After Donald Trump blamed Fox News for his claim about some kind of refugee/terrorism attack in Sweden that never happened, Fox News jumped to pretend that Trump didn't make a fool out of himself. Fox also pretended that Trump didn't promote the same kind of fake news he has dangerously attacked in other news outlets.

In case you missed it, Trump said during his campaign rally on Saturday:

“When you look at what’s happening in Germany, when you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden — Sweden!" he said during the rally. "Who would believe this? Sweden! They took in large numbers, they’re having problems like they never thought possible.”

Apparently, nobody in Sweden knew of anything terrible that had happened there the night before. Feeling the heat, Trump tried to weasel out of taking responsibility by blaming Fox News:

My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2017

What had happened the night before was that Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight had aired an interview with an immigrant-bashing filmmaker Ami Horowitz, that Fox fan Trump likely saw. But despite Horowitz' claim that there has been "an absolute surge in both gun violence and rape" since Sweden took in more refugees and migrants than any other European country, the BBC reported that there was "only a marginal increase in 2016 from the year before. Fraud and crimes against individuals were up, but drugs crimes and theft had decreased."

More significantly, the BBC noted:

There have been no terror attacks in Sweden since the country's open-door policy on migration began in 2013.

As British historian Simon Schama, says: "The real Swedish message: 200,000 refugees, no terrorist attacks."

But "fair and balanced" Fox News can't report about peaceful Muslim refugees and a Trump lie! So the network coughed up another immigrant-basher to claim that Sweden has suffered a major crime wave. This is the lede paragraph of a prominent article on FoxNews.com (my emphases added):

Police investigator Peter Springare isn’t likely to be among those mocking President Trump for his remarks about refugees in Sweden.

Trump’s comments during a Florida campaign rally on Saturday – which some took as a misstatement about a supposed terror attack – dovetail with what Springare has been seeing during a typical week in Orebro, Sweden. Five rapes, three assaults, a pair of extortions, blackmail, an attempted murder, violence against police and a robbery made up Springare’s caseload for a five-day period earlier this month, according to a Feb. 3 Facebook post he wrote. The suspects were all from Muslim-majority countries – Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Turkey – save for one Swedish man nabbed in a drug-related case.

“Mohammed, Mahmod, Ali, again and again,” Springare wrote of those arrested. 

It's not until the next paragraph that Fox got around to imparting this significant information:

Springare, who was briefly investigated for possible hate crime incitement based on his post, managed to elucidate what Trump only hinted at during a Florida campaign speech – somewhat opaquely.

For a while, it was the top story on the FoxNews.com homepage (h/t NewsHounds Richard):

As the New York Times reported, other police officers disagree with Horowitz:

The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Monday quoted two police officers interviewed by Mr. Horowitz, Anders Goranzon and Jacob Ekstrom, saying that the filmmaker had selectively edited and distorted their comments to prove his thesis in a video he posted on YouTube. They said Mr. Horowitz had asked them about high-crime neighborhoods, and that they did not agree with his argument about the link between migration and crime.

“This is bad journalism,” Mr. Goranzon said. Mr. Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment.

But none of that made it either to the FoxNews.com article nor to this morning's Fox & Friends during a segment designed to make Trump look like a misunderstood truthteller.

"There's no question presidents ought to be precise," Carlson acknowledged to the Curvy Couch Trump Cheerleaders. "On the other hand, it seems like we may be missing the point of the story which is there has been a massive social cost associated with the refugee policies and the immigration policies of western Europe."

Cohost Steve Doocy complained that the "mainstream media went crazy." As if they were unfairly maligning a president for, essentially making up a terrorist attack. This, less than a month after a senior advisor made up a different terrorist attack.

Ironically, Carlson said, "Let's have an honest conversation" on the subject.

He just forgot to add, "so long as it comes out in Trump's favor."

Watch the Trump rehab below, from the February 20, 2017 Fox & Friends.