Fox News cohost Rachel Campos-Duffy put more blame on Democrats for Donald Trump’s hideously racist comment yesterday, “Why are we having all these people from s**thole countries come here?” than on Trump himself. Even worse, that seems to be the new GOP Party line, judging from later comments by host Harris Faulkner and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Support for Trump's shocking comments from his usual cheerleaders was rather thin on the Outnumbered show today, even from sycophants Harris Faulkner and Melissa Francis. However, after the show, Faulkner got her sycophant-mojo back and helped further the “blame the Dems” propaganda.

Juan Williams was the #OneLuckyGuy and lone liberal among the five talking heads. He noted that this week began with debates questioning Trump’s fitness for office, that Trump had televised his meetings to show he was in command of his faculties and his job “and now, at the end of the week, we’re arguing about, ‘My God, what did he say and how can he say that about human beings?’” Predictably, nobody picked up on questioning Trump's fitness for office.

Instead, Campos-Duffy sprang into action. “My understanding of it was he was talking about the countries,” she said, even though it was perfectly clear Trump was talking about “people from” those countries. “I don’t agree with this term,” Campos-Duffy said, in an effort to inoculate herself from defending blatant racism. Then she came up with a way to do exactly that:

CAMPOS-DUFFY:I still have a problem with people in a private meeting going out and saying what the president said… It makes our country look bad. I think the Democrats in this case should have used some discretion and even if he did say that, maybe for the sake of the country, not say something, not repeat it.

Cohost Faulkner did her part for Trump by demanding that Republicans start stepping up on behalf of Dear Leader. “Where are their voices to either defend this president” or to admit “he said it and this was the context and adding their context to it?” she asked.

In other words, whatever he said, Faulkner thought Republicans had a duty to defend Trump. Even though she seemed unable to come with any defense on her own.

“The fact that the Republicans who were in the room are not coming to his defense tells me that he probably said it,” Campos-Duffy acknowledged. So she took on the job herself.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Again, I’m not defending the comments but this is a 70 year-old man. He speaks in a certain way. It’s very impolitic. It’s very un-PC and who among us hasn’t said an un-PC thing? I get it. But I don’t understand why, for the sake of politics, you would, in a private meeting go out and say to the public what he said.

Francis offered no help for Trump. She suggested Republicans should answer Trump’s question by explaining why immigrants from disaster-zones “so often … appreciate being here the most and work the hardest.”

She added that whatever Trump said or not, “The sentiment also needs to be corrected.”

Yet Campos-Duffy got another shot at making the controversy about Democrats.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: I still don’t, in my heart, believe the president’s a racist. I think he’s just an old guy who says things in a very impolitic way and I think that sometimes not being a politician has benefitted him. This would have been a day where being a politician would have benefitted him because I think he says things in ways that just give more grist to the mill…

… This is now being fought on the terms that the Democrats like – which is identity politics and the racialization of immigration and border security.

Williams challenged her: “Who brought identity politics into this, Rachel? I think it was the president, not the Democrats.”

Faulkner got the message, though. “The origin of the remarks? The president. But the origin of the politics? The Democrats,” she said.

Faulkner moved on to ask, “What is incumbent upon the Republicans” who were in the room?

Francis sighed loudly. “I don’t know “ she said, groping for words. “I mean, I almost think that you have to - I think you have to be honest about what you think you heard and what you heard.”

“You do,” Faulkner said. She sounded disappointed.

“I do!” Francis replied. “I mean, we can’t be in a place where we’re lying about anything. I mean, we’ve got to come forward, talk about what happened, talk about how to fix it.”

Well, good luck with that, Melissa. Because the “blame the Democrats” strategy seems to be the new State TV line. On Outnumbered Overtime, which follows the Outnumbered show, solo-host Faulkner tag-teamed with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy (who did not attend the meeting where Trump spoke those words) for some “Take The Heat Off Trump” propaganda.

FAULKNER: I have to think, Senator … there’s an etiquette, there’s an honor in meeting privately and not discussing what was talked about. And while those things may be incendiary, I want to get your take on that.

CASSIDY: I totally agree with you. It undermines trust going forward. Whatever was or was not said, if you disagree with what the fellow or gal says, then you disagree with them publicly then. But to go out and kind of report it is going to undermine trust. Not just for this issue but for future issues. It’s just a rule of human contact, whether it’s a marriage, a friendship or a political negotiation.

The two also employed the “Time to move along” strategy by calling Trump’s shocking racism “a distraction.” The “distraction” talking point was also employed by host Trish Regan on the Fox Business Network.

Watch Republicans shrug off Trump's racism below, from the January 12, 2018 Outnumbered, apparently before Faulkner got her State TV Talking Points together and in excerpts from her on-GOP-message interview with Cassidy underneath, via Think Progress’ Aaron Rupar.