UNEXPECTEDLY: Tim Walz reveals why he’s stunned Kamala Harris lost the election in his first interview.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz opened up for the first time where he shared that he was surprised by Kamala Harris‘ devastating loss in the 2024 president.

The vice president’s running mate sat down for one-on-one interviews with two local Minneapolis TV stations where he spoke about the failed White House bid and what comes next.

Walz said leading up to the election, he felt that Democrats were headed toward a victory before the loss to President-elect Donald Trump, who ended up sweeping all seven battleground states.

‘It felt like at the rallies, at the things I was going to, at the shops I was going in, that the momentum was going our way,’ Walz said.

‘It obviously wasn’t at the end of time, so yeah I was a little surprised,’ he went on.

‘I thought we had a positive message, and I thought the country was ready for that,’ he told KSTP 5 Eyewitness News.

Yes, it’s that positive message of calling your opponent Hitler…

Yesterday, V.P. Harris compared President Trump to Hitler,  “Donald Trump is out for unchecked power. He wants a military like Adolf Hitler had, who will be loyal to him, not our Constitution. He is unhinged, unstable, and given a second term, there would be no one to stop him from pursuing his worst impulses.”

The V.P.’s comment comparing Trump to Hitler indicates she doesn’t care about minimizing the horrors of the Holocaust or she is an imbecile incapable of understanding.

Her comments were based on a story in the leftist magazine The Atlantic reporting that Trump’s former chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, called Trump a “fascist” and recalled his admiration for Nazi generals. Kelly also raised concerns about Trump’s recent threats to use the military against “the enemy from within.”

…And not considering that after 80 years, voters can see through that perennial smear, particularly after the former president didn’t do any Hitler-y sort of stuff in his first term.

IT’S OK, HE WON’T REMEMBER IT: Joe Biden Just Got Some Devastating News About His Legacy. “An exclusive Daily Mail poll reveals that voters consider Biden the worst president in nearly 50 years, faring worse than Jimmy Carter, who was voted out after a single term marked by double-digit inflation and a failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran, and even below Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign rather than face impeachment over the devastating Watergate scandal.”

THIS WEEK’S SKY CANDY IS ALL ABOUT THE PRETTY STUFF [VIP]: Sky Candy: Just The Sweets.

Sorry, forgot to mark it.

NOT ALL PARTS OF AMERICA WORK EQUALLY WELL: NASA delays crewed Artemis II launch to April 2026 after heat shield issues. “Nelson said engineers need time to prepare the heat shield on the Orion capsule, which already is attached, but needs modifications to safely re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. More time also needed to ‘address the Orion environmental control and life support systems,’ he said.”

HE WAS ROBBED: A’s in English but he can’t read: Deaf student wants job training, given a diploma instead. “The diploma means he’s not eligible for special-education help to attend adult school that offers job training, reports Candice Nguyen for NBC News.”

SOME PARTS OF AMERICA STILL WORK: SpaceX reaches milestone with 300th successful booster landing.

AT MSNBC, RISING TENSIONS FUEL FEARS OF COLLAPSE:

MSNBC’s postelection viewership decline has surpassed its executives’ worst fears. Several top shows have lost more than half of their viewers since Nov. 5. This includes Rachel Maddow’s flagship show, as well as Joy Reid’s ReidOut, The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, All In with Chris Hayes, and Inside with Jen Psaki. Morning Joe has suffered a fate nearly as bad, with hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough losing over 400,000 viewers in the same period.

In total, MSNBC averaged more than one million viewers during election week, but that number fell to just above half a million two weeks ago. This decline comes even as Fox News is scoring huge ratings, as viewership jumped 21 percent at the network following Trump’s win. (RELATED: MSNBC’s Attacks on Pete Hegseth Are Not About Trump — It’s About Fox News)

The collapse in viewership alone would be enough to induce panic among MSNBC staffers, but tensions have escalated even more following Comcast’s Nov. 20 announcement that it will spin off MSNBC and other channels, including CNBC, USA, Oxygen, and E!, into a separate company. Staffers are fretting that this will decimate the network’s journalistic reputability given that MSNBC’s relationship with NBC News provides it with a significant proportion of its journalistic resources. For instance, MSNBC utilizes NBC’s news bureaus and foreign correspondents to supplement its more opinion-focused staff. Without these resources, MSNBC would be pared back to hosts reading from a teleprompter in New York City or moderating roundtable discussions.

