Fox News: The Week When Everyone Went Rogue

A condensed overview of 15 hours of Fox News for the week ending 3/23/25

Last week on Fox several guests and a few hosts openly debunked lies the network was trying to promote. It was a festival of guests and Fox News employees accidentally going rogue as they didn’t follow the Fox News narrative.

Something wonky happened in the propaganda matrix. Even Fox News hosts inadvertently undermined their own talking points.

Were the astronauts really stranded in space? Was domestic terrorism a serious crime or just a protest that got out of hand? Does a Tesla automobile have more value than a United States Capitol Police officer?

Were all the men shoved in a hellish prison in El Salvador really dangerous gang members? Does a pardon count if president Biden used an autopen when he signed it?

The only cohesive theme was idea that the country was being overrun by violent transgender activists in a loosely formed gang known as ‘transtifa’ who were hellbent on destroying Tesla dealerships.

Jesse Watters labeled the protesters and vandals ‘transtifa’ based on what appeared to be exactly one transgender activist who was arrested for damaging Tesla property.

Anyone watching Fox News exclusively last week might have missed out on stories about political unrest in Turkey, a massive Tesla recall, and a ban on LGBTQ demonstrations in Hungary.

Shows I covered last week:

• Fox & Friends

• The Five

• Hannity

Domestic Terrorism is About Cars - Not People

The word ‘terrorism’ showed up 51 times in the transcripts of the shows I covered last week. In most cases Fox hosts used the term ‘domestic terrorism’ when discussing non-violent protests and acts of vandalism, arson and property damage at Telsa showrooms across the country.

Even though Sean Hannity and other Fox News personalities implied that small business owners were suffering through these protests Tesla sells its vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing the traditional franchised dealership model used by other car manufacturers.

Every Tesla dealership and service center is owned by the Tesla corporation. Consumers can also purchase a Tesla car directly from the company’s website.

For some inexplicable reason Fox News hosts kept comparing the vandalism at Tesla dealerships to the failed insurrection at our nation’s Capitol on January 6th.

On Wednesday while a guest on “Hannity,” Kellyanne Conway, former senior counsel to Donald J. Trump and a sometime host on Fox News, lamented the plight of rioters convicted of violent crimes during the January 6th attack.

“You know, Sean, when some protesters on January 6th got out of control, the Democrats called it the worst attack on our nation's democracy in the history of our country. A lot of those people languished in jail for a very long time,” said Conway.

Two days later on “The Five,” Martha MacCallum discussed the seriousness of domestic terrorism charges during a segment about the protests at Tesla dealerships.

“Domestic terrorism. And the sentence for that is 5 to 20 years,” said MacCallum.

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, a violent hate group, was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges for his role in planning the attack on January 6th. Elmer Stewart Rhodes III and Kelly Meggs, of the Oath Keepers, another violent hate group, were sentenced to 18 years in federal prison on similar charges.

Donald J. Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every rioter who plead guilty or was convicted of charges for various crimes related to the January 6th attack including the ringleaders Tarrio, Rhodes and Meggs.

The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers both helped plan the attack on the Capitol and had stashed lethal weapons at a secondary location and had plans to kill lawmakers and members of law enforcement to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

From my previous newsletter “Blue Lives Matter Unless You Defended the Capitol on Jan. 6th,” a comprehensive list of the injuries members of law enforcement suffered during the Jan. 6th attack.

According to reporting by The NY Times:

• One officer lost the tip of his right index finger

• Other officers were smashed in the head with:

  • baseball bats

  • flag poles

  • pipes

• An officer lost consciousness as rioters used a metal barrier to push her into stairs

• Some of the injuries included:

  • concussions - neurological impairment

  • heightened anxiety

  • PTSD

  • orthopedic injuries that required surgery and rehabilitation

  • rib fractures

  • burns

  • traumatic brain injuries

  • shattered spinal discs

  • stabbing - suspect used a metal fence stake

  • mild heart attack - the officer was repeatedly hit with a stun gun

  • strokes

• Of the 1200 capitol police officers only 170 were equipped with riot gear

• 140 officers were injured (73 Capitol Police, 65 Metropolitan police)

• Officer Brian Sicknick died immediately after the attack of a stroke

• Four officers committed suicide soon after the attack

The folks at Fox want their viewers to believe that vandals who commit acts of property damage at car dealerships should receive a harsher punishment than rioters who physically attacked police officers.

