What’s a propaganda network to do when there’s a gangbusters jobs report under President Joe Biden?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seemed like he was auditioning for something in a future Donald Trump administration. Anchor Martha MacCallum was there to help!
When Fox’s then-senior vice president said that MacCallum embodies “the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism,” he must have forgotten to mention that MAGA propaganda takes precedence. In any event, there was little to no journalistic integrity or professionalism to be seen from MacCallum when she hosted Fox News Sunday yesterday.
First, after dutifully playing a clip of New York City Mayor Eric Adams taunting Abbott over busing migrants to New York from Texas, MacCallum offered no pushback when Abbott ridiculously claimed, “We’re not sending them to New York, that’s Joe Biden sending them to New York.”
MacCallum responded, not by challenging Abbott but by swooning over him. “The actions that you have taken which, you know, really changed the game in so many ways with regard to how the rest of the country views immigration,” she gushed.
Then MacCallum all but asked Abbott to attack Adams. She quoted Adams saying Abbott is “morally bankrupt” and using migrants as political pawns. “What do you say to that, sir?” MacCallum asked.
Abbott replied, “So, the person who is actually using illegal immigrants as political pawns is Joe Biden. Joe Biden has created this open border policy that has allowed illegal immigrants into our country to appeal to and to appease the far leftists in the Democrat party that people like Ocasio-Cortez and folks they're trying to win their support, while at the same time destroying the country that he's in charge of. … Our country is being invaded in ways that put our country at risk because of the political games that Joe Biden has played.”
MacCallum said nothing to challenge that over-the-top rhetoric. Nor did the “ultimate journalist” point out that it was MAGA Republicans who sabotaged a tough, bipartisan border and immigration bill because Donald Trump said that it would harm his election prospects.
Her response? “Well, the polling clearly shows that people are very unhappy with the president's handling of this issue. President Biden's job performance on immigration - 67% disapprove. The border numbers are similar as well.”
In my view, MacCallum’s next question is an indication that she knows immigrants are not destroying the country but she doesn’t have the – yes, integrity – to come right out and say so. Instead, she said this, which I guess is better than nothing:
MACCALLUM: The president did get some good economic news this week, governor in the March jobs report. 303,000 jobs added, the unemployment rate in this country is at 3.8. And the jobs added number was over 100,000 higher than economists were expecting there. So, take a look at this from Semafor’s publication. This is what they are arguing: The border crisis might be a boon for the economy. The daily march of migrants across the southern border has been a political curse for Joe Biden, President Joe Biden, but for the economy, it may have turned out to be a blessing by adding millions of new workers to the labor market. The immigration surge has lifted payrolls and growth and potentially helped keep a lid on consumer prices.”
What do you say to that sir?
Abbott’s response? The good economic news is because of him!
ABBOTT: I'm gonna give you some facts, Martha, that completely debunk that notion. For one, one reason why the US economy is doing so well is because the Texas economy is doing so well. The gross domestic product, economic growth in Texas is growing twice as fast as the United States. We have the fastest growing economy of any large state in the United States. Job wise, Texas ranks number one for the most new jobs added. So our economy and our jobs are growing faster.
Abbott is not the only MAGA Republican trying to take credit away from Biden for the terrific jobs and employment numbers. On Friday, Fox Business pundits ridiculously suggested the good numbers were due to optimism that Donald Trump might become president. As if employers are going to hire based on polls more than six months out from the election.
But immigration fear mongering was clearly Abbott’s top priority. He immediately returned to the subject. Don’t tell me it wasn’t designed to catch his (presumably) favorite p***y grabber’s attention.
ABBOTT At the very same time, Martha, while illegal immigration into the state of Texas is going down. Illegal immigration into Texas has gone down 72% because of the resistance that we've put up, has gone up. It has gone up, however, in the other border states and so Texas is decreasing illegal immigration, while at the very same time adding more jobs and growing our economy far faster than the entire country.
FACT CHECK: According to U.S. News & World Report, Texas ranks 6th in job growth, 8th in economy, 13th in employment and 35th in best state overall.
Not that MacCallum mentioned any of that. She followed up with this admiring comment: “So give us an update on SB 4 and where do you think this goes next? Because we heard you talking about quadrupling the [razor] wire at the border and you've just cited the numbers and the drop and that's one of the reasons that we've seen such a big rush over to California because Texas has become tougher to handle.
Funny, she didn’t mention how Abbott’s border stunt just ruined what should have been a huge economic boon for Eagle Pass, Texas.
Abbott said “we feel pretty good” about the future of SB 4, a law that would allow Abbott to usurp federal authority to enforce immigration law. He dubiously claimed that “what Texas is doing is not in conflict with the laws of the United States” because President Biden is not doing the job properly.
That was another opportunity for MacCallum to point out that Biden supported the border bill MAGA Republicans sabotaged. Instead, she suggested that Biden is deliberately not enforcing laws, all but announcing he deserves to be impeached. “What do you think should be the ramifications for the president not enforcing those laws when it comes to the national security of the country, governor?” she “asked.”
Abbott did not call for impeachment, just that Biden be fired.
ABBOTT: Candidly, because he is in direct violation of laws passed by Congress - I don't know if it's criminal but there's definitely a civil action that should be taken. But because of the dangerous threats posed to our country by his actions, this is reason for his job termination, which is exactly why he should be fired by the American people this November.
MaCallum thanked Abbott “very much,” said it was “good to have you” on the show, then closed the interview.
You can watch MacCallum help Abbott audition for a higher job and take undeserved credit for Biden's good economy below, from the April 7, 2024 Fox News Sunday.