Staffers fear that the spinoff will result in layoffs, lower pay, and potentially even a sale. Under the current arrangement, NBCUniversal cable channels generate only 5.7 percent of Comcast’s current revenue, and the declining value of cable TV makes these channels even less appealing. By reorganizing the networks into a standalone company, Comcast may be positioning itself to offload this undesirable segment of its business. It also appears that MSNBC has overly high expenses. Most notably, Rachel Maddow just signed a contract to receive $25 million a year even though she only hosts her show once a week.

Related: MSNBC president Rashida Jones weighing network exit after Trump is sworn in: report.

MSNBC president Rashida Jones is considering leaving the network after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in to a second term in the White House as the left-leaning channel’s ratings crash, according to a report.

Jones – who took the helm in 2021 and became the first black woman to lead a major national news network – is mulling an exit from the job early next year, according to a report by Oliver Darcy in his Status newsletter.

The move would only come after Trump is sworn in to serve a second term as president on Jan. 20, Darcy reported, citing anonymous sources.

* * * * * * * *

“It’s amazing how people want to spend more time with their families or look for new challenges when the ratings crash,” a TV exec said sarcastically — skeptical that Jones would be leaving the helm on her own accord.

“Of course she’s making the decision,” the TV exec added. “They’re all leaving on their own, Norah O’Donnell, Chris Wallace.”

And while Al Sharpton will likely be the last man standing there, he’s under pressure as well: Black church coalition calls on MSNBC to suspend Al Sharpton over donations from Harris campaign.

SHUT UP AND BLEED, THEY EXPLAINED: In Germany, A Man Who Was Stabbed by a Jihadi Has Been Fined for Criticizing Islam.

I DON’T KNOW IF THIS RESEARCH WILL PAN OUT, BUT WHY TAKE CHANCES: Dark chocolate might help ward off Type 2 diabetes.

HOW HILL AIDES VIEW BIDEN PARDON: Might not be quite as expected, given the intense partisanship, as seen in the latest Capitol Pulse results on HillFaith.

MOCK CIVILITY IS THE FIRST REFUGE OF A SCOUNDREL:

I'm always amused that "civility" defenders like @BillKristol spend their whole lives planting anonymous smears against opponents, and then say it's uncivil for Trump to insult an opponent out loud, in the light of day.

Both are uncivil. Only one is *cowardly*, though.

— Ace of Spades (@AceofSpadesHQ) December 5, 2024

Kristol’s so-called Bulwark for defending conservatism most conservatively can currently be seen making the case for giving Fauci et al. pre-emptive pardons and bemoaning GOP successes in Florida.

IT’S NOT CLEAR WHAT VALUE NASA IS ADDING HERE. OR THE FAA FOR THAT MATTER. NASA Delays Return to the Moon (Plus How Will DoGE Impact NASA).

BREAKING: Jury Deadlocked in Daniel Penny Case.

PAUL KRUGMAN RETIRES AS NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST:

Paul is an important figure in the recent history of Times Opinion. Time and again, he took on the big fights, grappled with policy deeply and seriously, held the powerful to account and spoke hard truths — sometimes as a lonely voice arguing unfashionable positions.

We’ll always have the memories of that deep and serious policy grappling:

● Paul Krugman Plays The Fool: ‘White Rural Rage’ Is ‘Single Greatest Threat Facing American Democracy.’

—Red State, February 27^th.

● Paul Krugman Predicted a ‘Biden Boom’ That Never Came.

—Matt Margolis, PJ Media.com, June 21^st, 2022.

● Paul Krugman’s 10-Year History of Being Wrong About Bitcoin.

—Reason.com, June 10, 2021.

● Krugman: “Crazy” To Re-Open Economy In A Few Weeks.

—Real Clear Politics, April 13^th, 2020.

