Apparently, supporting Donald Trump, recovering from opioid addiction and saying, “We’ve got to do more” about the problem are all that’s needed for Fox News to present Congressional candidate and D-list celeb Antonio Sabáto Jr. as having a “solution” for “addiction in America.”
You may recall that Sabáto has used Fox appearances to blow the “secret Muslim” dog whistle about then-President Barack Obama. He later appeared on Fox as a terrorism expert, lecturing Obama to stop using the term “ISIl.” “It’s ISIS, Mr. President,” Sabáto scolded.
Now, Sabáto can add “addiction expert” to his resumé. But his only qualifications seem to be personal experience as an addict. In May, Salon reported:
Documents obtained by TMZ show that not only is Marie — who filed for divorce from the 45-year-old actor and model — seeking total physical custody of the couple’s 6-year-old son Antonio Kalan, but claims that Sabato is currently abusing prescription benzodiazepines.
Sabato, who is running for California’s 26th Congressional District seat as a republican, has admitted to struggling with and overcoming dependence on drugs — including crystal meth — in the past.
But none of that unpleasantness was raised by the hosts of Fox & Friends during Sabáto's friendly visit there yesterday. Sabáto and cohosts Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt spent more time talking about Sabáto’s support for Trump than anything the former actor actually stands for.
So we saw a clip of Sabáto talking at the Republican convention last year followed by him saying, “Thank God we have a president who loves this country, who loves our military, who loves law enforcement. It’s about time we had a leader who’s honest with the American people.”
Sabáto blamed his support for Trump as the reason he has been “blacklisted from Hollywood” and now can’t get work or make a living as an actor.
But within moments, he admitted to being an addict:
SABÁTO: I fell into the cracks. I started from talking to my doctor about getting some help to sleep on planes, then I started taking pills to sleep at night. I was very unhappy in my relationship, in my marriage at the time so I was trying to cope with that by going to sleep and forgetting about my problems. And all of a sudden, I was deep into addiction and after a year of being on this medication, I decided it was time to put myself into treatment.
Neither of the two cohosts asked if maybe the drug addiction had anything to do with being “blacklisted” in Hollywood nor how long he has been clean and sober.
Don’t get me wrong. I applaud anyone who is able to recover from an addiction. But recovery alone doesn’t make someone qualified to legislate on the subject. Sabáto offered no hint he had done any studying up:
SABÁTO: A lot of families are going through turmoil and destruction and people are dying all over the place. I don’t want to lose any more friends to addiction. I want to talk about this. We could do a lot more. The president is doing a lot of great things but we’ve got to do more.
Neither host asked what "more" Sabáto thinks should be done. Heck, they didn't even discuss what "great things" Trump is supposedly already doing.
Doocy closed the interview by thanking Sabáto for “sharing your story about being blacklisted in Hollywood and about your struggle with drugs.”
Before leaving the air Sabáto got in a plug for his website where people can donate to his campaign.
Watch the video that FoxNews.com calls, “Addiction in America: Antonio Sabato Jr.’s solution,” from the August 23, 2017 Fox & Friends.
How long has he been clean & sober?…….Obviously long enough to appear lucid on camera & answer questions directly & succinctly.