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SEE DEMONIZATION OF DEMS

EMERGENCY XO MARTIAL LAW PORTLAND

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SEE JRNL FAIL 4 ZELDIN ENDANGERMENT AM REPORTS TULSI BO TREASON

SEE GAZA PALESTINE FAIL 8 25

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NO HANNITY?

How Fox News has justified and celebrated ICE’s violent immigration crackdown in Chicago

As ICE targeted immigrant communities, Fox whitewashed its abuses

Written by John Knefel (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/john-knefel)

Research contributions from Ben Van Bloem (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/ben-van-bloem), Harrison Ray (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/harrison-ray), Payton Armstrong (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/payton-armstrong), Jack Wheatley (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/jack-wheatley) & Sophie Lawton (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/sophie-lawton)

Published 10/21/25

October 9 marked one month of “Operation Midway Blitz,” the Trump administration’s effort to target and harass immigrant communities in Chicago with military-style raids and violent enforcement to advance its mass deportation plans. Fox News has responded by celebrating and justifying the violence Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have unleashed on Chicago residents regardless of citizenship or immigration status.

Fox inaugurated the operation by embedding (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-embeds-feds-bringing-war-terror-trumps-invasion-chicago) a reporter with ICE agents in a move reminiscent of the height of the global war on terror, signaling to its audience that Chicago was a battlefield that required a militarized crackdown. Over the subsequent four weeks, Fox dutifully fulfilled that expectation with coverage that painted civic resistance to ICE as proof that Trump’s authoritarian tactics were needed, while simultaneously whitewashing the agency’s worst abuses.

Fox News celebrates ICE’s raid on a Chicago apartment building, even as the official story falls apart

On September 30, ICE initiated a raid (https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-federal-agents-surround-south-shore-apartment-building-dhs-requests-military-deployment-illinois/17908911/) on a Chicago apartment building that began with agents rappelling (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ice-escalates-aggressive-raids-in-chicago-as-trump-moves-to-deploy-national-guard) from a Black Hawk helicopter and ended with residents — citizens and noncitizens alike — reportedly imprisoned in unmarked vans, grouped by perceived race, ethnicity, or immigration status. Parents were separated from their children, some of whom were zip-tied to other kids, according to a witness. In at least one instance, an agent pointed their gun (https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/05/congress-members-rally-south-shore-apartment-ice-raid) in the face of a grandmother who lives in the building, she said. Agents destroyed family belongings and lobbed (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/us/chicago-south-shores-border-patrol-raid.html) flash-bang grenades as they ransacked (https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/02/south-shore-residents-return-to-ransacked-apartments-try-to-move-out-after-ice-raid-it-looks-like-hell/) the building.

In a different context, it would have been the stuff of right-wing paranoid nightmares (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/us/conspiracy-theories-over-jade-helm-get-some-traction-in-texas.html). But this was a building in Chicago that houses Black and immigrant families, and Fox found it worthy of praise.

In a segment teasing coverage of the siege, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034003) the security forces had zeroed in on “a Chicago apartment complex … targeting members of the brutal Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang,” adding: “Seems like a good thing."

The ICE claim that the raid would yield TdA members, which Faulkner parroted, turned out to be wrong. According to MSNBC’s reporting (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/trump-immigrants-violent-crime-chicago-illinois-ice-rcna237272), only one of the people arrested was “verified” as part of Tren de Aragua, and ICE didn’t provide evidence to back up even that assertion. (ICE has repeatedly (https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/men-deported-el-salvador-stories-investigation/#::text=Making%20matters%20worse%2C%20key%20government,a%20Tren%20de%20Aragua%20member.%E2%80%9D) claimed (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/19/fbi-cbp-tren-de-aragua-emojis) people (https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/the-missing-due-process-for-gang-allegations/) are members of TdA, only to have its accusations fall apart under scrutiny.)

The next evening, host Laura Ingraham repeated the false ICE talking point that the raid turned up gang members.

“TdA gang members in Chicago got a surprise this week, an unexpected drop-in that involved a Black Hawk helicopter and hundreds of federal agents,” Ingraham said.

Video

Citation

From the October 1, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle

Ingraham also falsely claimed that the building raid was proof that Trump was “fixing the criminal mess” in Chicago.

MSNBC found that of the 37 people arrested, only eight had criminal charges and it isn’t clear how many — if any — had been convicted.

Faulkner returned to the story on October 2, reiterating the false characterization of the building.

“The political left is also pushing against a massive federal raid on an apartment complex taken over by members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang,” she said.

Video

Citation

From the October 2, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Faulkner Focus

The storming of the apartment building wasn’t the only violent incident Fox chose to celebrate. On September 19, a federal agent in a Chicago suburb threw (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/kat-abughazaleh-chicago-broadview-ice-protests) Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh to the ground during a protest outside an ICE facility.

Ingraham praised (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034000) the assault.

“A similar situation in Chicago today where absolutely unhinged agitators worked to form a blockade — they don't have actual jobs, but that is their job — in front of an ICE facility, including a Democrat congressional candidate who was thrown to the ground by an ICE agent,” Ingraham said. “Good work.” (Abughazaleh formerly worked at Media Matters.)

Fox News justifies ICE's violent tactics

Even when Fox personalities didn’t overtly celebrate ICE’s abuses, the network has justified the Trump administration’s brutal tactics. Such coverage frequently clustered around high-profile events with dramatic footage, such as the storming of the apartment building. Other notable incidents included federal agents using tear gas, pepper ball projectiles, and rubber bullets (https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/broadview-ice-facility-protest-illinois/) on protesters on September 19 (https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/09/20/protesters-arrested-broadview-ice) and again on September 26 (https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/26/feds-tear-gas-shoot-rubber-bullets-at-protesters-outside-broadview-ice-facility/).

