Fox 'News' Dumps On Trump Speech — So Does Fox 'Opinion'
The Coverage — Or Lack Thereof — Was Revealing
There’s nothing Fox News hates more than to be called out as a partisan propaganda outlet, and the key to their flimsy defense on this charge is an alleged partition between the “hard news” side and their “opinion programming.”
But their handling of Trump’s 26-minute election lie rant told the story.
While every broadcast and cable network handled the speech differently, they all covered it as the major news story that it was — a deranged liar steering headlong into an attack on our elections is not a small matter.
But Fox News — no doubt stung by the three-quarters-of-a-billion-dollar price they’ve already paid for Trump’s election lies — went a different way.
The crown jewel in their “hard news” roster — Bret Baier — previewed the speech with White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie during his show, telling viewers “President Trump will address the nation on what he says is a big announcement when it comes to elections and voting, including the way forward. The trump administration says the speech will be backed on facts, backed by facts from the intelligence community, while critics say it’s rooted in conspiracy theories.”
He tossed to Hasnie, who narrated a package heavy on quotes from Karoline Leavitt.
But Baier was nowhere to be found on Fox News during the actual speech, coverage of which was “anchored” by Sean Hannity.
And even Hannity could barely be bothered, dumping out of the subject after a five-minute wrap-up that included the now-infamous disclaimer from Hasnie: “Fox News has not seen the evidence yet and is not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the president’s statement and claims.”
Where was Baier?