Elon Musk Lied About the Astronauts “Stranded in Space”

On Wednesday on “Fox & Friends,” Ainsley Earhardt promoted Musk’s lie about the SpaceX mission to pick up and return two astronauts from the International Space Station.

“Scott Kelly had said on Bret Baier’s show. And Scott said, I just want to clarify. I want to correct the record because I heard on “The Five,” they were saying that this is Biden's fault, and he said they were not abandoned. They were not stranded by President Biden. That's just not true. And then Elon said, we definitely we definitely offered to return them earlier. No question about that. We made the offer to return them earlier to the Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons. That's just a fact,” said Earhardt.

Lawrence Jones repeated Musk’s lie.

“Well, Sean Hannity asked him, you know, did you offer the Biden administration the opportunity to bring them back? And he goes, yes. And he feels like it was because of politics. I mean, it's not rocket science in the sense of how did they get this done so soon in the Trump administration, when Elon Musk has had space X, they could have did the same thing back then,” said Jones.

I went through my archives from the PBS News Hour to find media clips from the time the Boeing spacecraft was returned to earth without its crew.

August 7, 2024

“NASA said if Starliner isn't fixed, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore could hitch a ride with the next space crewed mission when it returns home next February, officials said. They have until roughly mid-August to make a final decision,” said PBS co-anchor Amna Nawaz.

August 14, 2024

PBS co-anchor Geoff Bennett interviewed Miles O’Brien, the PBS science and aviation correspondent about NASA’s plan for the astronauts.

“So one backup option, as I understand it, is that they could hitch a ride on a space, craft, but that wouldn't be until next year. Is that right?” asked Bennett.

“Well, here's how this goes. The SpaceX crew nine mission was scheduled to launch on Sunday with four, astronauts, two astronauts, two cosmonauts on board. And, that has been delayed. It's quite possible the scenario could play out where two of those individuals, we don't know who would be told to sit it out, stay home. The SpaceX comes up to the International Space Station carrying, the space suits required, and two empty seats, which Butch and Suni would take home. But in order to do that, without disrupting things too much, they would essentially be drafted onto that crew and would be absorbed as part of that crew, and thus would stay up there until February as the two astronauts who remain on the ground would have.”

The planned mission to retrieve the astronauts shifted from February to March but absolutely everything went as planned in August 2024.

Jessica Tarlov Also Fact Checked Elon Musk

On Wednesday on “The Five,” Jessica Tarlov, the liberal on the panel, also confirmed that Musk’s claim was in direct conflict of NASA officials.

“That's basically it. Also on the Musk wasn't allowed to get the astronauts down. The timeline doesn't add up. This NASA administrator for last summer Bill Nelson, said there was no discussion of that whatsoever. Didn't know about the offer, and NASA officials have said that late February was the earliest that the crew could return without interrupting other scheduled missions.”

A NASA Official Didn’t Confirm Musk’s Claim

Later in during the “Fox & Friends” broadcast the cast interviewed Ken Bowersox NASA’s SOMD Associate Administrator about the mission.

“Elon Musk said that he offered this to the past administration. Now, I know you can't speak to the reason why, but can you confirm that was offered and denied?” asked Lawrence Jones.

“So first, I'm really glad that you guys were interested and were watching. But second, I don't have any information about those conversations at our level. The administrator kept all of our work technical, and we were able to focus on the technical aspects of, what we would do with Starliner and with the astronauts that brought it up the station,” said Bowersox.

“Well, Scott Kelly said there was a spaceship there the whole time. They could have left at any time. Is that true?” asked Brian Kilmeade.

“Yeah. That's true. Yeah. We always had a capability to bring them home and a contingency, we call it a lifeboat capability, but. But we like to always have a spaceship there at the station in either a Boeing spaceship or a SpaceX Dragon spaceship or a Soyuz spaceship,” said Bowersox.