:{:{On September 19, host Laura Ingraham played a clip of Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss describing getting tear-gassed, to which Ingraham responded that his “constituents seem to be the illegal alien gang members, predators, sexual deviants, felons that they end up protecting.” Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, [9/19/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034035)]}:

Describing the same event, Fox host Jesse Watters said the protesters“went loco” and “slashed tires,” adding, “Mostly peaceful protests are no bueno in the golden age. One day they’ll learn.” Watters introduced footage of ICE’s brutal tactics by mocking the protesters, saying it “didn’t work out for them.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [9/19/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034027)]

Fox anchor Harris Faukner aired imagery of federal officers using chemical munitions at the September 19 demonstration, saying, “Of course they have to disperse that crowd.” Faulkner also asked over the footage: “What happened to peaceful protesting?” Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [9/22/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034021)]

Fox anchor John Roberts argued that ICE officers were “forced to shoot pepper bullets and tear gas to keep things under control” during a September 26 protest at an ICE facility. Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [9/26/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034030)]

Correspondent Mike Tobin made a similar claim that same day onThe Faulkner Focus, arguing that ICE “needed to make space” for an official vehicle even while he himself suffered effects from the fumes. Tobin added: “Pardon my delivery, I’ve just — the aftermath — aftereffects of the tear gas. Also it seemed that there were a few individuals that they wanted to detain. So they cleared out the crowd. They zeroed in … on a couple of people. They put them face down and bound them on the pavement and took those individuals into custody.” He also displayed a rubber bullet the federal agents had fired at the crowd. Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [9/26/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034028)]

Watters said “the Feds had to bring out the tear gas” over the weekend of September 26 because “antifa agitators have been rioting” outside their facility. Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [9/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034023)]

OnSpecial Report, Tobin adopted law enforcement’s framing of the midnight Chicago apartment raid by claiming that “criminal illegal immigrants” had “taken the place over.” Tobin: “In the dark of night, federal agents storm an old apartment building on Chicago's South Side. They had developed information that criminal illegal immigrants had taken the place over. So a joint operation with the FBI, ATF, Border Patrol, and ICE brought in federal manpower to take control of the apartment.” Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, [9/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034024)]

In two notable cases, Fox appeared to justify federal agents shooting two people, killing one of them, by repeating government claims that were soon undercut by local reporting.

Fox News repeats government claims justifying federal agents shooting two people, one fatally

On September 12, an ICE officer in a northern suburb of Chicago shot and killed Silverio Villegas González following a traffic stop. A Department of Homeland Security statement claimed the officer had been “seriously injured,” which was later contradicted (https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/09/22/ice-officer-injuries-nothing-major-deadly-franklin-park-shooting-mexican-immigrant-chicago-video) by police body camera footage in which the officer is heard saying his injuries were “nothing major.” A witness also told the Sun Times that (https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/09/22/ice-officer-injuries-nothing-major-deadly-franklin-park-shooting-mexican-immigrant-chicago-video) they “didn’t see Villegas González dragging one of the agents behind his car,” and NBC News reported (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-fatal-shooting-chicago-bodycam-footage-villegas-gonzalez-rcna233484), “No videos show the actual shooting or the ICE agent being dragged and injured, making it difficult to corroborate DHS’s account of what happened.”

Fox framed the fatal shooting by repeating the unsubstantiated government claims.

As the news broke, Fox anchor Martha MacCallum presented DHS’ version of events without qualifications.

“An ICE officer severely injured during a traffic stop in Illinois," MacCallum said. “ICE says that the suspect dragged the officer as he tried to get away.”

Video

Citation

From the September 12, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum

Weekend anchor Jon Scott said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034066) González “tried to flee the scene in a car, dragging the agent by his bumper,” adopting (https://abcnews.go.com/US/ice-officer-fatally-shoots-man-resisted-arrest-dragged/story?id=125519005#::text=Interest%20Successfully%20Added-,ICE%20officer%20fatally%20shoots%20man%20who%20resisted%20arrest%2C%20dragged%20agent,Octavio%20Jones/Reuters) DHS’s initial characterization. “The agent wound up shooting and killing that alien.”

Then on September 28, Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy repeated (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034084) the characterization, saying, “We saw an ICE agent dragged with his vehicle.”

Two Fox hosts had a similar approach to an October 4 incident in which a Border Patrol agent shot Chicago woman Marimar Martinez five times. According (https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10/06/marimar-martinez-anthony-ian-santos-ruiz-border-patrol-shooting-brighton-park) to her attorney, footage apparently contradicts initial government allegations that Martinez had rammed her car into the agent’s vehicle — which the government then moved (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/us/chicago-car-ramming-case-ice-protests) more than 1,000 miles away, despite its likely role as key evidence in the case. Several of the government's claims appear to be undercut (https://newrepublic.com/article/201957/trump-chicago-secret-police-shot-woman-damning-info) by the criminal complaint against Martinez.

Jesse Watters repeated the government’s unverified version of the event.

“So you’re saying she didn’t ram the ICE officer’s vehicle with her car and trap it?” Watters asked co-host Jessica Tarlov. She had referenced press coverage that undercut the government’s version of events, to which Watters replied: “We don’t have that — I’m just not going to take your word for it.”

Video

Citation

From the October 7, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

Ingraham claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034088) officers had been “nearly run over” and called it a “coordinated ambush of federal officers.”

Beyond the Chicago area, the Trump administration has surged (https://www.npr.org/2025/10/10/nx-s1-5567177/national-guard-map-chicago-california-oregon) — or threatened to surge — federal immigration and police forces, the National Guard, and the military into Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Portland, Memphis, Baltimore, New Orleans, San Francisco, and New York City. Many of those cities have already resisted Trump’s onslaughts. Wherever he sends his forces next, Fox is sure to follow, cheering his administration along the way.

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MMA

Murdoch media continues scapegoating renewable energy in New Jersey

Special ProgramsClimate & Energy (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-energy)

Written by Ilana Berger (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/ilana-berger)

Published 10/21/25

Right-wing media are pushing hard to disparage New Jersey’s renewable energy investments, which they misleadingly blame for high electricity rates.

In 2025, New Jersey’s wholesale electric bills rose dramatically, with average residential customers seeing bills climb by roughly 17-20% (https://rpa.org/news/lab/whats-happening-with-electricity-rates-in-new-jersey) per month. Next year, ratepayers can likely expect another 1.5 - 5% increase (https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/live-in-jersey-city-or-hoboken-your-electric-bills-are-about-to-skyrocket-072425) on top of that.

Several factors are contributing to the rate hikes in New Jersey. They include increased demand for electricity to power new data centers and New Jersey grid operator PJM Interconnection’s reported failure (https://www.njpp.org/publications/explainer/why-are-new-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-and-what-does-pjm-have-to-do-with-it/) to quickly connect renewable projects to the grid. But news outlets owned (https://www.mediamatters.org/rupert-murdoch/murdoch-media-find-scapegoat-new-jerseys-high-electric-rates) by the Murdoch family — Fox Business and the editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post — are pinning the blame for electricity costs on renewable energy, insisting that eliminating subsidies for renewable energy and building more fossil fuel infrastructure in the state are among the answers to New Jersey’s cost-of-living crisis.

