We’ve long noted the close relationship between Donald Trump and former Fox chief Roger Ailes. Now, Ailes’ replacement, Rupert Murdoch, seems to have replaced Ailes in that regard, too.
The announcement that Tucker Carlson, a Trump ally, would take Trump critic Megyn Kelly's prime time slot was one of the indications of just how much Murdoch wants to snuggle with Trump, Gabriel Sherman reports (emphasis added):
Carlson’s promotion is one sign of just how much Murdoch wants to appease Trump, Fox insiders say. Murdoch has been intent on forging a tight relationship with Trump since his victory, sources close to both men tell me. One longtime Murdoch confidante told me the two speak by phone at least three times per week. As I reported Tuesday, at Mar-a-Lago over the holidays Trump criticized Roger Ailes and lavished praise on Murdoch. And Murdoch has told Fox executives that Trump asked him to submit names for FCC commissioner. (A Trump spokesperson denied that.) Murdoch has allowed Sean Hannity to turn his 10 p.m. show into de facto infomercials for Trump.
People close to Murdoch are surprised by how fast Fox has fallen into line with the Trump administration. This morning, Bill Kristol, a longtime Fox contributor, criticized Hannity’s fawning interview with Julian Assange. “I’m old enough to remember when Fox News was pro-American soldier not pro-anti-American leaker,” Kristol tweeted. During the GOP primary, Murdoch veered from neutral to openly hostile to Trump’s candidacy. One Murdoch associate told me that over the years Murdoch spoke of Trump as a buffoon. Murdoch was also turned off by Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric. But in the general election, Murdoch came around to backing Trump (after a détente brokered by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner). Now he seems intent on turning up Fox’s support to a new level.
Yes, Fox News has long acted as cheerleaders for Donald Trump. But there were pockets of criticism, albeit by conservatives. And yes, Shepard Smith blasted Trump just the other day. But will that kind of questioning be squelched going forward? We’ll have to wait and see.
Stay tuned!
Donald Trump graphic by DonkeyHotey via Creative Commons license.
It is not an accident that O’Reilly put a victory lap about “Kate’s Law” on the front burner. He wants to be able to take credit for this one as one of his crowning achievements. (I note that O’Reilly has no credibility on these kinds of issues – last week, he was hosting and supporting a notorious Right Wing California State Senator who has been spreading vicious lies about California legalizing teen prostitution when that was blatantly false.)
I also note that O’Reilly is planning to give his “response” to President Obama’s farewell address this evening. Given how O’Reilly has already consigned Obama to the trash heap and has dismissed his entire presidency, we can expect some further viciousness and bullying tonight. I’d give a 90 percent chance that O’Reilly grudgingly acknowledges that Obama and his family are decent people before going into a litany of Right Wing attack points designed to portray the last 8 years as a mire of failure and scandal – exactly the way Fox News has been priming its viewers to feel.
I think you nailed how Fox will operate and prod the GOP perfectly. Kate’s Law is a good example. O’Reilly was crowing tonight about getting it passed.
But I would also argue that as much as Fox News is Trump TV, there is a symbiotic relationship and in fact the Mike Pence White House will also function as the Fox News White House. Because we already know these guys love Fox News and follow their spin at every turn. Trump regularly tweets a take on the news that comes from watching either O’Reilly or Hannity, and Pence is completely sympathetic to the farthest right wing musings Fox News can muster.
So we can expect to see Fox News offer unabashed support to the Pence White House (under the cloak of patriotism, something they conveniently forgot about while viciously attacking Barack Obama for 8 years, but who cares about that…?). And we can expect that Fox News will begin running regular stories designed to nudge the Pence White House into action. For example, a story about how awful Planned Parenthood really is – which will trigger a Jeff Sessions announcement and a Pence move to cut their funding. Or perhaps a story about fraud in the DACA program, which will be followed by a Jeff Sessions announcement about upcoming deportations of the DACA participants and a series of unannounced raids to get these people when they least expect it. Or maybe a few stories about how criminal prosecution still looms for Hillary Clinton, followed by the inevitable Jeff Sessions announcement and the perp walk of the Clintons before the political theater of their trial over…who knows what?
On the other hand, Sean Hannity will finally get to go to the White House this year for an exclusive interview with Donald Trump and/or Mike Pence, so he can cross that off his bucket list. I’m sure that will make up for the serious problems about to be faced by millions, including those who had the temerity to sign up for the ACA when they should have known that the GOP would never allow it to stand.
Cuddle up to that, Rupert Murdoch!