There is rich irony in failed presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's claim that the so-called liberal press is a bunch of "left-wing propagandists" on a network that is the propaganda outlet for the right-wing GOP. Check out this morning's Fox & Friends when Gingrich bashed the "left-wing" press and, for added points, "left-wing fascist" Madonna!
After cohost Steve Doocy excitedly proclaimed that this is the day Donald Trump "gets to try to start to do the stuff" that he promised during the campaign, Gingrich took the we-love-Trump ball and ran with it. He described how Trump will, in his first week, do awesome things like pushing back against nasty Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer who is "obstructing" Trump.
Cohost Brian Kilmeade jumped right in with the suggestion that Schumer is even "worse" than Democratic former Senator Harry Reid.
Working in an important piece of Fox/right-wing propaganda, Gingrich said that Schumer is "caving in" to pressure from George Soros who, said Gingrich, helped to fund Saturday's demonstrations. (And we know that Koch money never funded the Tea Party, right?)
Cohost Ainsley Earhardt tossed another propaganda ball to Gingrich with her claim that the anti-Trump "mainstream media" has changed journalism. What followed wasn't exactly journalism, but more right-wing agitprop. In describing the exchange between NBC's Chuck Todd and Trump's spokesperson Kellyanne Conway, Earhardt said it was about a Time Magazine reporter's mistaken report (quickly corrected) that a bust of Martin Luther King was no longer in the Oval Office - when, in reality, Todd wanted Conway to address Press-Secretary Sean Spicer's lies about inauguration attendance figures. Video of Conway, freaking out about the MLK story, was shown; but, her now-famous statement, about "alternative facts" wasn't shown.
Not surprisingly, nobody addressed the context of Conway's comment; but, rather, made the discussion about the Time report. More irony ensued: Earhardt said that the Time reporter focused on something that wasn't true. Gingrich claimed that the mainstream media outlets are not news outlets, Chuck Todd is not a newsman, and, "All these people are propagandists for the left." He accused the Time reporter of being "false" and "divisive" and said that Chuck Todd is an example of "the total, one-sided bias in the news media."
Gingrich said the public should be invited to press briefings because otherwise, it's just a bunch of "left-wing propagandists."
When the discussion turned to the Women's March on Washington, most of the focus was on Madonna's unfortunate comments. They, of course, were only a small part of the day in which rallies were held around the world. Gingrich opined that Madonna should be arrested and that she is "parallel to the young fascists who ran around town breaking windows." He whined about his friends being unable to leave their hotel because of demonstrators and cited "an emerging left-wing fascism. (Wonder if Gingrich was upset at Ted Nugent's threatening comments about Obama and Hillary Clinton?)
Gingrich predicted four or eight years of a "cultural civil war" funded by Soros. He made the bogus and offensive statement that the left claims the right to commit violence against those with whom they disagree.
Kilmeade expressed outrage that a Gold Star family (You know, the kind of family attacked by Trump) was harassed at an inaugural ball.
Gingrich complained about "young fascists," "new, left-wing fascism," George Soros, blah, blah, blah.
So when we talk about divisive, partisan propagandists, which network are we talking about? Could it be the "fair and balanced" one?
Check out Gingrich's nearly 10-minute diatribe below, from January 23's Fox & Friends.