The Trump administration has taken this approach as well, scrapping (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/white-house-cancels-nearly-8b-in-clean-energy-projects-in-blue-states) billions in renewable energy projects. Increasingly, the consequences consumers are already experiencing (https://climatepower.us/news/7700-new-jersey-clean-energy-jobs-already-lost-or-threatened-under-trump/) elsewhere (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/climate/georgia-trump-solar-for-all.html) reveal that a crusade against renewable energy is unlikely to benefit New Jersey or the country as a whole.

Electricity bills have spiked in New Jersey, a result of changes in the state’s energy market

The rate hike has impacted customers of the regional transmission operator PJM Interconnection, which serves 13 states including New Jersey.Several factors — such as long waiting times for new projects to connect to the grid, growing energy demand, and fossil fuel projects becoming uneconomical and closing — led to tightened supply and caused a dramatic price spike. Regional Plan Association, \8/5/25 (https://rpa.org/news/lab/whats-happening-with-electricity-rates-in-new-jersey); Inside Climate News, 8/18/25 (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18082025/new-jersey-measures-demand-pjm-interconnection-transparency/); Natural Resources Defense Council, [7/25/25 (https://www.nrdc.org/bio/claire-lang-ree/real-reason-your-energy-bills-are-increasing-pjm)]

State policymakers are frustrated with long timelines for renewable energy projects that could help drive down costs.In late September, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said, “We need to move more quickly on energy-producing projects, and we’ve got to hold down costs. If PJM cannot do that, then Pennsylvania will look to go it alone.” Shapiro, along with 10 other governors from PJM’s member states, “are requesting more say in how PJM allocates its resources and brings generation online,” according to Grist. And according to The Gothamist, although “New Jersey currently has 33 large-scale, shovel-ready solar projects awaiting approval by PJM … many could take a year or 18 months longer to get approval.” Grist, \10/15/25 (https://grist.org/climate-energy/data-centers-electric-grids-pjm-operator-state-officials/); The Gothamist, [8/19/25 (https://gothamist.com/news/trump-may-kill-dozens-of-nj-clean-energy-projects-already-delayed-for-years)]

Murdoch media outlets, hosts, and guests misleadingly blame climate-friendly policies for high energy prices

Fox Business host Stuart Varney said he blames “green policies” for “skyrocketing electricity prices” in New Jersey.Fox Business, Varney & Co., [10/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034018)]

Fox Business host Jackie DeAngelis claimed that “idiotic proposals” like “investing in renewables” have “taken these rates up,” mentioning New Jersey.DeAngelis continued, “People see what happens when you have President Trump in versus Joe Biden and your gas prices come down and how that feels. We are suffering from these higher electricity prices in blue states because at the helm the governors like Phil Murphy, like Kathy Hochul, they won't do what they need to do to bring those prices down.” Fox Business, The Big Money Show,[10/3/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034039)]

Varney said that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli “has a plan to bring energy prices down” while guest Steve Forbes chided current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s energy policies. Forbes said that popularity ratings are down for Murphy and New Jersey Democrats because “they won't build a pipeline from Pennsylvania, which has plenty of natural gas, which is low pollution, clean — they won't bring it in. And then windfarms — offshore, kill the whales, bring them onshore, you kill the birds. Not a good combination. And they call it pure energy — no, it's impure when you start with how they get those minerals out of the earth in Africa and elsewhere to make those windfarms.” Fox Business, Varney & Co., [9/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034017)]

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board complained about New Jersey that “as always, Democrats blame business” for rate hikes “rather than change their bad policies,” which include “requiring that 100% of state power come from ‘clean energy’ by 2035.’” The Wall Street Journal, [9/28/25 (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democratic-energy-prices-hit-home-577d5f00)]

The New York Post Editorial Board said Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Sherrill’s plan to “tame costs” for residents includes “locking in pricey ‘clean energy’” and falsely claimed that “it’s precisely Democrats’ drive for zero emissions that has sent electric bills soaring.”The New York Post, \9/27/25 (https://nypost.com/2025/09/27/opinion/the-post-endorses-jack-ciatarelli-for-new-jersey-governor/); Regional Plan Association, [8/5/25 (https://rpa.org/news/lab/whats-happening-with-electricity-rates-in-new-jersey)]

The anti-renewable energy agenda right-wing media are promoting in New Jersey is playing out across the country, and many are questioning its logic

After the Trump administration announced it was canceling $8 billion in renewable energy and clean tech projects, some Republicans expressed concerns about projects in their states.Politico spoke to several lawmakers in red states who said they did not know what would become of major energy projects under the cuts, or had contacted the administration for “restoration of those things.” Politico, [10/14/25 (https://www.eenews.net/articles/republicans-urge-doe-to-spare-green-energy-projects/)]

The governor of Utah recently spoke out against the Trump administration’s efforts to impede a massive solar project in Nevada.“This is how we lose the AI/energy arms race with China,” Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrote. He encouraged an “all-of-the-above approach to energy,” but emphasized that “incredible leaps in battery technology completely change the value proposition of solar in the right places.” According to Utility Dive, “The project’s National Environmental Policy Act status is listed as canceled on the Bureau of Land Management’s website.” The Interior Department denied cancelling the project, and said that applicants that were involved could eventually resubmit “individual proposals.“ Canary Media, 10/13/25; Utility Dive, \10/14/25 (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/department-interior-cancels-review-nevada-solar-project-trump/802704/); Twitter/X, [10/10/25 (https://x.com/SpencerJCox/status/1976699894594519281)]

The New York Times Editorial Board explained that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will also likely drive up electricity prices. The Times pointed to an analysis from the consulting firm National Economic Research Associates, which found that the bill’s “ repeal of the tax credits alone may push electricity prices almost 10 percent higher than they would be otherwise by 2029.” The New York Times, [10/9/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/opinion/trump-energy-bills-prices.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share)]

A recent Politico analysis found that “states that embrace renewable energy are far more likely to save money for electricity consumers than those relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power.” Looking at data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Politico found that most states that get a higher than average percentage of their electricity from renewable sources “had below-average electricity rates in June” and that “states that have been the quickest to add wind and solar generation to the grid have had lower power prices.” Politico, [10/7/25 (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/07/green-electricity-costs-cheap-trump-00594123)]

### Fox Business viewers might not realize Trump's tariffs are massive taxes that have disrupted the economy (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/fox-business-viewers-might-not-realize-trumps-tariffs-are-massive-taxes-have)

10/17/25 3:58 PM EDT

### Media Matters weekly newsletter, October 10 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media-matters-weekly-newsletter/media-matters-weekly-newsletter-october-10)

10/10/25 10:57 AM EDT

### Fox Business host Larry Kudlow urges Trump to seize on the shutdown to fire up to 500,000 more federal workers (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-business-host-larry-kudlow-urges-trump-seize-shutdown-fire-500000-more-federal-workers)

10/07/25

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MMA

Star Fox host Laura Ingraham is now in business with the president’s son

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/tyler-monroe)

Published 10/20/25

Fox News star Laura Ingraham spent years railing against the purported corruption caused by the business interests of President Joe Biden’s son. But now she’s going into business with Donald Trump Jr., federal records show, a wildly and obviously unethical conflict of interest that no credible news outlet would tolerate.

