Fox News: Oops! We Almost Had Another Depression

A condensed overview of 17 hours of Fox News for the week ending 4/13/25

Last week on Fox News every talking head was dedicated to distracting its viewers from the catastrophe of Trump’s chaotic tariff policies.

Sean Hannity dedicated an entire episode to radical Democrats, Jesse Watters decided that men with office jobs turn into women, Judge Jeanine Pirro was screaming about the lack of Cadillacs in Europe while Jessica Tarlov and occasionally Steve Doocy were sending off distress signals.

The same network that claimed Biden’s economy was destroying the country downplayed the threat of a full-blown depression due to a madman’s half-baked ideas on global trade.

Fox told its audience that Americans were too dependent on cheap stuff in an economy that is driven by consumer spending.

This week I’ve broken down the propaganda in chronological order from Monday to Friday with a short segment from the PBS News Hour for each day. I think this is the best way to show you the alternate universe Fox News created for its viewers.

While PBS accurately told its audience about every market swing and dip, Fox News removed the stock ticker from its screens.

Anyone watching Fox News exclusively last week might have missed out on updates in the Israel-Hamas conflict, new safety measures for teens on social media and military leader who was fired for her criticism of the glorious leader.

Shows I covered on Fox News last week:

• Fox & Friends - all three hours on Thursday

• The Five

• Hannity

Monday - Don’t Look at Your 401K!

“Fox & Friends”

Producers opened the first hour of “Fox & Friends,” with news about the stock market. The cast had an overwhelmingly positive outlook towards Trump’s tariff policies.

“Stock market futures are down ahead of this morning's opening bell as President Trump defends his new tariffs, “ said Ainsley Earhardt.

Charlie Hurt was sitting in for Steve Doocy.

“And the world reacts to Trump declaring the U.S. will not be making a deal with China unless the trade deficit is solved,” said Hurt.

Brian Kilmeade brought up one of Trump’s more insane plans for tariff income.

“Well, that's be this be the template for the see if the president does want to do a deal, or does he want the revenue from the higher tariffs to begin to replace the income tax. Where he owes go goes back to McKinley in 1887,” said Kilmeade.

According to the U.S. Treasury about 51% of the tax revenue from the year 2024 came from individual income taxes. According to U.S.A. Facts tariffs accounted for 1.5% of the total revenue collected by the U.S. treasury in 2024. Tariffs, (custom duties) have not exceeded more than 2% of federal revenue since the 1960s.

There is no way to know the exact amount that any tariffs could generate in terms of revenue as custom duties would increase prices on imports which could decrease demand.

“The Five”

Jesse Watters made the bold declaration that he wasn’t paying attention to his finances.

“And now I'm not panicking, Dana, because I'm not looking. Okay. I haven't looked at my bank account, I'm afraid. But I'm just going to be patient and my people are going to set me up. So when this thing rallies, "I can say in your face, Harold,” Watters said as he turned and pointed to his co-host Harold Ford Jr. “And you're going to need American blue collar workers to service these robots, build the robots and maintain them and operate them. So everybody stop panicking, relax.” said Watters.

Harold Ford Jr. maintained skepticism about Trump’s plans.

“What I said last week, and I hope and pray that he knows what he's talking about thus far. He doesn't seem to know what he's talking about,” said Ford.

Judge Jeanine Pirro made an observation based on her many trips to Europe.

“I don't know the last time I saw a Cadillac in the E.U. . . .and this idea, how dare he start a trade war? He didn't start the war. They did.”

Judge Jeanine Pirro famously drives a Cadillac Escalade

Greg Gutfled reminded his audience that Trump warned his policies would cause pain.

“It's going to hurt a little bit. But it wasn't like Donald Trump didn't tell us that was going to happen.”

Donald J. Trump never mentioned any pain or disruption when he promoted his tariff policies during his last campaign for president.

Jesse Watters had some odd ideas about gender and sex.

“If you sit behind a screen all day, it makes you woman,” said Watters.

Watters sits behind a desk with a full face of makeup and a bucket of haircare products in his somewhat subdued ink black pompadour.

“Hannity”

Sean Hannity did not discuss Trump’s tariff policies. He dedicated most of his show to “The Rise of the Radical Left.”

