Fox Goes Full Trump While Freaking Out Over Scandals that Aren't Scandals
A condensed overview of 20 hours of Fox News for the week ending 1/21/24
Last week Fox News hosts went all in for Trump while also hyping up a Treasury Dept. investigation into Jan. 6th rioters, fears about the World Economic Forum, and a case before the Supreme Court about the Biden admin’s alleged censorship of social media platforms.
The network also spent copious amounts of time bashing absolutely everything about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The network promoted a poll that showed a 33% approval rate for the president while making outrageous claims that former First Lady Michelle Obama would challenge Biden in some way.
As soon as Trump was declared the winner of the Iowa caucus both Nikki Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis were diminished as possible rivals to the former president. The network instantly transformed to an unofficial wing of the Trump campaign.
The network continues to mostly ignore the Israel-Hamas war. While the PBS NewsHour dedicated 11% of its airtime to the conflict the shows I covered on Fox News, spent exactly 0.2% on the war.
While the network was promoting Trump it ignored various updates in the war in Ukraine, a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and a severe drought in Panama which could affect the global supply chain.
Shows I covered on Fox last week:
Fox & Friends - additional hours on Monday and Thursday
The Five
Jesse Watters Primetime
The 2024 Election Night coverage from Iowa
Uneducated Rural Voters LOVE Trump
On the night of the Iowa caucus Fox News proudly debuted its Voter Analysis Survey which is a collaboration between NORC (National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago for Fox News and the Associated Press.
The network plans to use this tool for the entire election cycle. In each state, FNVA is comprised of probability-based interviews conducted online and by telephone with at least 2,000 registered voters.
During segments on more than one program Sandra Smith stood next to a giant touch screen which displayed various data from the FNVA about likely Republican caucus voters in Iowa.
On Monday before the caucus returns were in, she scrolled through the data on “Jesse Watters Primetime.” She started her presentation by pointing to a graphic that was labeled ‘MAGA supporters.’
“Three quarters of them (MAGA supporters) said that they went for Trump. He also did especially well among those without a college degree, rural Republicans, white evangelicals. . .But more than half of Iowa voters, Republican voters say nothing wrong with saw nothing wrong with his actions on that day in the end. Caucus goers did, however, say they want to see change. Almost all of respondents say they want at least substantial change in the way things are done in this country, with one third favoring complete and total upheaval. That is a lot to think about, Jesse. And that is brand new data for you tonight. I'll have much more on you later on with our Fox News election special at 10 p.m. Eastern Time Jesse.”
Watters responded.
“Total upheaval. I guess we'll have to interpret what that means,” he said with a smirk on his face.
Later on, in the evening during the Fox News election special from Iowa Bret Baier as cited the survey.
“Former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead, according to our Fox News voter analysis, as the doors are closing in all of these Republican caucus meetings. He has this deep bond with GOP voters here in Iowa, and particularly rural Iowa voters,” said Baier.
Later on, his co-host, Martha MacCallum did the same.
“That the former president in Iowa tonight has really swept with all age groups. I mean, clearly strong with, you know, rural voters, voters who have lower levels of education.”
Later throughout the week more than one Fox News host referred back to this data as if it represented all American voters. It was an extremely specific survey of likely Republican caucus goers in Iowa not the general public.
A Fox News Survey of Iowa Republicans Does NOT Represent All Voters
On “The Five,” the day after the Iowa caucus, Judge Jeanine Pirro asked Sandra Smith what she thought of Vice President Harris’ comments about the MAGA movement.
In an interview with ABC News Vice President Harris said “we’ve beat him (Trump) before and we’ll beat him again.”
“Where does she get that confidence? Sandra He's a 33 (approval rating). I think she's less well and insulting the MAGA movement,” asked Pirro.
Smith responded.
“Considering six in ten caucus goers considered themselves in our Fox News voter analysis, supporters of the Make America Great Again movement 74% back Trump. It’s bold. Where does she get the confidence? I don't I don't know. Makes it up maybe. I don't know. It's an interesting strategy. If you don't have the if you don't have the policy issues to tout, this is the this is the route you take. And I think that's fair to say. A lot of what we're going to see heading into November.”
