On ABC’s ‘This Week,’ a rare honest answer led to more confusion, not less

Sunday morning news shows — CBS’s “Face the Nation,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday,” to name a few — serve several purposes. But there are two main ones.

One is to let moderators press those in power on their policies and plans. The other is to give those same officials a platform to explain them.

The two often aren’t in sync. Moderators usually ask the right questions and pertinent follow-ups, while the guests far too often put their spin on things or dodge the questions altogether.

Occasionally, however, you get a moment when the moderator asks the right questions, the guest gives an honest answer and the result is something that likely impacts the events of the world.

Such a moment may have happened on Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told “This Week” moderator Jonathan Karl that tariff exemptions announced Friday on smartphones and other electronics are likely only temporary.

Lutnick’s key answer came on a good, straightforward question by Karl: “So you're saying that the big tariffs on things like smartphones and laptops, iPhones — all those iPhones built in China — that those tariffs are temporarily off, but they're going to be coming right back on in another form in a month or so? Or what … what are you saying?”

That’s actually a great way to have Lutnick clarify his point: What are you saying?

Lutnick gave a lengthy but clear answer: “That's right. Semiconductors and pharmaceuticals will have a tariff model in order to encourage them to reshore, to be built in America. We need our medicines, and we need semiconductors and our electronics to be built in America. We can't be the beholden and rely upon foreign countries for fundamental things that we need. We can't be relying on China for fundamental things that we need.

Our medicines and our semiconductors need to be built in America. Donald Trump is on it. He's calling that out.”

Lutnick continued, “So, you should understand these are included in the semiconductor tariffs that are coming and the pharmaceuticals are coming. Those two areas are coming in the next month or two. So, this is not like a permanent sort of exemption. He's just clarifying that these are not available to be negotiated away by countries. These are things that are national security — that we need to be made in America.”

Trump said something similar in a post on social media, writing in part, “These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’ The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations. What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China.”

So this seems quite different from the message that went out Friday.

The Washington Post’s Nitasha Tiku, Aaron Gregg, Mariana Alfaro and Jeff Stein wrote Sunday, “But the latest messaging twist has prompted further confusion for the tech sector, which needs access to advanced chips to support the AI boom and had breathed a sigh of relief after the tech exemption was announced.”

So, if you were looking for a bit of stability after Friday’s announcement, Sunday morning’s message has thrown chaos and uncertainty back into the equation.

Dean Baker, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told the Post, “This is really mind-boggling. If this was serious industrial policy, the main thing you want is certainty: ‘Here’s the tariff, it will be in place for the indefinite future, and you should plan accordingly. Here, it’s basically: ‘Come back next week and see what we’ve got.’ That’s no way to run an economy.”

Sounds like we’re in for another fun week ahead.

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President Stephen A?

One more note from ABC’s “This Week.” ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith told Karl that he might have “no choice” but to run for president.

Smith has never held a political office and has spent most of his life as a sports journalist — first in newspapers, then on ESPN. More recently, however, he has become more outspoken about politics, talking about world and national events on his podcast and making TV appearances across a wide range of news stations.

He has often flipped back and forth by saying he’s not a politician and doesn’t want to be president and then continuing to give the topic oxygen. He sort of did the same with Karl, although he seemed a bit more bullish on taking the topic seriously.

Smith told Karl, “I have no choice, because I've had elected officials, and I'm not going to give their names, elected officials coming up to me. I've had folks who are pundits come up to me. I've had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires and others that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature. I'm not a politician. I've never had a desire to be a politician.”

Smith, to be fair, added that he just signed an extension with ESPN and is “very, very happy” with his day job.

Good comeback

Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, appeared on Sunday morning’s “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker and had a pretty good line when asked if he was being “sidelined” by the Trump administration.

Welker asked, “Is that true? Have you been sidelined?”

As Navarro was talking, Welker said, “Just yes or no because we're out of time.

Navarro said, “I’m here.”

Welker came back with, “OK, so — is that a no?”

Navarro cracked, “I'm here on ‘Meet the Press.’ I think you like to think this is the top show on Sunday.”