Ingraham and Donald Trump Jr. are among the directors of “Colombier Acquisition Corp. III,” a special-purpose acquisition company (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/30/what-is-a-spac.html) which is seeking to raise $260 million in an initial public offering in order to acquire another company, according to a registration statement (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2091024/000121390025099955/ea0261111-01.htm) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday and first reported (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-17/trump-jr-s-firm-taps-palihapitya-gop-influencers-for-new-spac) by Bloomberg. The firm’s CEO is Omeed Malik, co-founder and managing partner of the venture capital fund 1789 Capital (https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trump-linked-venture-fund-1789-capital-tops-1-billion-assets-2025-09-08/), which invests in companies aligned with the MAGA movement and has “grown into a financial powerhouse” since November, when Trump was elected president and his son became a partner. Several other executives and directors for the SPAC are also 1789 Capital employees, the filing shows.

No credible news outlet would allow a conflict of interest of this magnitude

The SPAC’s prospectus positions the company as a way to benefit from “the market’s excitement to fund the next chapter of American Exceptionalism by investing in the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Growth (‘EIG’) economy, a set of era-defining business and investment opportunities that we believe will build the next period of American prosperity.” It continues: “These opportunities are rooted in America-first cultural shifts after the 2024 U.S. election, a resurgence of merit-based investing in growth equity, a focus on market-based solutions for America, and a celebration of America’s most prominent founders. Opportunities in the EIG economy include but are not limited to companies that reindustrialize the American economy and enhance American prosperity and security.”

Ingraham’s bio in the document identifies her as “the host of ‘The Ingraham Angle,’ an hour-long cable news program, which launched in October 2017, on Fox News (weeknights),” a program which “features Ms. Ingraham’s analysis of politics, business, legal matters and the culture, along with her interviews with prominent individuals in those fields.”

The potential conflicts of interest created by Ingraham’s roles with the SPAC and Fox are legion:

She stands to financially benefit from a business plan that is explicitly tied to the success of the MAGA movement.

She stands to financially benefit from the sprawling business interests of the president’s son, which otherwise could have been fodder for critical reporting.

She seems to have received the opportunity due to her loyalty to the MAGA cause, which creates the implication that failure to remain loyal would prevent future such opportunities.

She is slated to chair the SPAC’s compensation committee, meaning she could directly control payments made to the son of a president she covers on her show.

The SPAC’s prospectus cites its team’s “unique access to celebrities, technologists, tastemakers, investors, and entrepreneurs,” which “will assist in our target sourcing efforts,” as well as their “track record of building and boosting brands by partnering with influential figures with large followings”; applied to Ingraham, this language corrupts Fox’s booking process by suggesting a potential secondary rationale for appearances on her show.

Notably, Ingraham regularly claimed the business dealings of Hunter Biden (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-failed-attempt-use-hunter-biden-gin-impeachment-his-father-numbers) in the years prior to his father’s presidential election implicated Joe Biden in rampant corruption. Hunter Biden’s name was mentioned during at least 164 episodes of Ingraham’s Fox show in the less than two years from January 3, 2023, when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives after promising (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/house-gop-prepares-two-years-right-wing-media-bubble) to use their power to investigate those business interests, through Trump’s election on November 5, 2024, according to a Media Matters review of the Kinetiq video database.

Ingraham claimed during one such program, in June 2023, that Hunter Biden’s clients were “sophisticated players” who were “prepared to pay millions” because “they believed they would get certain benefits in return from the U.S. government.”

“Every single person in the White House press room knows how all this works,” she added. “The only defense that they have is that we can’t prove that Biden himself did lobbying or was directing Hunter’s business.” Ingraham concluded by bemoaning that “these foreign interests are now encouraged to believe that America is for sale” and arguing that “one pillar of the 2024 campaign for Republicans should be, the Bidens are getting richer while your family is getting poorer.”

Video

Citation

From the June 26, 2023, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle

A few short years later and President Trump’s son is overseeing a business empire (https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-trump-family-presidency-wealth/?embedded-checkout=true) which includes not only the venture capital funding through 1789 Capital but also foreign real estate deals; massive crypto investments; and nebulous advisory roles with several companies. And Ingraham has looked at the various financial schemes (https://www.mediamatters.org/bret-baier/fox-anchor-bret-baier-said-media-should-100-scrutinize-trumps-family-same-bidens-he) involving the president’s family and decided to join him and cash in.

Again, no credible news outlet would allow a conflict of interest of this magnitude, roughly analogous to if Hunter and MSNBC star Rachel Maddow were to have gone into business together during the Biden administration. But don’t expect the Fox brass to step in: Once you’ve put the president’s daughter-in-law on the payroll (https://www.mediamatters.org/lara-trump/presidents-daughter-law-hosts-weekly-show-fox-news-call-it-propaganda-too-kind) and given her an hour a week to produce propaganda for the administration, you’ve acknowledged that you are in a different line of work.

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AN GUK 10 25

Legal filings resulting of a defamation lawsuit reveal Fox News employees were wringing their hands over their company’s fawning support of President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) and the Republican Party.

The Guardian collected (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/17/fox-news-employee-survey-trump-lawsuit) employees’ statements from a 771-page filing released last week, made public as part of a defamation lawsuit filed against the network by voting technology company Smartmatic. The comments came from an anonymous internal survey of 1,040 employees conducted between August 2020 and early September 2020.

According to the Guardian, one employee said Fox should “change the misogynist, racist, rightwing content”, adding: “Fox News is a propaganda machine for the Republican party NOT a news organization and should be acknowledged as such. It is embarrassing to tell people that I work here as even conservatives know [Fox News Channel] and [Fox Business Network] are biased information sources — not news.”