According to the network’s own methodology the Iowa survey gathered data from at best 2000 likely Republican caucus voters.
I’m not sure why information about a group of voters that specific would represent all voters. Only a tiny fraction of Iowa Republicans participated in the caucus and most Republicans would be unlikely to vote for Biden.
A similar survey of urban voters in Boston or Baltimore would show extremely different results.
Fox News IS the Trump Campaign
On Thursday on “Fox & Friends,” Ainsley Earhardt enthusiastically endorsed Donald J. Trump for president.
“Lawrence, when you go to these diners, they all say border is an issue. The economy is an issue. Both of those were better under Donald Trump. When you have to choose between Joe Biden, who doesn't stand up for our country, who world leaders don't. . . they're not intimidated by him. They were with Donald Trump. When you see what Vladimir Putin did to Ukraine after after Donald Trump left.
When you see what happened in Israel, when you hear China threatening Taiwan, those. That was not happening under Donald Trump because world leaders were terrified of him. Moms are worried about national security. I'm sure men are, too. We're worried about who's in this country. Donald Trump, at one of the rallies this week, said that there are terrorists in our country.
We're finding people on the border that are on the terror watch list. All of these things were better under Donald Trump. So, when it comes to some people say we didn't like his rhetoric on Twitter. When you think about protecting our country, that trumps, no pun intended, all of the other stuff that he was writing on Twitter, because we need a strong president.”
If an anchor on “The Today Show,” or “Good Morning America,” had made a similar pitch for Joe Biden Fox News hosts would have been outraged. Clips from the broadcast would be repeated for weeks afterward and the morning news host would likely lose their job.
Fox personalities constantly complain about what they claim is a left-wing bias on all other media but have no problem openly and enthusiastically shilling for Republican candidates.
The World Economic Forum in Davos - It’s Tinfoil Hat Time
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) was held in Davos, Switzerland last week and nearly everyone in the right-wing media universe freaked out about it.
Conservatives and right-wing extremists claim the WEF is some sort of Machiavellian secret society hellbent on the creation of a single global government that will crush capitalism and turn everyone into bug-eating socialist worker drones who will make their overlords insanely powerful.
In reality,. the WEF is a meeting of some of the wealthiest capitalists in the world who very much want to continue to make money and keep free market systems humming.
This year WEF attendees included 1,600 business leaders, 350 heads of state and government ministers, and hundreds of academics, civil society leaders, and entrepreneurs according to reporting by Quartz.com. There were a lot of speeches, meetings, and seminars but not much else.
The WEF doesn’t have any actual power. Elected officials might leave with a change of perspective about food insecurity, international trade, artificial intelligence, green energy, regional conflicts, the health of the global economy or climate change but there’s no enforcement or mandates of any policies or laws.
Every year the WEF comes out with a theme and in 2020 during the height of the pandemic it was “The Great Reset”.
Prof Klaus Schwab, head of the WEF described The Great Reset as “the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.”
The goals of “The Great Reset” were far-reaching but extremely vague. It was largely a lot of lofty ideas and nothing else.
Conspiracy theorists from both the left and right took this theme and ran wild with it. Many have claimed that the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic had nothing to do with stopping the spread of a deadly virus but were designed to control the populace long enough to reshape society and enforce government dominance over everything.
Fox News hosts have fed the right-wing versions of these theories. Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters especially love to weave this nonsense into their nightly primetime shows.
Last week there were several segments related to the WEF but Jesse Watters summed up his paranoia best on Friday on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
To the left of Watters’ face producers placed a graphic of two hands holding what looked like a bowl of fire along with the words ‘DAVOS DECEPTION.’ Watters found a way to make the annual meeting at the WEF about Trump.