“The PBS News Hour”

Amna Nawaz, one of the co-anchors of “The PBS News Hour,” opened the first segment of the show with news from the trading markets.

“By day's end, the Dow finished a bit down just under 1%. The Nasdaq finished just above breakeven, and the S&P 500 was down about 0.23% of a percent,” said Nawaz.

The rest of the segment was produced by Lisa Desjardins, the Congressional correspondent for the News Hour.

“The opening bell on Wall Street, the sound of alarm with stocks bungeeing wildly in the first hours, and traders not able to find a foothold in President Trump's tariff war. . . Trump actually upped the stakes, threatening China on social media with another 50% tariff. If the world's second largest economy does not back off its reciprocal tariffs by tomorrow . . . to the idea of a 90-day pause today, Trump himself told reporters,” said Desjardins.

Producers cut to a brief clip of President Donald J. Trump speaking from the Oval Office.

“Well, we're not looking at that. We have many, many, countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us, and they're going to be fair deals,” said Trump.

“That seem to contradict with other words of Trump's advisers, including counselor Peter Navarro, yesterday on Fox,” said Desjardins.

“This is not a negotiation,” said Navarro while a guest on “Sunday Morning Features with Maria Bartiromo.

Tuesday - “Don’t Be a Panican!”

“Fox & Friends”

Chanley Painter, a Fox News correspondent, read directly from a Truth Social post written by Donald J. Trump the previous day.

“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done decades ago. Don't be weak. Don't be stupid. Don't be a Panican (a new party based on weak and stupid people). Be strong, courageous, and patient and greatness will be the result,” said Trump on Truth Social.

“Guys, back to you.”

“Have you ever heard the word Panican before?” asked Brian Kilmeade.

“It's a new invention. Panic-in,” said Steve Doocy.

“It’s a combo of weak and stupid,” said Ainsley Earhardt as the whole group laughed nervously.

“Even though the ‘New York Post’ says in the editorial section, start doing a deal, Mr. President, he is staring them down. Clint Eastwood, Clint Eastwood style. Right. In order to get the maximum deal possible,” said Kilmeade.

“The Five”

Harold Ford Jr. mentioned the stock market.

“Since Inauguration Day, we've lost $12 trillion in our market. Almost little more than $12 trillion.”

Judge Jeanine Pirro worked herself into a frenzy.

“But if Donald Trump only cared about himself and lining the pockets of the rich, why would he be fighting like he's fighting right now?. . .Donald Trump knows where the short hairs are, and he knows where to pull them . . .because Donald Trump is not panicked And neither should we be, because he's bringing us to the Golden Age Harold, and that's the end of it.”

“Hannity”

“No amount of history and no amount of fear mongering is going to shake the president's resolve. As Karoline Leavitt very articulately mentioned today, President Trump does have a spine of steel,” said Hannity as a graphic of Trump captioned with the words “Spine of STEEL” appeared next to him.

“The PBS News Hour”

Amna Nawaz opened the first of five segments about Trump’s trade deals.

“Just hours before major new tariffs are set to kick in, President Trump and his team said he remains open to deals but generally would not back down from levies on goods from more than 80 countries. That includes a 104% tariff on China set to take effect at midnight. That message helped kill an early rally in the markets, and the Dow swung by nearly 1800 points. The Dow closed at its lowest point in about a year, finishing down about 0.84% of a point. The Nasdaq was down more than 2.15%, and the S&P 500 dropped more than 1.57%.”

The rest of the segment was produced by PBS correspondent Stephanie Sy.

“Today on X (Twitter), Elon Musk called Peter Navarro, a key architect of Trump's trade policy, ‘dumber than a sack of bricks.’ Navarro characterized Tesla as a car assembler that depends on imported car parts,” said Sy.

During a later segment Lisa Desjardins brought up Republican sources she had spoken to about Trump’s tariff policies.

“Republicans are saying in public those are ones who support Trump, but privately there are many who have really grave concerns about what's going on. I spoke to one Republican in a position of power who told me, quite frankly, this is insane.”

