposed to do. It's been happening since the times of George Washington. BEHAR: I don't agree with you Sunny. HOSTIN: And I think a lot of people don't agree. Just because this president doesn't have decorum doesn't mean that members of Congress shouldn't do their duty which is to show up and listen. I don't think they should behave inappropriately. I don't think that they should have signs. [Crosstalk] BEHAR: But last time they acted like idiots. The last time with horns and -- HOSTIN: I don't think they should do that. This time they should have decorum. SARA HAINES: So, I agree with you, Sunny. BEHAR: Can I say why? HAINES: Yeah, definitely. BEHAR: I disagree because I don't think that he is a legitimate president. In my lifetime, and that includes Nixon and Reagan both conservative Republicans that I did not vote for, neither one of them would behave the way this man behaves. HOSTIN: When you say he's not a legitimate president, you don't mean that -- CARPENTER: You mean he was duly elected. BEHAR: I'm not talking about that. HOSTIN: Yeah, he was duly elected but you believe he - BEHAR: He was elected. HOSTIN: He lacks the decorum. BEHAR: He lacks any kind of sense about what he's supposed to do. CARPENTER: Well, respect could be a two-way street and he doesn't give the audience that respect. BEHAR: No. So, the only way that they get to make a point is not showing up. You know, one time I -- Whoopi and I walked off the show because, you know, what's his name, the Hakeem -- HOSTIN: Hakeem Jeffries. [Crostalk] BEHAR: He said you don't walk off your own territory. Yes, sometimes you have to. To make your point. To show that you do not consider that person worthy of your presence. SARA HAINES: Yeah, but I push back on that point, though, is then you become the story. So, I echo hakeem Jeffries in this, you show up and the contrast, let him say what he's going to say. Donald Trump has no shortage of just weaving and dodging and lying. And when you talk about ICE and all the things, he's going to lean hard into how it was all violent criminals -- and people, voters have to look and decide for themselves whether he’s BEHAR: So, what are the Democrats, just sit there and let him spew his lies?! HAINES: I'm saying they've been accused in the past, they had little hand signs they haven't coordinated and it ends up being something where the conservatives then say, well, that was silly, let Donald Trump be the story. He will blow himself up on this with what he says. HOSTIN: The Democrats do have an opportunity to rebut what he says. Right? So you have someone at the end of the State of the Union who will rebut. I think that's the appropriate process. I think we need to bring decorum back to politics but I also agree with you in that we -- I expect to hear misinformation about the economy. BEHAR: Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden. HOSTIN: I expect to hear misinformation about voter fraud which we know extensively does not exist. I expect to hear misinformation and demonization of immigrants. BEHAR: All the wars he settled. HOSTIN: All the wars. We’re going to hear that misinformation. Democrats have the opportunity to rebut. But decorum, decorum, decorum. There is a time now that we can try to bring. There needs to be an adult in the room. (…) 11:10:58 a.m. Eastern GOLDBERG: For me, because of the work that we do every day where we have to, like, know everything that he's been saying, I'm keeping my night for myself. And so, I will find out what he said on the news tonight because I don't want to just take it anymore. I don't like just sitting there and taking it. BEHAR: I want to see for myself. GOLDBERG: And when you're by yourself at home you are taking it. You are taking it. You’re accept of it. HOSTIN: I’m going to take it. I'm going to watch it as well. BEHAR: Come on, he’s going to be hilarious to watch. He makes up everything. CARPENTER: I am going to watch it because it's interesting to your point, he's gotten everything he wanted his first term. He had control of Congress. He had the court. HOSTIN: Everything. CARPENTER: He had the whole executive branch. So, when you look at his poll numbers that's because of your policies. That's because of the way you acted. You can't blame anyone else. So I am going to be watching closely to see how he navigates that. GOLDBERG: And listen to his syndromes because he is a man who has many syndromes. He has Biden derangement syndrome. BEHAR: Oh, my god. GOLDBERG: He has Obama derangement syndrome. HOSTIN: That he definitely has. (…) 11:12:05 a.m. Eastern BEHAR: Why can't they have a fact checker? Why not? HAINES: One, the deluge of information would be too hard -- GOLDBERG: There's not enough time. But, yeah, you couldn't -- even if you had someone who was fact checking him you couldn't get it done. (…)

For some reason, HBO’s John Oliver decided that Elon Musk and his transformation of Twitter/X would make for golden comedic material for his main topic on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight. As Oliver tells it, the site has gotten “much darker” since Musk took over, but any reference to the prior problems or his native Britain’s creepy solutions was left unmentioned. Oliver introduced an October 2025 clip of Musk on The Joe Rogan Experience by declaring, “He changed Twitter's name to X, announced an 'extremely hardcore cultural reset,” and by his count, said he'd cut about 80 percent of Twitter's staff. And to hear Elon tell it, he did this to protect free speech, and correct for what many conservatives considered a left-wing bias. In fact, as far as he was concerned, nothing less than the fate of the world was at stake.”   