“The old CIA Jedi mind trick. Label everything that gets in your way like Trump or the Truth as Russia Disinformation, which is a national security threat and so therefore must be destroyed by the all encompassing power of the national security state. Question the election or the effectiveness of electric cars. Now, you're a national security threat and you're on the list like the parents who raised their voices at school board meetings. So, you know what? Just would make everything much easier if we just stop resisting and submit to mind control.”
The World Economic Forum has plenty of critics from both the left and right of the political spectrum. It’s hardly a perfect organization above criticism but it doesn’t appear to actually be a part of any vast conspiracy.
The FinCEN Scandal that’s NOT a Scandal.
On Thursday, on “Fox & Friends,” Steve Doocy and his co-hosts discussed Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) request for a transcribed interview with a former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) official for allegedly flagging consumer transactions that had phrases such as “Trump” or “MAGA” in them.
Jordan and the Judiciary Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government had obtained documents showing that FinCEN outlined ‘typologies’ of persons who might be connected to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
This was not entirely new news as it was widely reported in February 2021 that some major banks voluntarily shared customer information with the federal government as part of their investigation into crimes committed by rioters on January 6th, 2021.
Most of the information that I could find on this latest chapter of this possible scandal was on far-right wing news sites. Most media companies have completely ignored the story.
On “Fox & Friends,” discussions about Jordan’s request were featured in the first and third hours of the morning show.
The first hour opened with a short segment led by Fox News correspondent Booke Sigman. Steve Doocy was the only anchor to push back a bit.
“Sounds like it's all part of the federal investigation. But, Brooke, this all happened during the Trump administration,” said Doocy.
“Sure. It happened in the days after January 6th. Of course, which was just two weeks, I guess, before the inauguration, January 20th, that it is part of the Trump administration, maybe the Biden transition team. But I don't think that's really the issue here,” said Sigman.
Doocy had another point he wanted to get out.
“Brooke mentioned Cabela's and Bass Pro and Dick's Sporting Goods . . .You know what? Bass Pro, Cabela's and Dick's Sporting Goods all sell? Bear spray. Remember all the there were a number of police officers, federal officers who were attacked, allegedly. And some people have been convicted since then because they used bear spray. So, maybe they were simply you know, it seems like you attack a federal officer. There's going to be a federal investigation.”
Later on, in the program Ainsley Earhardt weighed in.
“First it was censorship. Now they're looking at your bank account to determine what you're buying at a sporting goods store.”
Doocy interrupted.
“Well, and as Brooke said, that was during the Trump administration.”
Then Brian Kilmeade cut him off.
“Yeah, but it wasn't Trump doing it. It was the Treasury Department pushed forward by the investigation arm of the Treasury; it was separate from Trump. You’re going to tell me Trump was looking up Trump people?
Doocy shrugged and continued.
“I'm just saying it was during the Trump years. Part of the executive branch.”
Then Kilmeade went on a rant.
“But part of the point of what we're trying to find out is why the FBI was going after the then president. What was going on? It seems like our FBI and even the CIA was looking into our current president. More than they were looking into outside threats. Then the current president, now the former president.”
There are a few things to unpack here. There’s no evidence that the FBI or the CIA was looking into anything Trump was doing. It’s also interesting to note that Fox hosts have repeatedly portrayed Trump as some kind of hapless ruler who didn’t seem to know what was going on in his own administration.
How could Trump be an efficient and effective leader while also unwittingly being the target of intelligence agencies in his own administration?
According to Rep. Jordan’s accusations the FinCEN program was directed at the January 6th rioters not Donald J. Trump.
What is FinCEN?
Earhardt supplied more specifics about the program.
“This is under the Treasury Department. It's called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network FinCEN. And it's a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department that collects information about financial track transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terror financing and other financial concerns,” said Earhardt as she read off her notes.
“Yeah, they said we took down al Qaeda. I just hire and stop funding Hezbollah here at home,” said Kilmeade a smile breaking out on his face.
His co-host Lawrence Jones cut him off.
“So, I hope they're looking at all these little jihadis that are marching around our streets in D.C. and New York and planning protests, pro-Hamas stuff. Are they looking at all the who's financing?” asked Jones.
Kilmeade jumped in.