Other employees complained the news content at the company is “hateful and has made the world a more divided and angry place.”

“I sometimes go home fighting back tears,” another employee said. “This network made me question my morals. Have I sold my soul to the devil?”

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Still another employee pointed out that the network should “get out of Trump’s pocket” and realize that its most prominent hosts, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, “are a total embarrassment, peddling BS and conspiracy theories.”

“Many days I feel like I am part of the problem and FNC is contributing to hatred in this country,” the anonymous contributor added.

The complaints of rampant bias continued with another employee ranting: “This company aligns itself with the current administration and has lost its integrity.”

A different survey respondent complained, “I wish there was purpose for what we do other than pushing the brand, ideology and political will of [the president].”

Other employees wished management would crack down on “conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric” spewed by opinion hosts like hosts like Jeanine Pirro and Lou Dobbs, while one asked management for “a commitment from opinion hosts/producers to only tell viewers the truth, and to bolster their arguments with hard, proven facts given in full context, rather than spin or reckless conjecture that causes harm to real people.”

Smartmatic’s lawsuit against Fox claims Fox “lied and knowingly spread falsehoods about Smartmatic’s role in the 2020 U.S. presidential election (https://www.smartmatic.com/us/lawsuit-updates/?__cf_chl_f_tk=i6yy93pbw8GA1jNcOHI6C0wDKNcwONQ80xwol8CoJ1M-1760785502-1.0.1.1-b.ov7PAdEJD6HtswZRG4RM9aCxuH8dkn2N6fHq2VKuo).” The company told Guardian reporters that it believes the employee criticisms provide evidence that Fox executives were on notice of internal concerns about what the network was airing. The company has also argued that Fox’s board of directors failed to act on the results of the survey, which it said provided a “stark warning” about the network’s programming.

Newsmax has already settled a similar defamation suit with Smartmatic over the 2020 election.

Read the full Guardian report at this link (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/17/fox-news-employee-survey-trump-lawsuit).

---

NOTE THIS CRM IS MOSTLY FOX?!

MMA

Right-wing media said Chicago ICE raid yielded numerous gang members' arrests. New reporting shows hardly any arrests related to Tren de Aragua.

Written by Gideon Taaffe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/gideon-taaffe) & Sage Hodil (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/sage-hodil)

Published 10/16/25

Right-wing media have cheered Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s September 30 raid on a Chicago apartment, saying they arrested a dozen or dozens of “suspected Tren de Aragua gang members” in an apartment complex “seized by TdA gang members.”

However, the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that just two of the 37 arrested are believed to be gang members. And later DHS told MSNBC it has “verified” one Tren de Aragua member from the raid.

The Trump administration claims that its arrests in Chicago have targeted criminals, but there is little evidence many of the 1,000 people detained by ICE in the city have any criminal convictions. Right-wing media have previously carried water for the Trump administration’s mass deportations that allegedly focus on the “worst of the worst” even though the majority of ICE detainees have no criminal convictions.

ICE's raid on a Chicago apartment building led to dozens of arrests and four children taken into custody. New reporting shows that few if any arrested in that raid or others in Chicago have criminal or gang ties.

CNN reported shortly after the raid that DHS said only two people arrested were believed to be a Tren de Aragua member, and MSNBC reported later that DHS said it had “verified” just one. The September 30 raid at a South Side apartment building that ICE said was “frequented by Tren de Aragua members” saw 37 people arrested but CNN reported that just two of them “are believed to be members of the Venezuelan criminal gang, according to DHS.” According to MSNBC, DHS said one person is a “verified” member of Tren de Aragua but did not say “how it had verified that gang affiliation.” CNN, \10/3/25 (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/us/chicago-apartment-ice-raid); MSNBC, [10/13/25 (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/trump-immigrants-violent-crime-chicago-illinois-ice-rcna237272)]

Of the 1,000 migrants arrested in Chicago and its suburbs, the Department of Homeland Security has released details showing a criminal background for only “about 1%” of those detainees, according to MSNBC. DHS claims ICE is arresting “the worst of the worst pedophiles, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers,” but MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff said the people they are targeting “are not the worst of the worst. And I cannot say that more unequivocally and clearly enough.” Soboroff also said ICE agents are “indiscriminately rounding people up, grabbing people off the street. And I'm saying this as a reporter who has seen this with my own eyes, not the worst of the worst on the street.” MSNBC, \10/13/25 (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/trump-immigrants-violent-crime-chicago-illinois-ice-rcna237272); MSNBC, The Briefing with Jen Psaki, 10/7/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034010); MSNBC, Katy Tur Reports, [10/8/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034011)]

Detentions at the Chicago apartment raid included “four children who are US citizens with undocumented parents,” according to CNN.One tenant of the building described the raid, saying, “The kids was crying. People was screaming. They looked very distraught. I was out there crying when I seen the little girl come around the corner, because they was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.” One resident who was initially detained told CNN, “Anyone with an outstanding warrant, even if it was unrelated to immigration, would not be released.” CNN, [10/3/25 (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/us/chicago-apartment-ice-raid)]

Previous attempts to arrest people associated with Tren de Aragua based on their tattoos have led to deportations of people with no criminal records.The administration sent numerous alleged gang members to El Salvador but then acknowledged that “many” of them had no criminal records, according to CBS News. Lee Gelernt, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, told CBS, “Expert after expert tells us tattoos are not a reliable indicator of whether you're part of this particular gang.” CBS, [4/8/25 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-tattoos-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-gang/)]

Right-wing media bolstered suggestions that the Chicago apartment raided by ICE was full of Tren de Aragua members

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner claimed the building was “taken over by members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang.” Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [10/2/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033993)]

Fox News host Jesse Watters asserted that “dozens of Tren de Aragua members are getting Kilmared,” referencing deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, before cutting to reporting on the September 30 raid.Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [9/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033994)]

Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher said the operation led to “the arrest of more than a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua gang members.”Fox News,Fox News @ Night, [10/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033998)]

Fox News host Laura Ingraham claimed “Trump is fixing the criminal mess” in Chicago, saying that “TdA gang members in Chicago got a surprise this week” when ICE conducted an “unexpected drop-in that involved a Black Hawk helicopter and hundreds of federal agents.”Fox News reporter Mike Tobin reported, “More than a dozen were detained. At least one has a tattoo commonly associated with the Tren de Aragua gang.” Fox News,The Ingraham Angle, [10/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033996)]