You gotta admit — a pretty good answer.

Meanwhile, Welker asked Navarro about what appears to be a public rift with Elon Musk, who has called Navarro a “moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

Navarro said, “I’ve been called worse. Everything's fine with Elon. And look, Elon is doing a very good job with his team with waste, fraud and abuse. That's a tremendous contribution to America, and no man doing that kind of thing should be subject to having his cars firebombed by crazies.”

Remembering a legend

Don Mischer, a 15-time Emmy Award-winning director and producer, has died. He was 85.

You might not immediately know Mischer’s name, but you do know his work. He is considered one of the most talented directors and producers of live television events — including the opening ceremonies of two Olympics, six Super Bowl halftime shows and the inauguration celebration of President Barack Obama.

Perhaps his most famous work was his production of Prince’s Super Bowl halftime show in 2007. The Los Angeles Times’ Tony Briscoe wrote, “The 12-minute concert turned into a cinematic experience, featuring a breathtaking rendition of ‘Purple Rain’ amid violet lighting and an unexpected downpour.”

Mischer also directed Super Bowl performances for Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones, and produced the Super Bowl halftime performances for Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.

Mischer was also once in charge of the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, Barbara Walters’ famous celebrity interviews for ABC, and Oscar and Emmy award shows.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Mike Barnes has more.

Staying put

 

One of ESPN’s signature shows is the football version of “College GameDay.” The brilliance of the Saturday morning pregame show is that it travels around the country, setting up shop on the campus where a key game is being played that day. Fans with clever signs show up to provide a backdrop of a show that celebrates the passion of the sport every week.

But “College GameDay” has more than just style. It has substance, too. And a pivotal part of that substance is host Rece Davis — who is superb in his role of facilitating the conversation with big-personality analysts such as Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Lee Corso, who remains the highlight of the show when he puts on a mascot’s head to show who he is picking in that day’s big game.

When Fox Sports started to ramp up its college football coverage in recent seasons, it decided to try something many thought futile: a pregame show to rival “College GameDay.” And while its “Big Noon Kickoff” hasn’t quite reached the level of popularity or accomplishment as “GameDay,” it is a good show.

So this comes as no surprise: The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports that Fox made an “all-out effort to swipe” Davis from ESPN to make him the host of “Big Noon Kickoff.” Davis turned Fox down to stay at ESPN. Marchand wrote, “Davis has agreed to a new seven-year deal for tens of millions of dollars, according to sources briefed on the deal. The exact terms are unknown, but Davis accepted a slight hometown discount to remain at ESPN that will guarantee him lead hosting duties through the rest of the network’s College Football Playoff deal that runs until 2031-32. Davis, 59, has been with ESPN for three decades.”

Meanwhile, Marchand also reported that another ESPN personality turned down a pitch from another network. NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky — who appears on a variety of ESPN shows, including “Get Up,” “First Take” and “NFL Live” — turned down a chance to go to CBS to be a game analyst on college football. Orlovsky also does college football for ESPN. Orlovsky has said his contract at ESPN is up soon, so it would appear he plans on remaining at the network.

It’s interesting that at a time when ESPN occasionally makes news for cutting big names, here are a couple of big names staying put.

Media tidbits

• Another really good cold open by “Saturday Night Live” that mocked President Donald Trump.
• And here’s a good filmed sketch about Trump that was a send-up of HBO’s popular series “The White Lotus.” This one was called “The White Potus.”
• The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Fritz with “Hollywood Is Cranking Out Original Movies. Audiences Aren’t Showing Up.”
• My Poynter colleague TyLisa Johnson with “When was the last time AI made you laugh? Scenes from the 2025 Summit on AI, Ethics and Journalism.”

Hot type

• Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins with “Trump’s U.S. is not acting like a hospitable World Cup or Olympics host.”
• “CBS News Sunday Morning” and correspondent Tracy Smith with “Cheech and Chong: Older and wiser.”
• Here’s some drama and controversy from a … spelling bee? The Tampa Bay Times’ Jeffrey S. Solochek with “She won Tampa Bay’s top spelling bee. Then the real battle began.”

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].