“Yeah. That's why the astronauts said they were not stranded or abandoned,” said Steve Doocy.

Steve Doocy Goes Rogue - on Migrants Sent to El Salvador

Also, on Wednesday Steve Doocy seemed to go against the Fox News narrative when he said that some of the undocumented immigrants sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador might not be dangerous gang members.

“I think, let's see on Friday, it's, the judge is going to meet with the Department of Justice in the five people who brought this lawsuit against him with the ACLU. We told you about that yesterday. That's the reason this, temporary stop happened, because, lawyers said, look, those five people shouldn't be on those flights, and they were not deported. Here's the thing. The president absolutely, because he signed that, executive order, has the authority to deport the bad guys, to especially and he made it very clear he has the authority to deport terrorist gang members. The question is whether or not those five people that the lawsuit was all about are actually TDA (Tren de Aragua). And apparently the lawyers have told the Department of Justice that they were not gang members. They were targeted by TDA when they were in Venezuela. And in a filing by the Department of Justice, records show that several, did not have records in the United States, and apparently others were simply arrested near raids. So the question is whether or not they really were gang members, but the president absolutely has the legal authority,” said Doocy.

He was interrupted by Lawrence Jones.

“They are accusing our law enforcement then Steve of fudging this, that they're planning evidence that there were good guys. I mean, that they're just making all of this up.”

Ainsley Earhardt interrupted him.

“President Trump said ‘I don’t know who this judge says that he's a radical left about Obama appointees actually said we shouldn't be able to take criminals,” said Earhardt.

Jessica Tarlov - About that Judge

The same day on “The Five,” Jessica Tarlov offered more context about the judge involved with the case against the Trump admin.

“That Judge Boasberg, who is a George W Bush appointee, and Karoline Leavitt was not prepared for that, for a reporter to push back, I think it was Garret Haake say, actually, no, he's not some left wing activist. He someone Bush picked that he was the chief judge of the Alien Terrorists Removal Court for five years and also supervised the FISA court. So this is no bleeding heart liberal, whatever you say about his family,” said Tarlov.

Two Lawyers Destroyed Trump’s Claims About the Use of an Autopen

On Monday two Fox News regulars completely destroyed President’s Trump’s claim about Biden’s use of an autopen.

Trump declared in a rambling post on his social media platform Truth Social that Biden’s use of autopen nullified his presidential pardons.

Sean Hannity included a segment about the president’s statement.

“Did the Biden White House use an autopen to sign Joe's controversial pardons? Well, we'll find out from Greg Jarrett. Alan Dershowitz . . this raises a lot of questions. Now, I know it came up as an issue. And I think 2011 with Barack Obama,” said Hannity.

Gregg Jarrett, a lawyer and a regular Fox News contributor began the discussion.

“Yeah, but these are serious questions relative to Joe Biden. You know, using an autopen is perfectly legal. Many presidents have used it going back to Harry Truman and probably before,” said Jarrett.

Alan Dershowitz was more concerned with legislation than pardons.

“A pardon on the other hand, he doesn't say he has to sign it. It just says the president shall have power to grant pardons. So in that case, you need to know it was the president who granted the pardon. He could do it orally. He doesn't have to do it in writing, whereas for a bill, he has to do it in writing. And the other question is, what kind of an autopen is it? The first person to use the autopen was Thomas Jefferson. He invented the autopen. But here's a little pen. He actually signed it himself. And then there were five copies made of his signature. By having pens attached to the pen, he signed,” said Dershowitz.

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 that PBS reported on that Fox News did not. Source - PBS News Hour transcripts.