Wednesday - Trump Blinked

After massive sell-offs in the U.S. bond market Trump abruptly changed course. The president decided to pause his reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90-days.

He increased tariffs on China to a staggering 125% while pausing his reciprocal tariffs on every other country. Trump still included a 10% tariff across the board that each country was welcome to renegotiate individually with the Trump administration.

Conceivably after 90 days Trump could re-issue his draconian tariffs on most of the world’s exports.

About mid-day immediately after the news broke that Trump would issue a 90-day pause U.S. trading markets rebounded.

Trump boasted that leaders from various countries were calling him begging to make new trade deals with the U.S. He provided few specifics to back his wild declarations.

That morning the stock ticker did NOT appear in its usual bottom righthand corner of the screen of “Fox & Friends.”

“Fox & Friends”

“The United States is now enforcing President Trump's reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries around the globe,” said Steve Doocy.

“Prices are expected to rise as these new tariffs were launched, beginning at the stroke of midnight last night,” said Lucas Tomlinso, a Fox News correspondent.

“The market is dying for good news. You see it ticking up just on the rumors of good news,” said Brian Kilmeade.

Seve Doocy interrupted him.

“People don't understand the tariff situation. They think just foreign countries are paying for the tariffs. That's not true,” said Doocy.

“So I think that people are not going to be remembering these two weeks. If we can set up the next 20 years,” said Kilmeade.

“The Five”

Jesse Watters started the segment with a new title for President Donald J. Trump.

“Trump the merciful, giving nations a break as he turns the big guns on China,” said Watters.

Jessica Tarlov, the liberal on the panel had a lot to say.

“Trump even admitted that it wasn't the art of the deal or be cool. He said he was watching the bond market and that's what decided this. He had to cave. I think there are trillions still lost. And our very own Charlie Gasparino, who's been on for the last couple of hours saying that he wish it weren't so, but that the truth is that the white House capitulated,” said Tarlov.

“And right now The Dow is dancing,” said Pirro.

“The laws of economics are not going to change the laws of economics and the laws of they're just the law,” said Dana Perino.

Jessica Tarlov brought up a recent survey on CNN.

“Seventy percent say that they're going to raise prices on us, which is how tariffs work. Yesterday was a rebound day. Yeah. Whoever saw his tweet and got in there and bought in the dip you know God bless America,” said Tarlov.

“She's just a panicking. You heard what he said. Sit back and be cool Jessica,” said Watters.

“Hannity”

“I told you this was going to happen. It was inevitable. Donald Trump's in a perpetual state of negotiation,” said Hannity.

“The PBS News Hour”

“An historic day of market rallies after multiple days of steep drops. The Dow closed almost 3000 points higher, up nearly 8%. The Nasdaq rocketed to its best day in nearly a quarter century, up 12%. And the broadest measure, the S&P 500, had its biggest gains since 2008, up 9.5%,” said Amna Nawaz.

Lisa Desjardins produced the rest of the segment.

“But before the announcement, Europe did retaliate with 25% tariffs and China responded with 84% tariffs on U.S. goods . . .That, in response to earlier tariff hikes from the Trump administration . . . President Trump's mercurial tariff policy has led Europeans to rethink their trade alliances. . . Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer said she supported bringing back American manufacturing, but said the president's tariffs have been hard on her state, which President Trump won in 2024.”

Thursday - Let’s Avoid a Depression!

The stock ticker did not return to the screen on Thursday morning. Although the folks on “Fox & Friends” were hopeful that the markets would continue to rebound they fell instead.

‘Fox & Friends”

“Global markets soared yesterday as President Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs on most nations,” said Steve Doocy.

“And Trump has hinted any deal with Beijing will be linked to the sale of Chinese owned TikTok,” said Lucas Tomlinson.

“This is the art of the deal. This shows how strong our president is,” said Ainsley Earhardt.

“Trump was prepared for his tariff policy to lead to a recession, but he did not want the tariff policy to trigger a depression,” said Peter Doocy reporting from outside the White House.

“The straw that broke the tariffs back was the fact that there was a gigantic selloff in U.S. treasuries. And that's scary because in times of uncertainty around the world, people go to that,” said Steve Doocy.

