Palm Beach Ban

Even before Amazon's Election Night special with Brian Williams kicks off, it has already found itself in hot water with the Trump campaign.

Author

Oliver Darcy
November 04, 2024

Donald Trump at a campaign rally. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On Friday, just days ahead of Amazon's first-ever Election Night special with Brian Williams, executive producer Jonathan Wald found himself with a problem. Tara Palmeri, the Puck correspondent who was scheduled to broadcast live from Donald Trump's campaign headquarters for the streamer, had been informed that she had been barred from attending the Palm Beach extravaganza, throwing a last-minute wrench into the works.

Palmeri, I'm told, had been worried for several days that the Trump campaign might seek to retaliate against her. It was no secret that her recent reporting had gotten under the skin of Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita. And when she first tried to enter Trump's now-infamous Madison Square Garden rally a little over a week ago, Palmeri was informed she would not be permitted inside the world-famous arena (aides eventually allowed her to attend).

Despite the early signs that something was amiss, Palmeri and Wald had received reassurances from the Trump campaign that there was nothing to fret. Palmeri would be permitted to broadcast from the campaign's Election Night party, campaign aides indicated to them. That was, at least, until Thursday night when LaCivita upended their plans and went nuclear…

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Decision 2024

Substance on the Sidelines: Mainstream news organizations simply cannot help themselves. On Election Eve, instead of spending the precious final hours ahead of polls opening to inform voters about the consequential and stark choice before them, most outlets opted to predictably focus on the horse race. On television — where the issue has been most acute throughout the campaign — anchors, correspondents, and analysts dished about the latest polls and each campaign's election strategy (this type of empty-calorie coverage led ABC's "World News," NBC's "Nightly News," and CNN's roster of shows).

Meanwhile, substance took a back seat. With America on the brink of possibly electing an aspiring autocrat, news organizations…

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