“Yeah who’s financing all of that? What we're seeing now, the raid at Sloan Kettering?Who's paying these people?”
Doocy finally wrapped it up.
“Ultimately, though, it comes down to did what this FinCEN do was it allowed by law? Because if you've got your bank and probably some other banks as well just voluntarily giving this stuff up, it's probably it would. And I don't know, Jim Jordan has put a lot of stuff out there, but not a lot of details. We don't know if it was legal and if it was legal. Apparently, they can do it. And when you sign into a new account in terms of service, you know you're going to abide by federal laws. Maybe this is one of them.”
It appeared after Kilmeade and Jones realized the same program was used to target radical Islamic extremists they championed the program. When the target of FinCEN searched were mostly white Trump supporters at the capitol it was an evil overreach by a tyrannical government.
Kilmeade is correct about FinCEN being a tool used by the FBI to investigate and prosecute terrorists. The FBI has been using this type of investigation at least as far back as 2002 when the agency broke down how the terrorists involved in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center were funded.
Judge Jeanine Gets Confused on Who Was President in 2020
In another example of a scandal that probably isn’t a scandal Judge Jeanie went off about a pending case in the Supreme Court. She seems to think that Biden was really pulling the strings during the Trump administration.
On Tuesday, on “The Five,” Pirro went off about media censorship and the former president.
“And yet the United States Supreme Court is about to rule on the Biden administration. And the fact that this case, I think it's Murthy against the state of Missouri. Because they literally are censoring us and suppressing the free speech and they say Trump is Hitler. The Supreme Court is now going to decide whether or not they were involved, not just in the suppression of the 2020 election and that laptop, which we know based upon people who voted, they would have changed their vote, which would have allowed Trump to win. But it was a coordinated campaign by the Democrats, by the White House, by federal officials to impact social media, whether it's Facebook, YouTube or X, to make sure that we are censored, that our private speech is censored.”
The decision by executives at Twitter to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story was made during the Trump administration.
A quick timeline:
Oct. 14, 2020 - first story about Hunter Biden’s laptop is published on NY Post
Nov. 3, 2020 - presidential election
Nov. 7, 2020 - Joe Biden is declared the winner of the 2020 election
Jan. 20, 2021 - Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on “Murthy v Missouri” by the end of June with oral arguments starting sometime this winter. The case is a bit complicated, and I don’t have the space to fully explore it here but it’s not about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Judge Jeanine Tells Madonna to “Age Gracefully”
On Friday the producers of “The Five,” included a brief segment about two people who are suing Madonna over a concert that started over two hours late.
Everyone on the show criticized Madonna for still performing and for getting too much plastic surgery even though the lawsuit had nothing to do with the pop star’s age or appearance.
Madonna is 65 years old and has been performing for over 40 years. Her most recent tour, Madame X was a smaller theater based production that sold out all 75 shows and earned $51 million. Her current Celebrations Tour could earn as much as $140 million according to marca.com.
Madonna also remains the top selling female recording artist of all time with 400 million albums sold.
Judge Jeanine Pirro had strong opinions about the pop music icon.
“And I know I've seen her years ago. I'd seen her. And I agree with Martha. You have to grow old gracefully. You can look healthy. You can try to look hip and young and all that. Take care of yourself. But I mean, she's ridiculous,” said Pirro.
When I heard these words come out of her mouth I paused my laptop and screamed.
“OH, COME ON YOU HAVE GOT TO ME KIDDING ME!”
Pirro is 72 years old but looks closer to 45-50 thanks to what looks like extensive plastic surgery. If the Judge has had a few nips, tucks and injections I’m not sure why she’s criticizing another woman for doing the same.
Stories Fox News Ignored
Every week I compare the hours I’ve watched and analyzed on Fox News to five hours of the PBS NewsHour. The following is a list of stories PBS covered that Fox News did not.
Climate disasters
A severe drought in Panama has forced authorities to reduce traffic in the Panama Canal. The drought has been attributed to the El Nino weather phenomenon and climate change.
