Has The Love Affair Between Trump And Fox News Gone Sour
The rightwing channel has not covered its former sweetheart with its regular fervour could a billion-dollar lawsuit be why?
For years, Donald Trump and Fox News were smitten.
The former president would call into the rightwing news channel seemingly whenever he liked. Fox News hosts pumped up every Trump utterance. Trump watched the channel religiously, and in 2019 alone he sent 657 tweets in response to Fox News or Fox Business programs.
Since then, however, things appear to have changed. Trump, as the New York Times has pointed out, has not been interviewed on Fox News for more than 100 days.
A recent Trump speech was largely ignored by the network, and in a sign that Fox News has recognized alternative Republican presidential candidates are available, a Mike Pence address was broadcast live, in its entirety.
With the news channel embroiled in a billion-dollar lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over its claims the voting machine company tampered with the 2020 election, Trumps continuing lies about election fraud seem to have rattled Rupert Murdoch, the media titan who owns Fox News.
Two of Murdochs newspapers, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal, published scathing editorials on Trump in July, the former calling the twice-impeached 45th president unworthy to be this countrys chief executive again and the latter branding Trump The President Who Stood Still on January 6.
There are other people in the audience that they care about.
Why Is It Lie After Lie After Lie: Fox News Anchor Goes Off On Trump Administration
Why is it lie after lie after lie? Smith said to fellow anchor Chris Wallace. The deception, Chris, is mind-boggling.
What set Smith off was the latest development about a June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer who reportedly offered dirt on then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Reports on Friday revealed there were more people in attendance than Trump originally acknowledged.
Were still not clean on this, Chris. If theres nothing there and thats what they tell us If all of that, why all these lies? an exasperated Smith said.
The reprimand was uncharacteristic coming from Fox News, which has been reliably positive in its coverage of the White House. Since news of the Trump Jr. meeting broke last week, pundits on the network have targeted their criticism at the media, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton herself.
There are still people who are out there who believe were making it up, Smith said. And one day theyre gonna realize were not and look around and go, Where are we, and why are we getting told all these lies?
The Washington Post went so far as calling the Smith monologue his Walter Cronkite moment. In 1968, the esteemed CBS anchor gave a pessimistic report on the Vietnam War, supposedly leading President Lyndon Johnson to mutter, If Ive lost Cronkite, Ive lost Middle America.
Several Moments When Chyron Topics Differed
Though it is far from the only possible way to evaluate news coverage, the chyron has become something of a touchstone for media analysts, being both the most obvious visual example of spin or distraction and the most shareable. Any negative coverage of the president usually prompts a flurry of tweets cataloguing the differences among networks in their chyron text. While CNN, MSNBC and the BBC are typically in alignment, Monday morning was a particularly stark example of how Fox News pushes its own version of reality.
To right-leaning media observers, the coverage by the other networks might seem equally troubling: does the Manafort indictment deserve an hour or more of uninterrupted airtime? On many stories, there could be legitimate differences in news judgment by editors and producers at competing news outlets, in turn leading to varying focuses in coverage.
But, whatever the reason, such a stark difference in one networks coverage of this case, as well as the well-documented political preferences of its viewers, underscore how far political polarization has seeped into the news business.
Note: Analysis examined first second of each minute of television coverage using lower-third chyron text. Source: The Internet Archive
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Fox News’ Hannity Welcomes Trump White House Bid Opposed By Other Murdoch Media
But the news network cut away about halfway through Trumps hour-long speech for analysis and commentary before returning to the live feed and more measured commentary, in contrast to past practice when Fox routinely broadcast entire speeches by Trump.
Host Sean Hannity returned to the live feed, which continued beyond his primetime hour and into Laura Ingrahams Ingraham Angle, where both the host and her guests had a more measured response to the announcement.
Throughout Trump’s presidency Murdoch media were usually supportive, but they have been critical of the Republican former president since the party failed to deliver on their expectations of a “red wave” of victories in Nov. 8 midterm elections.
“The GOP and the country, would be best served if Mr. Trump ceded the field to the next generation of Republican leaders to compete for the nomination in 2024,” the Murdoch-controlled Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote on Monday.
“If Mr. Trump insists on running, then Republican voters will have to decide if they want to nominate the man most likely to produce a GOP loss.”
As the week’s vote tallies revealed Democrats would retain control of the Senate, and Republicans would capture a slender majority in the House, Fox News analysts looked for an explanation.
On Nov. 9 Ingraham said that for the GOP to win the 2024 election, the party must look for candidates who are focused on winning – not “settling a score.”
