Fox News host Harris Faulkner sank to grotesque new depths defending Donald Trump’s questionable responses to the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville on Saturday.
I previously thought Faulkner’s most despicable moment came when she blamed Sen. John McCain for having his war-hero record smeared by Trump. But today, she sank even lower.
Faulkner was at her regular station as a cohost of Outnumbered, an opinion show, even though she also serves as a supposedly objective news anchor at other times.
On Outnumbered today, Faulkner and her cohosts reacted to Trump’s latest statement that was obviously designed to clean up his previous remarks. They had put him under siege from the left and right after a slow response to the Charlottesville violence and for his refusal to condemn the white supremacists.
On Saturday, when he finally got around to addressing the horrific events, Trump called the violence an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” He repeated the “on many sides” for emphasis.
Today, Trump said:
Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.
Not surprisingly, none of the five Outfoxed pundits noted the “all lives matter” dog whistle.
Instead, cohost Sandra Smith called Trump’s remarks “a very strong speech.”
“Very strong and very good,” Charles Hurt, the show’s #OneLuckyGuy agreed.
Sure it was – if you’re paid to love Trump no matter what. But anyone a bit more sensitive to his long history of racism probably saw it differently. Especially since, unlike the Charlottesville violence, Trump wasted no time attacking the black CEO of Merck today after he resigned from Trump’s American Manufacturing Council saying, “I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.” More significantly, as Vox noted, Trump's policies have "systematically rejected efforts to counter right-wing violence."
But rather than provide understanding as to why Trump critics might not be reassured by today's words (though just yesterday, a Fox & Friends host demanded understanding for white white supremacists), Faulkner took it upon herself to attack Trump critics as anti-American.
FAULKNER: I would say this about the president’s critics as a whole: if nothing will quiet them, then they do not have America in their sights. They don’t care about us. They do not care about Americans and shame on them. And they need to step aside and let justice be done. Because if there is going to be justice it’s going to take all of us together. And what the president said, where he started, the words were still in the thought bubble on my shoulder: start with the economy, start with what is working. Because that is—irrespective of our skin color—that is our ability to rise in this country. The color of green. Opportunity, dream-making. That’s what counts. That’s what’s important. So, I would argue that this should be the beginning, and let’s hope that it can be.
Nobody questioned Faulkner’s assault on the sacred American right to dissent. And, funny, I don’t remember any outrage from Faulkner when Trump was bogusly attacking President Obama with fraudulent, racist birther allegations.
Cohost Abby Huntsman helped validate Faulkner. Even though Huntsman went along with yesterday's calls for sympathy and respect for the white supremacists.
HUNTSMAN: If you were listening to that speech right now or if you were just reading the transcript and you had no ulterior motives, if you had no mission to take this speech where you want it to go, which many people have today, I don’t think there was anything that he didn’t say there that didn’t unite this country.
Well, if anyone should know about partisan, ulterior motives, it would be Huntsman.
Huntsman’s message of unity moved Faulkner to again smear Trump critics as enemies of America: “If the critics out there can’t accept anything ever, ever, ever they’re not on our side as Americans. Shame on them.”
No, shame on you.
Watch Faulkner's un-American behavior below, from the August 14, 2017 Outnumbered.
As a nearly lifelong resident of suburbs to a city ~60% African-American, I view the increase in inter-racial dating/marriage here over my lifetime as a hopeful sign. Especially in light of Charlottesville being ~45 minutes down the road from me.
Just ask her white husband……
Maybe it was our Twitter-In-Chief’s 48-hour delay. No 3 a.m. tweets.
Maybe it was him raging hate against the [black] CEO of Merck for resigning over it. Couldn’t The Donald have called him up to say please don’t resign. I’m getting ready to fix this.
Maybe it was starting off his presser essentially saying there’s this tragedy in C’ville my staff wants me to read some of their prepared remarks about but first I want to masturbate my ego lying over some economic numbers.
Maybe it was Mr. ‘Fire and Fury’ dumping his normal bull in a China shop spontaneity for a teleprompter.
Maybe it was directly on the heels of his presser came the leak he’s considering pardoning racist Sheriff Arpaio.
Maybe it was Trump refusing any media follow ups. Case closed. I did as the fake news media and my staff demanded. I’m done discussing this violent white racism thing. Maybe David Duke said he’d give The Donald 1 pass and only 1 pass to get the media off his back?