“It was getting so upset. Look at the market is going up today. I'm curious to see what's going to happen when we open up. Because when we started the show, I saw the futures were down,” said Brian Kilmeade.

“The Five”

“Trump has to do this fast. He's up against the midterms. He's term limited. We think he's term limited,” said Watters.

“He is,” Jessica Tarlov said off screen.

Greg Gutfeld thought he had an amazing point.

“So, the stock market reacts poorly to uncertainty. The problem with Trump uncertainty is his superpower.”

Jessica Tarlov mentioned a study.

“The Yale budget lab just came out with new figures based on yesterday's tariff numbers, which says that this will cost each American household $4,400. This is the highest tariff rate since 1909.”

“Hannity”

“The CCP, they're lashing out. First, they've started a trade war that they cannot win . . . What I see happening is there's going to be deal after deal after deal, which for the president is going to be win after win after win,” said Hannity.

“The PBS News Hour”

“Markets continued their major slide since mid-February. The Dow dropped more than a thousand points or 2.5%. The Nasdaq fell by 4% and the S&P 500 dropped by nearly 3.5%,” said Nawaz.

John Yang, a correspondent for the PBS News Hour, finished the rest of the segment.

“China. Earlier, the White House clarified that the total new tariffs on China stand at 145%. . . After the initial levies were imposed. China responded with an 84% tariff on U.S. goods. On CNBC, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said many of the platforms third party sellers, either in China or selling Chinese products, may have to raise prices . . .Meanwhile, some Democrats are raising questions about Mr. Trump's social media post, saying this is a great time to buy just hours before he announced he was pausing the tariffs, sparking the stock market rally.”

Friday - It’s China’s Fault!

“Fox & Friends”

“China, escalating the ongoing trade war with the U.S.,” said Brian Kilmeade.

“Overnight, Beijing announcing a 125% tariff on U.S. imports. This is up from 84% duty that China announced on Wednesday,” said Ainsley Earhardt.

“President Xi also saying today his country is not afraid. Their new 125% tariff rate on U.S. goods kicks in tomorrow. And here we go. So no one's backing off,” said Kilmeade.

“And you really can't compete at the end of the day with slave labor. We outlawed in this country for a reason. And now we essentially buy the products from a different country that does the same thing, right?” said Lawrence Jones.

“The Five”

“Trump's loving is tariff fight against the world. The apex negotiator giving himself 90 days to cut highly tailored deals for America while choking out China,” said Watters.

Guest host Katie Pavlich was more subdued.

“Yes, this tariff situation is new. People are not comfortable with it. It's different. It is going to potentially cause some short term pain, but it's part of a broader economic plan.”

Jessica Tarlov remained concerned.

“China knows that there are tens of millions of Americans that own small businesses, that rely on goods from China, that are going to be completely bankrupted by these tariffs. The dollar is weakening. People are dumping U.S. assets. They don't think that we're a good bet. And the American public, the the lower classes that Scott Bessent is so concerned with, are losing their minds. Consumer sentiment dropped to its second lowest level since 1952, when they started recording this.”

“Hannity”

Sean Hannity made the United States sound more like the mafia than a trading partner.

“This new buzz word chaos. They're using the word chaos. Chaos. Chaos. It's cost prohibitive to buy an American car in Germany. Why have we let them get away with this when we provide the majority of their self-defense?” said Hannity.

“The PBS News Hour”

“The U.S. trade war with China continues to escalate with no apparent end in sight. Today, Beijing announced it will raise rates on American goods, a direct retaliation to President Trump's sharp increase in tariffs on the world's second largest economy . . . The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed back above 40,000, while the Nasdaq shot up by more than 2%. The S&P 500 rallied as well by almost 2%,” said Nawaz.

Lisa Desjardins included an animated graph that showed how much The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped since Trump declared his new trade policy at the start of the month.

“On April 2nd when Trump announced sweeping tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial began to plummet. It regained some footing when Trump backed off the toughest tariffs earlier this week. But as today started, The Dow was still sharply below where it was last month.”

Stories Fox News Ignored

Every week I compare the hours I’ve watched on Fox News to five hours of the PBS News Hour. The following list are stories PBS covered that Fox News did not. The list is slightly truncated due to space. Source - transcripts from the PBS News Hour.

