Fox & Friends tried to weaponize Steve Martin’s decision not to play Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live

We have written about how Fox News and their favorite p***y grabber have been obviously panicking at Vice President Kamala Harris taking over the presidential campaign after President Joe Biden stepped aside. It’s not just that Harris and Walz have brought a wave of energy and enthusiasm to the campaign and its poll numbers, but that Donald Trump is obviously losing his mind along with the contest.

On Fox & Friends this morning, guest cohost and Fox News contributor Joe Concha came up with what may be the lamest attack yet.

The “Rachel’s Pop Culture Roundup” discussion began with cohost Rachel Campos-Duffy and Concha trying to make political hay out of the fact that Steve Martin has turned down the role of Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live, reportedly because he (Martin) is not an impressionist and believes that SNL needs someone “who can really nail” Walz.

“Wow!” Concha said, as if this were some kind of major dis to Walz. Then to further suggest this was a slight of Walz, Concha added, “Wasn’t he in that movie about the weddings?” As if that proved Martin would be a good Walz.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Campos-Duffy exclaimed. Presumably they were referring to the Father of the Bride movies.

“I guess it kind of makes sense,” Concha acknowledged. He also said, “You’ve got to like Steve Martin because he’s a perfectionist. If he can’t make it 100% - “

Oops, off weaponized message!

Campos-Duffy interrupted to go back to the bogus attack. As side-by-side photos of Martin and Walz appeared on the screen, Campos-Duffy said, “They actually could – he could do that.”

Of course, as Alec Baldwin proved when he did his pitch-perfect Trump impersonations, there’s a lot more than looks involved. That happened to be Martin's point, too.

Concha took Campos-Duffy's hint. After musing that the deceased Wilford Brimley would have been a good choice to play Walz, Concha said, “I guess if Bernie Madoff was still alive.” That earned a hearty laugh from Campos-Duffy.

Then, for extra malice points, Concha said, “Someone that stole valor, that would be good. You have somebody who stole the nomination in Kamala Harris and now you have someone who is stealing valor with Tim Walz, right?

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Campos-Duffy said.

Wrong. Harris did not steal the nomination. She was on the ticket with President Joe Biden when they became the presumptive nominees. He stepped aside, endorsed her, and the Democratic party delegates made her the official nominee last week. President Joe Biden is not accusing her of stealing the nomination. Funny how the only ones who seem to think she stole it are Trumpers.

“Yeah? Uh, so that could kind of work and now they’re stealing the [no tax on] tips idea,” Concha said.

“Yeah, they’re stealing everything,” Campos-Duffy giggled.

I’ve long said Campos-Duffy is the stupidest host on Fox but she’s also vicious, a nauseating combination. As for Concha, he banned me from commenting on Mediaite, back when he worked on that site, after I commented that I thought he was angling for a Fox News contract. I must have hit a nerve under his thin skin. I hope I don't upset him too much by saying he appears to be angling for a permanent cohost spot now.

By the way, Tim Walz served in the military for 24 years. Neither Campos-Duffy nor Concha appear to have ever spent a minute serving their country. If you ever hear either of these hate mongers complain about Donald Trump lying to get out of service completely, let me know. But I’m not holding my breath. Ditto for the hundreds of millions of dollars Captain Felonious Bonespurs was fined for committing fraud in New York. Walz, on the other hand got a DWI in 1995 and quit drinking.

Here’s Media Matters’ explanation of the bogus right-wing attacks on his service:

Right-wing media are reviving old smears pushed by political rivals of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about his retirement from the military, accusing him of “stolen valor” and misleading their audience about the reality of his 24-year service record with the National Guard. Specifically, right-wing media are claiming that Walz resigned and “abandoned” his National Guard unit and resigned after the unit received deployment orders to go to Iraq when in reality, Walz resigned two months before the unit received orders, and Walz likely submitted his retirement papers even earlier.

According to a copy of his service record obtained by Military.com, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1981 and reached the rank of command sergeant major before retiring in 2005, following a reenlistment after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Walz retired honorably as a master sergeant — a lower rank than command sergeant major — since he did not complete all of the necessary coursework for the higher rank before his service ended.

My own opinion is that Swiftboating Tim Walz will not work the way it did on John Kerry. When Kerry ran for president, in 2004, he used his service record to attack service dodgers George Bush and Dick Cheney and the Iraq war. Walz’s service is part of his appealing bio but not at all central to the 2024 campaign, which is about hope, the future and moving beyond Trump and Trumpism. Attacking Walz's service does nothing to make Donald "fake bonespurs" Trump look better, though it may help to soothe his seething grievance at watching his lead slip away and jail time come closer.

Meanwhile, you can watch sourpusses Campos-Duffy and Concha below, from the August 11, 2024 Fox & Friends Weekend.