Yes (some) Kings
The Brand Brief 4.28.26: Jimmy Kimmel, King Charles III, Hakeem Jeffries, Kash Patel, and the WHCD
Actionable media intel: The Brand Brief delivers a daily snapshot of the conservative media ecosystem - FOX News, podcasts, and more. | Brought to you by On Brand Strategies | Written by Carly Moran and Nathan Brand
📣 Driving the Conversation…
1,306 words | 6 minute read | Written to be skimmable (11+ hours of media covered in The Brand Brief)
What Matters: Royal visit
New Media Voices: Reactions to WHCD
Leading FOX: Kimmel, Kamala, and the King
Trending: Kash Patel and the King’s visit
What the Right is Writing: Mamdani, Pritzker, and Obama
✍️ WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE’RE GOING…
Nathan’s quick take on where we’re headed…
Today’s state visit provided a much-needed tonal shift from this week’s chaos. President Trump leaned into the irony of celebrating our 250th with the British Monarch:
“Honoring the British King might seem an ironic beginning to our celebration of 250 years of American independence — but in fact, no tribute could be more appropriate. Long before Americans had a nation or Constitution, we first had a culture, a character, and a creed. Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts: moral courage, and it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea.”
The real irony? The “No Kings” crowd so genuinely happy to be celebrating King Charles III’s visit. - NRB
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🎙️ NEW MEDIA VOICES
The Megyn Kelly Show - 4/27
Kelly compares the WHCD attack to the Washington Hilton’s prior significance as the site of an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan
Kelly condemns Jimmy Kimmel’s “joke” about Melania Trump, argues media demonization of conservatives contributed to the radicalization of Cole Allen
Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics and podcaster Pat Brosnan highlight outdated Secret Service protocols and DEI policies, Kelly laments anchor Margaret Brennan’s focus on gun control over the root causes of radicalization
RealClearPolitics journalists Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth condemn other members of the media for trying to make themselves look like martyrs at the WHCD
The Ben Shapiro Show - 4/27
Shapiro argues the left disproportionately perpetrates political violence, condemns conspiracism as a generator of violence
Shooter Cole Allen identified himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin,” was highly educated and radicalized by social media
Shapiro relates the rise in political violence to young people justifying the death of the United Healthcare CEO
The Benny Show - 4/27
Johnson asserts the Secret Service was caught lying and suppressing evidence on the WHCD assassination attempt, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton and former FBI agent Ren McEachern react
He details gunman Cole Allen’s anti-Trump manifesto and his weapons, while criticizing figures like Barack Obama for downplaying the shooter’s motive
Johnson advocates for enhanced technology, new leadership, increased funding, rigorous training, and the potential involvement of military personnel such as Delta Force to reform Secret Service
He reviews past statements by figures like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Jimmy Kimmel that could have incited violence against President Trump
The Isabel Brown Show - 4/27
Brown asserts media and academia are both culpable for inciting the political violence seen against President Trump, cites numerous examples of left-wing calls for violence
She reflects on the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, critiques responses to violence from people like Barack Obama and commentator Mehdi Hasan
Using Cole Allen’s well-established career and academic history, Brown argues the rhetoric has become so convincing that political violence is no longer confined to just extreme radicals
She presents polling showing a concerning readiness among some young liberals to accept the death of political opponents
After Party with Emily Jashinsky - 4/27
Jashinsky criticizes 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell for reading verbatim quotes from the would-be assassin’s manifesto to President Trump
Couple Michael Alfonso and Evita Duffy-Alfonso reflect on Evita’s parents being at the correspondents’ dinner, as her dad is Secretary of Transportation
The couple condemns Jimmy Kimmel’s “expectant widow” joke about Melania and a prominent Wisconsin Democrat brewery owner’s celebratory post about the attempt
Alfonso discusses his run for Congress in light of the rise in political violence, and the acceptance of it by young liberals per polling
Jashinsky cites Martin Luther King Jr’s 1966 speech on non-violent means of protest
📺 LEADING FOX NEWS
The Five
Cole Allen faces three federal charges for attempting to assassinate President Trump, MS Now acknowledges a major issue with assuming the shooting was staged, Trump says the White House ballroom is all the more needed
Jimmy Kimmel is under fire for calling Melania Trump an “expectant widow” just days before the WHCD attack
Kamala Harris blames both Democrats and Republicans in an Arkansas speech
FOX & Friends
Jimmy Kimmel faces backlash for joking about Melania Trump being an “expectant widow” days before the WHCD shooting, FLOTUS fires back on X
King Charles and Queen Camilla will join the Trumps for a state dinner, address a joint meeting of Congress
Florida weighs redistricting in response to Virginia and their major population boom
Guest Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna calls for a bipartisan commission to end political violence, explains his argument against DHS funding and why he went on Hasan Piker’s podcast
Sec. of State Marco Rubio hints at future action in Cuba, saying the U.S. cannot afford to have an adversary 90 miles from Florida
Feds raid more than 20 Minneapolis locations tied to fraud
Route 66 turns 100 years old, Steve visits Tulsa, OK
FOX Newsroom
Sen. Eric Schmitt condemns Democrats for pushing against the White House ballroom construction in light of the WHCD shooting, suspect faces three federal charges
Federal agents are back in Minnesota, targeting dozens of fraudulent businesses
Iran offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. delays nuclear talks
NIH Adviser David Morens has been indicted for allegedly dodging pandemic-related FOIA requests
President Trump and FLOTUS Melania welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla live to a diplomatic ceremony, The Sun editor Harry Cole reacts
🍿 TRENDING AND POUNCING
Tomorrow’s news today…
Jimmy Kimmel refuses to apologize [X, Bonilla]
Kash Patel calls out Walz for taking credit for fraud raids [X, Patel]
🗞️ WHAT THE RIGHT IS WRITING
FOX News Digital
King Charles set for historic address to Congress in first US visit as monarch [FOX News]
Iran is running out of space to store unsold oil amid Trump’s blockade [FOX News]
Security, rhetoric under microscope in aftermath of WHCA Dinner attack [FOX News]
Breitbart
Pritzker Defends Nazi Reference to Trump Admin After 3rd Assassination Attempt [Breitbart]
Shooting Suspect Allegedly Wrote Manifesto, Attended No Kings Protest [Breitbart]
Obama Calls on Americans to ‘Reject’ Violence [Breitbart]
Dem Rep. Rosa DeLauro Blows Up at EPA Chief Lee Zeldin [Breitbart]
Wall Street Journal Editorials
Qatar and the ICC Prosecutor [WSJ Ed]
The California Wealth Tax Advances [WSJ Ed]
China’s AI ‘Hotel California’ [WSJ Ed]
Home Distilling to the Supreme Court? [WSJ Ed]
New York Post
KKK informants to the SPLC de-hooded: One-legged Imperial Wizard and cleaning lady, who show no signs of reform [NYP]
Washington Free Beacon
Obama-Biden Iran Negotiator Says Trump Doesn’t Have Enough Experts, Bemoans ‘Genocide’ in Gaza [WFB]
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