We’re old enough to remember how Fox News squawked when President Barack Obama refused to be interrupted by a Daily Caller reporter. But when Donald Trump verbally abused, then suspended CNN’s Jim Acosta’s press pass with a doctored video – well, Fox News is all in on his assault on the First Amendment.
As I previously noted, Trump berated Acosta during yesterday’s press conference, calling him “a rude, terrible person” who “shouldn’t be working for CNN.” This from the guy who seems to love nothing more than insulting and smearing others at the drop of a MAGA hat.
As awful as that was, it was even worse that the White House followed up by suspending Acosta’s press pass via a lie from Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She falsely accused Acosta – despite video evidence to the contrary – of “placing his hands” on a White House intern who had tried to grab the microphone away from him.
Even worse than that, Huckabee Sanders used deceptively-edited Infowars video to defend her inexcusable behavior of suspending Acosta’s press pass.
Yesterday afternoon, Fox "news-side" figures Harris Faulkner and Chris Wallace spun Trump's dangerously disgraceful behavior as a masterful display of media savvy. Media Matters has an excellent roundup of other Fox News and Fox Business support for Trump’s anti-American attack on freedom of the press. It includes such shameful comments of the lying Trumpers known as “Diamond and Silk” calling Acosta “the enemy of the people” to the viewers of an adoring Lou Dobbs. The two ignoramuses have no apparent credentials in anything other than blind worship of Trump. Yet Dobbs allowed them to announce, without challenge, that “it’s time for Acosta, his press credentials, to be removed.”
Proving that she doesn’t even have a grasp of basic grammar, Lynette Hardaway, aka “Diamond,” said, “It’s very sad that he don’t understand as a journalist, he is supposed to report news, not make the news and not be the news."
Then, Hardaway said, “He is the enemy of the people, not only that but the enemy of the truth.” Which is very rich coming from someone who lied about an incident with Facebook in order to enhance her conservative-victim status and who ludicrously claimed that Russia got its nukes from Hillary Clinton. Neither of those incidents seems to have put a dent in their Fox stature as esteemed news analysts.
Instead of challenging the duo's hideous rhetoric, host Lou Dobbs looked on with admiration. “The president swats them like flies and they still behave like spoiled and ignorant children … a brat,” he said about the press.
Fox Business liked the fascism so much, they gave it an online spotlight. The network published the entire interview and gave it the approving title, “Diamond & Silk: CNN’s Jim Acosta is the enemy of the people.”
In case you think Fox genuinely thinks reporters should show respect for presidents, don’t forget the 2012 poutrage when Obama snapped at a Daily Caller reporter for interrupting his remarks, a breach of decorum, but nonetheless answered his question later. Tucker Carlson, then editor-in-chief, said he was “proud” of Munro. Sean Hannity accused the media of being “hypocritical” for criticizing Munro and suggested he was justified because the rest of the media was too soft on Obama.
But last night, Hannity teased “highlights” from Trump’s “smack down” of Acosta and said his credentials had been “rightfully revoked.” Carlson called Acosta “such a buffoon that the White House apparently felt it had no choice” but to revoke his credentials.
In other words, the Acosta incident demonstrates that Fox has no scruples, that its only true fidelity is to political propaganda, and that the network is willing to trample on the Constitution in that service.
The clip below, of “Diamond and Silk” getting treated as revered journalism experts proves the point. It’s from the Fox Business Network’s November 7, 2018 Lou Dobbs Tonight, via Media Matters.
- These 2 women make Lou Dobbs look even more idiotic.