Elsewhere In The Murdoch
Refuses to Air David Duke Video Truth” alt=”FOX NEWS SMEARS TRUMP=> Refuses to Air David Duke Video Truth”> Through their papers, where the financial stakes are notably far lower, the Murdochs continue to send signals that they are not happy with Trump. Tuesdays edition of the New York Post is the latest example. The tabloid from the editorial board which argued that Trump shares blame for the wasteful spending from Democrats in Congress. Republicans also need to cast an eye to Bedminster, summer home of the partys sabotager-in-chief, the Posts editorial board wrote. Blame for this travesty also lies at Donald Trumps feet.
That editorial followed a Monday afternoon piece in WSJ by Gerard Baker who wrote that many Trump Republicans are not ready for prime time. Baker explained, The problem isnt inexperience itself. This years leading crop of outsiders owe their difficulty less to being new faces than to the things they say and purport to believe and to their inescapable proximity to Mr. Trump and his various toxicities
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Dont Bet Against Trump And Fox News Reuniting For 2024
Is the romance between former President Trump and Fox News officially over? Reportedly so. In the weeks since Novembers midterm elections left Republicans reeling, much has been made of the supposedly messy breakup.
Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox News, has said that that he wouldnt back Trumps reelection bid. Recent headlines at the network have taken an anti-Trump tone. Just this week, Fox News dumped Trumps daughter-in-law as a contributor.
But will the breakup stick? Fox News needs Trump as much as Trump needs Fox News. Americas ultimate rightwing power couple may be on the ropes but dont bet against the pair reuniting for 2024. Heres why.
Coverage Of Russia Investigation
On October 30, 2017, when special counsel Robert Mueller indicted Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and revealed George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty , this was the focus of most media’s coverage, except Fox News’. Hosts and guests on Fox News called for Mueller to be fired. Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson focused their shows on unsubstantiated allegations that Clinton sold uranium to Russia in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation and on the Clinton campaign’s role in funding the Steele dossier. Hannity asserted: “The very thing they are accusing President Trump of doing, they did it themselves.” During the segment, Hannity mistakenly referred to Clinton as President Clinton. Fox News dedicated extensive coverage to the uranium story, which Democrats said was an attempt to distract from Mueller’s intensifying investigation. CNN described the coverage as “a tour de force in deflection and dismissal”. On October 31, CNN reported Fox News employees were dissatisfied with their outlet’s coverage of the Russia investigation, with employees calling it an “embarrassment”, “laughable”, and saying it “does the viewer a huge disservice and further divides the country” and that it is “another blow to journalists at Fox who come in every day wanting to cover the news in a fair and objective way”.
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Insights That Could Help Dominion Build Its Case Against Fox
The brief insights into what those key Fox figures said during recent depositions echoed an earlier disclosure, first reported by NPR: A junior producer had emailed colleagues shortly after the 2020 election begging them to keep Fox star Pirro from repeating lies she had pulled from crackpot conspiracy theory websites.
To win in court, Dominion must build a defamation case showing Fox stars and decision-makers knew these claims of election fraud were lies, but let them be broadcast anyway, or were negligent in disregarding strong warning signs. The remarks by Hannity and Cooper appear to help the voting tech firm’s legal team construct its case. Hannity made similar remarks saying Trump had lost in private texts with his final White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows in this instance, however, Hannity has sworn under oath that he never believed any of the former president’s claims.
Fox says the allegations were about an inherently newsworthy eventthe electionmade by an inherently newsworthy source, the sitting president. It argues the case is an affront to free speech principles. And it appears to be readying a defense in part based on convincing a jury that Dominion cannot prove intent on Fox’s part or the financial harm to the firm it claims.
Testimony given under oath during this discovery process is not available to the public, including the depositions of top stars, executives and the Murdochs themselves.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
Stories Chosen For You
Senior Secret Service leadership confiscated the cell phones of 24 agents and handed them over to the embattled Trump-appointed Inspector General of the Dept. of Homeland Security as he was launching his criminal investigation into the deleted text message scandal. The Secret Service, DHS, and former Trump officials at the Pentagon have been under fire after the IG, Joseph Cuffari, belatedly revealed texts from January 5 and 6, 2021, had been deleted.
The agency handed over the phones shortly after a July 19 letter was sent by Inspector General Joseph Cuffariâs office,NBC News reports.
The revelation that Cuffariâs office has had access to the phones since late July or August raises new questions about the progress of his criminal investigation into the missing text messages and what, if anything, the public may be able to learn about communications between agents on Jan. 6, 2021, NBC adds.
Cuffari reportedly learned in December of 2021 that the cell phones of Secret Service agents directly involved in protective operations on the day of the insurrection, had been wiped and text messages deleted. He did not report this to Congress until July of 2022, despite his staff taking action.
Cuffari has been seen by some as covering for Trump loyalists. His own staff is calling for his firing.