Updates in the war in Ukraine
In what is considered a major blow to Moscow the Ukrainian military said it shot down two Russian command and control aircraft. The planes help orchestrate Russian troop movements on the ground.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for help against Russia at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Anyone who thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken,” Zelenskyy said in a speech at the Swiss ski resort.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his forces have gained momentum in the war and insisted Russia will not give up any territory in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian drone strike on an oil depot inside Russia caused a massive fire. Zelenskyy has vowed to hit more military targets inside border regions of Russia.
Officials at the U.N.’s World Food Program warned that not enough humanitarian aid is getting to people in Gaza. Aid agencies blamed a lack of border crossings, slow Israeli inspections, and a lack of trucks inside of Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported the death toll from the war has topped 24,000.
A car-ramming attack north of Tel Aviv killed one and injured 17. Police say at least two Palestinians intentionally drove into pedestrians and then stabbed several people. Authorities believe the suspects were from the West Bank.
Officials from UNICEF said that nearly 100,000 children in Afghanistan are in dire need of humanitarian aid following the powerful earthquakes in the region. At least 21,000 homes were destroyed along with health facilities and schools.
In Guatemala Bernardo Arevalo, a progressive, has officially been sworn in as the new president despite attempts by members of Congress to delay the process. Arevalo vowed to tackle corruption, extortion and poverty.
PBS produced an extended segment about the $100 million grant awarded to the United Negro College Fund for historically Black colleges and universities. The donation from the Lilly Endowment is the single largest unrestricted private grant in the organization’s history.
Diabetics will see a break in their out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Three major pharmaceutical companies have capped insulin copays at $35. This is after the Biden administration’s cap on the price of insulin for Medicare users at the same price.
PBS produced another segment of its series on America’s youth mental health crisis. Last week’s segment focused on how a high school in Wisconsin is using peer support, school staff and psychology researchers to help students with mental health challenges.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 40-3 on a bipartisan agreement to expand the child tax credit and restore some breaks for businesses. Lawmakers are hoping to pass it before tax filing season starts.
The shooter at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, has pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes. Anderson Aldrich has already pleaded guilty to state murder charges. Aldrich pleaded guilty in exchange for federal prosecutors dropping the possibility of the death penalty.
A federal judge blocked JetBlue from buying Spirit Airlines. The judge said it would hurt competition and drive up prices. The airlines are appealing the ruling.
Qatar brokered a deal that would allow a shipment of medication for residents of Gaza and Israeli hostages. The agreement included the delivery of medication to Israeli hostages in exchange for humanitarian aid and medicine for Palestinians.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics the country’s population has declined two years in a row. Birth rates have declined and death rates hit a 50 year high.
The Biden administration has proposed new regulations on banks that would limit overdraft fees. The proposed change by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would cap fees at $3 which would cost large banks billions of dollars in revenue.
Last week the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case between fisherman and the federal government that could severely weaken the regulatory power of federal agencies. The case involves a doctrine called “Chevron deference”.
Activists and health advocates have been pressing the government to enact a ban on menthol cigarettes ahead of a FDA deadline. Black community leaders staged a mock funeral outside the White House for the 45,000 Black lives lost due to tobacco related illnesses each year. Menthol cigarettes have been aggressively marketed to the Black community for decades.
The online home goods retailer Wayfair announced it would layoff 13% of its global workforce. The company has struggled since sales surged during the pandemic.
The department store Macy’s plans to close five stores and layoff 2350 employees. The company plans to cut some of its management staff, add more automation to its supply chain and outsource some positions.
Japan became the fifth country to land an aircraft on the moon on Saturday.
North Korea tested a nuclear underwater drone. The test was seen as a protest of joint military operations by South Korea, the United States and Japan.
PBS produced an extended segment about Ryan Corbett, an American who has been wrongfully detained for over 500 days in Afghanistan. Corbett worked in the country for over 12 years with NGO’s and small businesses. He was arrested and detained during a visit back to the country. The state department is working on negotiating his release.
You are a glutton for punishment. Brava!