(Texas began to reopen on April 17th, Georgia began to reopen on April 20^th, Florida began to reopen on April 29^th. Healthcare officials gave their blessings to the summer riot season in early June.)

● Paul Krugman: Market signaling a ‘permanent recession.’

—The Week, March 9^th, 2020.

● “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.”

—Krugman in the New York Times, November 9^th, 2016.

● Krugman: Nixon’s The One! Now More Than Ever!

—Nick Gillespie, Reason, September 3^rd, 2009.

● “The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in ‘Metcalfe’s law’–which states that the number of potential connections in a network is proportional to the square of the number of participants–becomes apparent: most people have nothing to say to each other! By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.”

—Krugman, Red Herring magazine, June 10^th, 1998.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA Sets Artemis Moon Mission Timelines.

MAKE THEM PAY: Florida High School Suspends Student for 3 Shell Casings.

The deputy sheriff told school officials that J.S. had committed no crime by possessing spent shell casings. The youth, the deputy said, had done nothing wrong. However, the principal ignored the deputy’s claims and called the student’s parents, who arrived about 40 minutes later. The parents were told to take their child home and wait for a phone call.

Van Ayres, the superintendent of Schools for Hillsborough County Public Schools – the seventh largest school system in the county – was told of the incident. According to his website, Ayers serves on a dozen local boards and civic groups. He is a named defendant in the lawsuit.

The principal called J.S.’s parents later that afternoon and told them their child was going to be suspended. . . .

There was no indication the student had threatened anyone, or that he had somehow intended to use the spent shell casings as a weapon. Instead, the student’s suspension was based on unwritten policies in play at the Hillsborough County Public Schools.

I’m delighted that the student is getting representation via Florida Carry. Examples need to be made.

COLOR ME SKEPTICAL: Is It Time To Reconsider the Draft? Our all-volunteer force won’t hold up in an era of great power conflict.

READER FAVORITE: Thermajohn Long Johns Thermal Underwear for Men. #CommissionEarned

WHERE WE ARE:

These people cheered Obamacare, which turned the health insurance industry into a government vassal but want people murdered for the consequences of what they supported.

Wild. https://t.co/jPzddQ30sg

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) December 5, 2024

All kidding aside, this is real Weimar-era stuff we’re seeing — the assassination and those egging it on (like Taylor Lorenz) and excusing it (like SLU’s professor of “law and morality”).

HMM: Warning: Trump Needs to Reboot His PR Strategy ASAP.

Hegseth is in a different category. He’s a fresh face, unmarred by GOP infighting or personality conflicts. And on top of it, he’s a Fox News star: Other than Trump himself, Hegseth has more TV experience than anyone else in the President-elect’s cabinet.

And so far, he’s done only one major interview: His appearance yesterday on “The Megyn Kelly” show.

It was a good interview. Hegseth is naturally likable.

Which beckons the obvious question, why the hell isn’t he doing more of these?!

Good question. He should be out there more.

“YOU F***ED UP, YOU TRUSTED US”: Sucker Dems took Biden at his ‘word’ – only to be left with egg on their face and a broken party.

Who are the biggest suckers in America?

Democrats.

They took the president at his “word as a Biden,” and now they’re left with egg on their face and a party in ruins.

Joe Biden’s all-encompassing, precisely 11-year retrospective pardon of his wayward 54-year-old son, Hunter, unprecedented in its scope, just fanned the flames of their discontent.

Now even risk-averse Gavin Newsom knows he’s safe riding with the pack when he publicly denounces Joe Biden for repeatedly lying that he would never pardon his son.

“I took the president at his word,” Newsom said Tuesday.

Lots of suckers have self-revealed since Sunday.

And this one’s Miranda Devine, so read the whole thing.

MAKE THEM PAY: Student sues South Carolina college after being suspended for gun-related social media post.

THE ECONOMICS OF AI ASSISTANTS AREN’T FULLY WORKED OUT: ChatGPT: We Lose Money on Each Query but Make It up on Volume!

WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE: 10 outrageous taxpayer-funded higher ed research projects DOGE can investigate.