Noted political scientist Norman Ornstein, who sits on the POGO board, in late July called the situation a âcoverup of treason.â
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The Presidents Role In And Reaction To The Assault On The Capitol Has Soured Stuart Varney Brit Hume And Others Who Once Favored Him
Over the last four years, President Trump has relied on Fox News as a bastion of support and encouragement even as he occasionally faced tougher assessments from news-side anchors like Shepard Smith or Chris Wallace.
Days after Joe Bidens election victory, two of Trumps Fox friends said he should run again in 2024. Of course he should run in 2024, Pete Hegseth said. This is not the last you heard of President Trump, declared Geraldo Rivera.
But for some of the presidents fans on Fox, the events of Wednesday afternoon seem to have changed the calculation. Boosters like business host Stuart Varney, who once claimed that Trump has never lied, said the pro-Trump mobbing of the U.S. Capitol that left four people dead signaled the end of his political viability.
He cannot come back from this, Varney told viewers on Thursday. I think President Trump, Donald J. Trump, is done, politically.
When Varneys guest, American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp, argued that we have to get through this moment before we understand what the political consequences are, Varney replied, I think the political consequences are beginning to unfold. I think the president is tarred with the brush of Wednesday, January the 6th. I think the support for the president, within the Republican Party and the administration, is crumbling.
Trump Says Fox News Isn’t The Same And He’s ‘looking For A New Outlet’ After Host Warns Against His Medical Advice
Donald Trump believes Fox News is “no longer the same” after host Neil Cavuto urged caution over the use of hydroxychloroquine, which the president is taking as a preventative against COVID-19.
The president criticized the network and said he is “looking for a new outlet” after Cavuto’s message, in which he warned of potential risks of taking the drug for vulnerable groups.
Cavuto cited a Department of Veterans Affairs study of the drug on veterans hospitalized with COVID-19, which saw a higher mortality rate among those treated with the drug alone. He said: “Those with vulnerable conditions, respiratory conditions, heart ailments, they died.”
For people in a “risky population,” he said: “It will kill you.”
Trump said yesterday he has been taking hydroxychloroquine for around one and a half weeks. He said his evidence for its efficacy was that he received “a lot of positive calls about it.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has previously warned of hydroxychloroquine’s use outside of monitored medical studies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes hydroxychloroquine as “an arthritis medicine that also can be used to prevent malaria.”
.@FoxNews is no longer the same. We miss the great Roger Ailes. You have more anti-Trump people, by far, than ever before. Looking for a new outlet!
Donald J. Trump May 19, 2020
“Anecdotal evidence right now is really not helpful.”
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Trump Posts Flurry Of Anti
President Trump posted and retweeted more than a dozen tweets Thursday morning attacking Fox News, in a sharp rebuke to the network noted for its supportive coverage throughout his presidency. It was the latest sign that the president may be turning against his once-favorite network due to its coverage of his election defeat.
Both of those outlets have refused to declare President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the election something Fox did on Saturday along with other leading news organizations. Newsmax in particular has reportedly seen its ratings jump since Election Day.
The president followed up with his own post mocking Fox News’ ratings and suggesting the network will suffer without him.
“Very sad to watch this happen, but they forgot what made them successful, what got them there,” he wrote. “They forgot the Golden Goose. The biggest difference between the 2016 Election, and 2020, was @FoxNews!”
CBS News has reached out to Fox News representatives for comment.
Fox News saw record ratings during Mr. Trump’s presidency, including the highest-rated month in cable news history in October 2020, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox was also the most-watched news network on election night, though its ratings were far behind CNN and MSNBC for coverage of Biden’s victory speech on November 7.
Donald Trump Cost Lara Trump Her Fox News Gig
Nepotism giveth, and nepotism taketh away. Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Timesbroke the news that Lara Trump, wife of Donald Trumps son Eric, will no longer be a paid Fox News contributor. We appreciate Laras valuable contributions across Fox News Media programming, a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.
The media company portrayed the split as amicable, citing Donald Trumps November 15 announcement that he will run for president for a third time. The Times noted, Fox News has made it a rule to not employ people running for office or directly connected to active campaigns.
But as the Washington Postexplains, that policy previously only applied to the candidates themselves:
A source with knowledge of the situation said the decision to sever ties with Lara Trump stemmed solely from the networks ban on political activity, though the policy generally applies to commentators who announce their own campaign runs, such as former Fox News contributor Sarah Sanders who left the network when she announced her bid for governor of Arkansas rather than to relatives of announced candidates.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board’s latest: “Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser.”The board writes that Trump “botched the 2022 elections” and that more broadly speaking he “has led Republicans into one political fiasco after another.”
Oliver Darcy
And another Murdoch property, the New York Post, ran this cover:
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