In an interview with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Newsmax host Emma Rechenberg claimed the apartment had been “seized by TdA gang members.”Lyons also pushed the claim, stating the building was “taken over by Tren de Aragua gang members.” Newsmax, The National Report, [10/8/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033995)]

While displaying a chyron that read “Tren de Arrested,” Fox News anchor Dana Perino said ICE agents were “targeting suspected Tren de Aragua members” in the raid and “netted 37 illegal aliens, including those associated with the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang.”Fox News, The Five, [10/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033997)]

The Daily Wire’s Jennie Taer wrote that the building was “teeming with suspected Tren de Aragua gang members.” The Daily Wire, [10/1/25 (https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-arrests-800-illegal-immigrants-in-illinois-raids-as-trumps-deportations-continue-amid-shutdown)]

Fox & Friendsco-host Lawrence Jones complained that people are “more concerned about the children being temporarily detained, not the fact that they were around, and the same apartment complex, of Tren de Aragua, a known terrorist organization.” Jones’ comment came after Lyons claimed Tren de Aragua “took over” the building and that pictures of zip-tied children were “AI fake photos.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [10/6/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033991)]

Trump and right-wing media have claimed that ICE is targeting “the worst of the worst,” but data shows otherwise

Earlier this year Trump claimed ICE was targeting the “worst of the worst,” yet ICE data revealed 84% of those detained at ICE facilities “were not given a threat level.” Only 5% of detainees were given the highest threat level by ICE. According to TRAC Reports, an oversight group that provides data on government operations, as of September 21, 71.5% of ICE detainees had no criminal conviction. TRAC additionally noted, “Many of those convicted committed only minor offenses, including traffic violations.” The Associated Press, \7/12/25 (https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-immigration-crime-ice-criminal-dangerous-violent-99557d9d68642004193a9f4b7668162e); TRAC Reports, accessed [10/15/25 (https://tracreports.org/immigration/quickfacts/)]

Right-wing media have heralded the Trump administration’s campaign promise to focus deportations on the “worst” criminals while denying the reality of the mass deportations.Fox personalities have claimed ICE is not targeting “abuelitas” or “housekeepers” but “the worst of the worst” and “hardened criminals and gang members.” Media Matters, [4/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-flails-defend-trumps-mass-deportations-lack-due-process)]

### Right-wing media falsely claim benefits go to undocumented immigrants as millions of Americans face health coverage losses (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-falsely-claim-benefits-go-undocumented-immigrants-millions-americans)

10/14/25 4:20 PM EDT

### Right-wing media say Portland is a war zone under siege. On-the-ground coverage paints a different picture. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-say-portland-war-zone-under-siege-ground-coverage-paints-different)

10/10/25 9:40 AM EDT

### As Trump sends the National Guard into US cities, right-wing media celebrate and call protests “an insurrection” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/trump-sends-national-guard-us-cities-right-wing-media-celebrate-and-call-protests)

10/08/25

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note // no kings 2 10 25 called hate am rally

an rupar 10 25

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is under fire after alleging that Democrats are catering to “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”

“The Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,” Leavitt said on Fox News on Thursday afternoon.

“That is who the Democrat Party is catering to — not the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration, and not the White House, and not the Republican Party, who is standing up for law abiding Americans, not just across the country, but around the world.”

Leavitt did not explain why the Democratic Party should be catering to the Republican Party or to the Trump administration.

READ MORE: Trump Focused on Bailout for Farmers Loyal to Him ‘For a Really Long Time’ Says Official (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/10/trump-focused-on-bailout-for-farmers-loyal-to-him-for-a-really-long-time-says-official/)

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Critics blasted the Press Secretary.

Former Obama senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer wrote (https://x.com/danpfeiffer/status/1978879712039694373): “This s– is so f– dangerous and everyone on the Republican side just nods along.”

Human Rights Campaign National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf asked (https://x.com/bjoewolf/status/1978887069712671193), “Remember when they pretended to want to ‘turn down the temperature’?”

Veteran journalist John Harwood called (https://x.com/bjoewolf/status/1978887069712671193) Leavitt’s remarks “disgusting b–.”

Dylan Williams, Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center for International Policy warned (https://x.com/dylanotes/status/1978881615096091146): “How is this anything other than deliberate incitement that risks leading to deadly violence?”

“This is INCREDIBLY dangerous framing,” declared (https://x.com/CareyLohrenz/status/1978891909985661089) author Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, “and should make the hair on the back of your next stand, whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. And it’s also patently false.”

READ MORE: ‘I Don’t Like Being Mad Mike’: Johnson ‘Upset’ Over Dems’ Health Care Demands (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/10/i-dont-like-being-mad-mike-johnson-upset-over-dems-health-care-demands/)

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick noted (https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1978884601402527843) that Hillary Clinton’s “‘Deplorables’ was a scandal for years and she wasn’t even in the government yet. This is the White House Press Secretary, whose salary is paid by the American public.”

Journalist Ahmed Baba wrote (https://x.com/AhmedBaba_/status/1978894923903488240): “In a sane reality, this insane comment would’ve ended the career of any other press secretary. In this reality, it’s a just another Thursday. But when the Trump fever breaks, and it will break, these people will have to reckon with the digital footprints of their own depravity.”

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did-fox-news-apply-an-ai-filter-to-give-this-woman-a-black-eye (https://boingboing.net/2025/10/03/did-fox-news-apply-an-ai-filter-to-give-this-woman-a-black-eye.html)

Did Fox News apply an AI filter to give this woman a black eye?

Jason Weisberger (https://boingboing.net/author/jason) Oct 3, 2025

Image: Screen Grab/The Simpsons

Social Media is pointing out that a "journalist" claiming to have been "assaulted" by "antifa" in Portland's black eye looks like an AI injury simulation filter was used. (https://www.threads.com/@pnwdirtpixie/post/DPVSsgkgEvV)

An additional message in the thread shows analysis by AI on the video (https://www.threads.com/@in.my.head.i.said/post/DPV6wbOjgGO), claiming that it does appear to be altered. Folks find the woman's eyebrow movements, as well as changing eye color, to be telltale signs of a filter.

(https://www.threads.com/@in.my.head.i.said/post/DPV6wbOjgGO)

There is also a video that claims to show the "assault," and it appears to be someone innocently waving a flag. (https://www.threads.com/@pnwdirtpixie/post/DPVd-O9APQk)

Here is the video direct from Fox via YouTube. You make the call!