• In North Macedonia authorities are seeking answers and accountability after a nightclub fire in the eastern town of Kocani killed at least 59 people. More than 150 others were injured. Cell phone video from inside the club shows the pyrotechnics that caused the blaze. Officials detained 15 people and ordered a nationwide review of licenses for such venues. Police are also investigating suspicions of bribery and corruption at the club, which was crammed at double capacity with only a single exit. (PBS News Hour)

• The retailer Forever 21, is set to close all U.S. stores as it files for bankruptcy for a second time. The one time staple of America's malls cites rising costs and shifting consumer trends as major factors. It also lost ground to online competition from Amazon and Shein, founded back in 1984 by Korean immigrants in California, Forever 21 was kept afloat after a prior bankruptcy filing in 2019. The company's website will remain active as it looks for possible partners to keep the stores going. (PBS News Hour)

• The board of the U.S. Institute of Peace has shrunk to just three members. After a dramatic standoff last Monday between the independent nonprofit and the Trump administration. Employees at the institute say they called the police after staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, physically entered the Washington headquarters after several unsuccessful attempts. The agency's now fired president called it an illegal takeover of an institution that's not part of the executive branch. (PBS News Hour)

• Hungary has passed a law that bans pro LGBTQ pride events and lets authorities use facial recognition technology to identify participants. The law says gatherings cannot violate the country's child protection laws, which prohibit showing homosexuality to minors under 18. The Budapest Pride celebration marks its 30th anniversary this summer. In a statement, organizers said the new legislation was fascism, not child protection. (PBS News Hour)

• The state of New York has launched a campaign for those impacted by DOGE cuts, including billboards in New York City's Moynihan Train Hall and in train and Metro stations throughout Washington, D.C. New York Governor Kathy Hochul appeared on the News Hour to discuss the program. (PBS News Hour)

• A jury in North Dakota found Greenpeace liable for defamation and other claims related to protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline. The environmental group must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the Dallas based energy transfer company and its subsidiary, Dakota Access. The lawsuit accuses Greenpeace of defamation, trespass, nuisance and other acts during the 2016 and 2017 protests near the reservation of the standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Greenpeace says its employees had little to no involvement in the protests. (PBS News Hour)

• In Turkey, thousands of protesters gathered for a second day following the arrest of Istanbul's popular mayor. Some students clashed with police amid growing anger over the detention of Ekrem Imamoglu. He was arrested as part of a broader investigation into alleged corruption and terror links. By nightfall, thousands had gathered outside City hall to protest what they see as an attempt to remove a potential rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the next election. (PBS News Hour)

• The release of tens of thousands of pages related to President John F. Kennedy assassination has revealed a bit more than intended. The largely unredacted pages include Social Security numbers and other private information for hundreds of congressional staff, intelligence analysts and others. Many of them are still alive. In one instance, the complete personnel file of a CIA agent was laid bare. The White House says the National Archives and the Social Security Administration are working on an action plan for the people whose information was compromised. (PBS News Hour)

• Tesla is recalling nearly all of its Cybertrucks in the United States to fix an exterior panel that could fall off while driving. In a filing, Tesla said the recall affects just over 46,000 vehicles. It covers trucks made between November of 2023 and February of this year, and it's the eighth recall involving the SUV since January of 2024. (PBS News Hour)

• The International Olympic Committee elected its first woman and first African president in its 130 year history. Zimbabwe's sports minister Kirsty Coventry won in a landslide in the first round of voting, beating out six other candidates. The 41-year-old swimming legend and former Olympian is also the youngest person to hold the powerful position. She set to serve an eight year term, during which she will oversee the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles and the selection of a host for the 2036 Olympics. (PBS News Hour)

• Sudan's military says it has retaken the country's former seat of government in the capital city of Khartoum. Sudanese soldiers celebrated the victory outside the Republican Palace after two years of fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The victory is a big step towards retaking all of Khartoum, though the RSF still controls much of western Sudan, including most of the Darfur region. The nearly two year conflict has produced what the U.N. calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Around half of the country's population suffers from acute hunger. (PBS News Hour)

• President Trump rescinded an executive order targeting prominent law firm Paul Weiss after that firm agreed to drop its DEI policies and to provide $40 million in pro-bono work for Trump aligned causes. It's the latest in a series of punitive actions the president has taken targeting the legal community. The president targeted firms that either were connected to the criminal cases brought against him or represented Democrats, including Hillary Clinton. The orders revoke security clearances and ban their employees from government buildings. Last week, hundreds of associates at big firms signed an open letter calling on their employers to defend their colleagues and the legal profession and condemned what they called Mr. Trump's intimidation tactics. (PBS News Hour)

By the Numbers