John Oliver's topic of the week was Elon Musk and Twitter/X. He lamented "But what Elon's embrace of so-called "free speech" has actually resulted in is much darker. One study found an approximately 50 percent increase in posts containing hate speech." This is the guy who… pic.twitter.com/LIDp1si4QN — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 24, 2026   In the clip, which featured two jump cuts, Musk employed a Lord of the Rings analogy, “The reason for acquiring Twitter is because it was causing destruction at a civilizational level…You know, like Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings, where he would just sort of, like, whisper these, you know, terrible things to the king. The king would believe these things that weren't true…And they were pushing a nihilistic, anti-civilizational mind virus to the world.” Oliver reacted by mocking the analogy while also lamenting the state of X, “Okay, for the record, Twitter's not a good analogue for Wormtongue at all, and I'm guessing I don't need to explain why, given the Venn diagram between "Viewers of this show" and "People familiar with second-tier Lord of the Rings characters" is, I'm pretty sure, a single circle, as round, in fact, as the outermost wall of Minas Tirith. But what Elon's embrace of so-called "free speech" has actually resulted in is much darker. One study found an approximately 50 percent increase in posts containing hate speech.” While Oliver would go on to lament X’s algorithm, problems with its AI Grok feature, including its self-proclaimed “MechaHitler” title, uncensored fake news, such as people passing off video game footage for actual war footage, and its feature that pays certain larger accounts, which can lead to big paydays for intellectually unsophisticated political users, some context is needed. First of all, Oliver did not mention that the previous leadership’s definition of “hate speech” and “disinformation” was notoriously broad. The Babylon Bee was banned from its account unless it deleted a joke that upset liberal transgender orthodoxy, and, most notably, users were forbidden from posting a New York Post link about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Second of all, the community notes feature has allowed for people to point out that people are trying to claim video game footage is something from real life. Third, Oliver is not exactly a model of civil, reasonable, or well-informed discourse. He is a man who thinks the best thing about former President Ronald Reagan is that he is dead and who wishes his opponents would “rot in hell.” Finally, anyone waiting for the Last Week Tonight episode that deals with Oliver’s native Britain arresting people for social media wrongthink would be well advised to not hold their breath.   On Monday, Oliver told Seth Meyers, "We just want to be a mirror to the pile of [bleep] that is the world right now. Look at yourself. Look." pic.twitter.com/VMqmSMKUAm — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 24, 2026   Nevertheless, Oliver would join NBC’s Seth Meyers on Monday’s Late Night to promote the show. Meyers hyped, “Congrats. Season 13. You've done two episodes of your new season,” while sarcastically adding, “and as always, just so cheerful.” Cracking himself up, Oliver claimed, “I am. That's right. We just want to be a mirror to the pile of [bleep] that is the world right now. Look at yourself. Look.” Until Oliver holds up a mirror to the liberal part of the world, he isn’t actually holding up a mirror but rather just a bubble. Here is a transcript for the February 22 and 23-taped shows: HBO Last Week Tonight 2/22/2026 JOHN OLIVER: He changed Twitter's name to X, announced an "extremely hardcore cultural reset,” and by his count, said he'd cut about 80 percent of Twitter's staff. And to hear Elon tell it, he did this to protect free speech, and correct for what many conservatives considered a left-wing bias. In fact, as far as he was concerned, nothing less than the fate of the world was at stake. ELON MUSK [OCTOBER 31, 2025]: The reason for acquiring Twitter is because it was causing destruction at a civilizational level. [jump cut] You know, like Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings, where he would just sort of, like, whisper these, you know, terrible things to the king. The king would believe these things that weren't true. [jump cut] And they were pushing a nihilistic, anti-civilizational mind virus to the world. OLIVER: Okay, for the record, Twitter's not a good analogue for Wormtongue at all, and I'm guessing I don't need to explain why, given the Venn diagram between "Viewers of this show" and "People familiar with second-tier Lord of the Rings characters" is, I'm pretty sure, a single circle, as round, in fact, as the outermost wall of Minas Tirith. But what Elon's embrace of so-called "free speech" has actually resulted in is much darker. One study found an approximately 50 percent increase in posts containing hate speech. *** NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers 2/24/2026 12:58 AM ET SETH MEYERS: Congrats. Season 13. You've done two episodes of your new season. Fantastic. JOHN OLIVER: Yeah, two. Two. MEYERS: Yeah. OLIVER: And as of—and as always, just so cheerful. OLIVER: I am. That's right. We just want to be a mirror to the pile of [bleep] that is the world right now. Look at yourself. Look. MEYERS: Yeah. But it's—it's incredible. And also incredible, I want to congratulate you on your many accomplishments.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index® increased by 2.2 points in February to 91.2 (1985=100), from an upwardly revised 89.0 in January, the think tank reported Tuesday. An improvement in consumers’ expectations for the next six months offset a decline in their assessment of current conditions, resulting in the net upturn in the overall index. Four of the five components of the Index improved from the previous month: Business condition expectations improved. Labor market (job availability) expectations improved. Views on present employment conditions (jobs plentiful) improved. Income prospect expectations improved. Assessment of current business conditions declined. More consumers said they plan to buy big-ticket items over the next six months in February, as the number who said “yes” and “maybe” to such purchases increased, while the number of those who said “no” declined. The top items among their potential purchases include traditionally popular big-ticket buys: Used cars. Furniture. Televisions. Smartphones. Regarding the national economy, measures not factored into the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index® show that a smaller share of consumers now think that it’s “very likely” there will be a recession in the next 12 months, while more think it’s “not likely.” Meanwhile, the percent believing the U.S. is already in a recession dipped.