IFrame Content (https://youtu.be/n3yvGurKs-Q?feature=oembed)

Previously:

• Fox News leaks juror details, forcing resignation in Trump case (https://boingboing.net/2024/04/18/fox-news-leaks-juror-details-forcing-resignation-in-trump-case.html)

• FOX's Watters threatens wife on air, proving point of political ad (https://boingboing.net/2024/10/31/foxs-watters-threatens-wife-on-air-proving-point-of-political-ad.html)

• 'He cheated on his wife and then left her with twins' — Dan Crenshaw blasts Fox's Watters' personal life (https://boingboing.net/2024/01/03/he-cheated-on-his-wife-and-then-left-her-with-twins-dan-crenshaw-blasts-foxs-watters-personal-life.html)

• Fox Fascist, Jesse Watters, shows how fascism works (https://boingboing.net/2025/09/17/fox-fascist-jesse-watters-shows-how-fascism-works.html)

---

A Trump-appointed judge just demolished right-wing fearmongering about Portland

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published 10/06/25 MMA

Fox News propagandists cheered last month when President Donald Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, claiming the move was necessary because, in host Jesse Watters’ words, the entire city “has been under siege by antifa for four months.” But a Trump-nominated federal judge blocked the deployment on Saturday, noting that protests in the city have been “small and uneventful” for months and writing that the president’s order “was simply untethered to the facts.”

After Trump deployed (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-cheer-trump-deploy-national-guard-other-american-cities-after-dc) the National Guard to Washington, D.C., in August and suggested he would do the same in other U.S. cities, right-wing media spent (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-medias-dystopian-portland-coverage-feeds-trumps-threats-deploy-national-guard) September trying to turn Portland into the president’s next target. They created and fed the narrative that Portland is a “chaotic city” consumed by “civil insurrection” in which “every weekend is war.” While news reports (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/27/donald-trump-portland-military-protest-00583423) from the city portrayed (https://www.kptv.com/2025/09/29/neighbors-portlands-ice-facility-concerned-about-federal-agents-not-protestors/) the protests as minor, MAGA pundit Steve Bannon told his audience, “Antifa's burning down Portland every night. … They've taken control of Portland.”

The president responded to the overheated commentary of his most zealous supporters. In a September 27 post (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115276694936263266) to Truth Social, Trump ordered Hegseth to send troops to protect “War ravaged Portland” from “Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” and claimed he was “authorizing Full Force, if necessary.”

But after Hegseth directed (https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/09/29/pentagon-calling-up-200-guard-troops-to-deploy-to-oregon/) 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to the city over the objection (https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gov-kotek-urges-oregon-residents-004425706.html) of Gov. Tina Kotek, the state of Oregon and the city of Portland sued (https://www.doj.state.or.us/media-home/news-media-releases/oregon-files-motion-for-temporary-restraining-order-to-block-unlawful-federalization-of-national-guard/) in federal court, arguing that the president had exceeded his legal and constitutional authority.

District Court Judge Karin Immergut — a stalwart (https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/immergut-karin-johanna) of the GOP legal community who worked on Kenneth Starr’s investigation of President Bill Clinton, served as a U.S. attorney under President George W. Bush, and was nominated to the bench by Trump himself — agreed. On October 4, she issued a temporary restraining order which blocked the deployment.

Trump-appointed judge: Portland protests “were small and uneventful”

Immergut wrote in her ruling (http://portland.gov/federal/documents/10-4-2025-state-city-v-trump-temporary-restraining-order-granted/download) that Trump had not met the standard under the statutory authority he invoked, which only allows the president to federalize National Guard units in cases of invasion, rebellion, or when the federal government has been rendered otherwise unable to execute the law.

She explained that contrary to Trump’s depiction of the situation in Portland, her review determined: “As of September 27, 2025, it had been months since there was any sustained level of violent or disruptive protest activity in Portland. During this time frame, there were sporadic events requiring either PPB monitoring or federal law enforcement intervention, but overall, the protests were small and uneventful.”

The judge added that the federal government produced “only four incidents of protesters clashing with federal officers in the month of September preceding the federalization order,” calling these “inexcusable, but they are nowhere near the type of incidents that cannot be handled by regular law enforcement forces.”

She further wrote that the standard the federal government tried to set “would allow the President to call in the National Guard whenever one law enforcement office receives support from another office, which is a routine aspect of law enforcement activity. If the President could equate diversion of federal resources with his inability to execute federal law, then the President could send military troops virtually anywhere at any time.”

Immergut concluded that Trump lacked the statutory authority to federalize the guard in this case “because the situation on the ground belied an inability of federal law enforcement officers to execute federal law,” adding: “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts.”

That’s not how Fox presented Portland to its viewers

Fox hosts pulled out the stops to present the city as a violent hellhole crying out for the federal intervention the president had ordered.

“Left-wing terror is at record highs,” Watters declared (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033761) on his September 29 broadcast. “They're shooting at Teslas, Trump, Charlie, and ICE. After sending in the Guard into L.A. and D.C., Trump is going for round three — Portland.”

“This weekend, he directed the secretary of war to send 200 National Guardsmen to protect war-ravaged Portland, and he is authorizing them to use full force if necessary, because federal facilities in Portland have been under siege since the start of the summer,” Watters continued, adding, “Every weekend, antifa has been on the warpath.”

Watters claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033762) two nights later: “Portland has been under siege by antifa for four months. The Guard is there to get things under control, but Portland Democrats say they want to deport the Guard because the protests are mostly peaceful.”

On September 29, host Laura Ingraham similarly claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033764) that Portland was “getting a dose of Trump-style safety” because an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and “the areas around it have been under siege regularly in Oregon, and it continued this past weekend.” She added that Oregon was “rushing to court siding with criminals and against public safety.”

The same night, host Sean Hannity accused (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033763) Oregon and Portland of “typical radical, predictable left-wing sanctuary state and city lies” because officials there supposedly won’t acknowledge that the “city’s on fire” and consumed by “a whole lot … of violence, lawlessness if you ask me.”

Their arguments are wildly overstated on the facts. But there’s so much more at stake, as Immergut pointed out in her ruling.

“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” she wrote (http://portland.gov/federal/documents/10-4-2025-state-city-v-trump-temporary-restraining-order-granted/download). “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation.”

Fox’s star hosts apparently disagree, and are standing with Trump as he tries to send the nation hurtling toward martial law.