• Updates in the Israel-Hamas war

  • Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed some 25 more people, including eight children. Gaza's Health Ministry says nearly 60 Palestinians are dead from those strikes and others over a 24 hour period. All of this comes as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the U.N.'s capacity to deliver aid in Gaza has been "strangled." No aid has been delivered to the Strip since March 2. (PBS News Hour)

• In Myanmar, the death toll from the devastating March earthquake has climbed past 3600 people. Rescue efforts are giving way to relief and recovery operations as hope for survivors fades. World powers, including China, sent new emergency aid for survivors. The U.S. has pledged $9 million of relief so far, but relief efforts have been notably absent. As PBS News was first to report, the Trump administration notified the three person disaster team from USAID of their terminations while they were on the ground in Myanmar. (PBS News Hour)

• A judge has ordered the White House to allow the Associated Press back into briefings, presidential trips and events. The AP was barred from covering many White House events after it wouldn't refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in its coverage. The judge, who is a Trump appointee, ruled that under the First Amendment, "If the government opens its doors to some journalists, it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints." (PBS News Hour)

• The African nation of Congo has repatriated three Americans who were convicted for participating in a failed coup last year. The three men were sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted last week to life in prison. Congo's president said they will serve their time in the U.S. The repatriation comes as Congo tries to make a minerals deal with the U.S. in exchange for security support to fight rebel groups. (PBS News Hour)

• Instagram will soon roll out more safety measures for its teenage users. The app's owner, social media giant Meta, announced that Instagram users under 16 won't be able to livestream or unblur potential nudity in their messages without a parent's permission. Meta launched a teen accounts program for Instagram with more parental controls back in September amid growing concern over the effects of social media on underage users. (PBS News Hour)

• Beijing denied Ukrainian claims that Chinese citizens are fighting alongside Russia in its invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released video which he said showed a captured Chinese soldier. He added that Ukrainian intelligence had knowledge of more than 150 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia. Beijing called Ukraine's claims unfounded. (PBS News Hour)

• The Trump administration has reinstated emergency food aid to at least six impoverished countries. Earlier this week, the U.N.'s World Food Program received word that the U.S. was cutting funding to help feed 14 countries. The State Department has since admitted some of those funds were cut by mistake without elaborating. Food funds to Ecuador, Somalia, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria were restored, but cuts will remain for war-ravaged Afghanistan and Yemen. The status of funding for six other unidentified countries remains unclear. (PBS News Hour)

• Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says she won't seek reelection for a third term in 2026. She was the state's first female governor, serving in the role since 2017. (PBS News Hour)

• The Pentagon has fired the commander of the Greenland space base that Vice President J.D. Vance and second lady Usha Vance visited last month. Colonel Susannah Meyers wrote an e-mail to staff that was critical of the vice president's public comments during his visit, where he continued to push for the U.S. to take control of Greenland. (PBS News Hour)

• A number of nations have agreed to impose what's effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. It'll entail a minimum $100 charge for every ton of greenhouse gases that ships emit above certain levels. The revenues, estimated between $11 billion and $13 billion a year, will go toward renewable fuels and tech to help shift the sector toward green shipping. The U.S. was not a part of the agreement, which is set to take effect in 2027. (PBS News Hour)

• Special envoy Steve Witkoff was in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff had been pressing the Kremlin to accept a truce with Kyiv.

  Meanwhile, in Brussels, NATO allies pledged another $24 billion dollars in support to Ukraine for its war against Russia, which is now in its fourth year. (PBS News Hour)

• PBS produced a series of segments called “Taiwan: Risk & Resistance” that focused on various ways the Taiwanese people are preparing for a possible military conflict with Mainland China. (PBS News Hour)

• Actor Jay North has died. As a young boy, he starred as the overalls-wearing mischief-making Dennis the Menace on TV. North was just 6 years old when he landed the role of Dennis Mitchell, the well-intentioned troublemaker whose antics especially tested the patience of his next-door neighbor, George Wilson. The sitcom ran for four seasons. North died Sunday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 73 years old. (PBS News Hour)

By the Numbers