### Right-wing media cheer for Trump to deploy National Guard to other American cities after DC (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-cheer-trump-deploy-national-guard-other-american-cities-after-dc)

08/14/25 10:52 AM EDT

### Right-wing media’s dystopian Portland coverage feeds into Trump’s threats to deploy National Guard (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-medias-dystopian-portland-coverage-feeds-trumps-threats-deploy-national-guard)

09/29/25 5:48 PM EDT

### Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany attempts to justify deployment of National Guard by declaring “a pretty clear rebellion” against the government (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-kayleigh-mcenany-attempts-justify-deployment-national-guard-declaring-pretty)

10/06/2

---

mma 10 25

Fox News propagandists are overwhelmingly backing the GOP’s bogus shutdown message (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-run-wild-blatantly-false-claim-democrats-are-shutting-down-government) that congressional Democrats are refusing to fund the government because they want to give health care to illegal immigrants. But every once in a while their masks slip, and they reveal that they oppose extending the crucial Obamacare subsidies at the heart (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/02/health-care-subsidies-heart-government-shutdown/) of Democrats’ actual position, which would trigger drastic premium price hikes for millions of Americans.

A partial government shutdown began (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-2025-funding-congress/) at midnight on Wednesday after both Republican and Democratic proposals to extend government funding failed to reach 60 votes in the Senate. CBS News reported that the Democrats’ “red line” was “a permanent extension of enhanced tax credits for Americans who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.” Those enhanced tax credits (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-affordable-care-act-enhanced-premium-tax-credit/), authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

That’s as it should be, according to some Fox pundits.

Fox host Sean Hannity complained on Wednesday night that Democrats had refused to fund the government in part because “they want to extend Biden COVID-era health care subsidies, which were supposed to be temporary. COVID is over.” But rather than explain the implications of allowing those subsidies to expire, Hannity pivoted away to his main gripe. “Don’t let the left fool you. This is also about your tax dollars funding health care for illegals,” he said, while airing B-roll from 2022 and 2023 of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. “Democrats have been lying, trying to deny it,” he added.

Video

Citation

From the October 1, 2025, edition of Fox News' Hannity

Earlier that day on The Five, after Democratic co-host Jessica Tarlov pointed out that the ACA subsidies are “the crux” of the dispute, Jesse Watters interjected (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033738) that Democrats “juiced up the premiums for COVID-level spending” and Republicans simply “want to bring it back down to pre-COVID.”

Guest host and Fox contributor Paul Mauro chimed in that Democrats “used COVID to throw all of these subsidies in, and like any entitlement, when you go to take it away, people have strokes.”

“Right,” Fox host Greg Gutfeld interjected.

This position is wildly unpopular — polls show that supermajorities (https://x.com/AaronBlake/status/1974074051212788143/photo/1) of Americans support (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2025/government-shutdown-trump-congress-poll/) extending the subsidies, with even Republicans and self-identified MAGA supporters backing it by a wide margin — and for good reason.

The 22 million Americans who benefit from those enhanced subsidies will face crushing increases in the cost of health insurance if those Fox hosts get their way and Republicans allow them to expire. According to CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-affordable-care-act-enhanced-premium-tax-credit/):

The cost of premiums for people who buy their insurance through the ACA marketplaces could more than double, rising from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, according to a Sept. 30 analysis by KFF. About 4 million people would likely drop their insurance coverage if the credit is allowed to expire because they would't be able to afford the costs, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated.

That’s a huge potential impact for millions of people — but Fox’s mentions of these subsidies are breathtakingly rare.

Tarlov and other (https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/youre-just-wrong-senate-democrat-clashes-with-fox-host-as-he-plays-clip-of-her-party-members-calling-for-illegal-immigrant-healthcare/) Democrats (https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/fox-news-guest-directly-warns-viewers-of-this-network-their-healthcare-costs-will-skyrocket-under-gop-plan/) have used appearances on the right-wing network to try to warn its viewers, but Fox’s stars are far more blasé. They are relying on a typical page (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-news-hiding-gops-brutal-medicaid-cuts) from Fox’s standard playbook: Mentions of the Obamacare subsidies and potential results of the policy they support are few and far between, as the hosts instead try to redirect the attention of their audience and stoke (https://www.status.news/p/nbc-news-layoffs-spinoff-msnbc-versant) their rage (https://www.status.news/p/washington-post-johanna-mayer-jones) over the prospect of undocumented immigrants receiving benefits.

### Right-wing media run wild with the blatantly false claim that Democrats are shutting down the government to secure “health care for illegals” (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-run-wild-blatantly-false-claim-democrats-are-shutting-down-government)

09/30/25 3:58 PM EDT

### How Fox News is hiding the GOP’s brutal Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-news-hiding-gops-brutal-medicaid-cuts)

06/26/25 9:28 AM EDT

### Another massive Trump corruption scandal for right-wing media to bury (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/another-massive-trump-corruption-scandal-right-wing-media-bury)

09/16/25

---

---}:

AN 10 25

President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) lashed out at Fox News in a Truth Social post on Sunday, criticizing the network for airing an interview with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on the topic of healthcare.

Trump accused Fox and correspondent Peter Doocy of giving Kelly a platform to speak "totally unabated or challenged," while ignoring Republican perspectives and diminishing his own popularity in their coverage.

“Why is FoxNews and Peter Doocy putting on Democrat Senator Mark Kelly to talk about, totally unabated or challenged, Healthcare?” Trump wrote. “The FAKE SPIN is so bad for Republicans that it is hard to believe that we WIN.”

The post, laden with Trump’s trademark all-caps emphasis and grievances against media bias, continued with a warning to the conservative network: “Fox should either get on board, or get off board, NOW, but at this point, it just doesn’t make any difference to me.”Trump also claimed Fox News benefits from his popularity and presence in the Republican Party but allegedly distorts coverage to favor Democrats.

He also slammed the network’s polling practices, stating they “refuse to put up Polls that correctly show me at 65% in Popularity, a Republican RECORD,” and labeled the Fox News Poll as “one of the worst 'Pollsters' out there.”

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The president’s remarks were criticized on social media.

Democratic influencer Brian Krassenstein wrote on the social platform (https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1974866271604011130?s=46) X: “Trump flips out at Fox News for not completely sucking up to him.

He wants Fox News to be an arm of the government, and he just told America that.

He said the quiet part out loud.”

Podcaster Spencer Hakimian wrote (https://x.com/spencerhakimian/status/1974864902075699220?s=46): “Trump is very angry at Fox News and Peter Doocy.”

“Every single hour of every day, he is more unhinged and lives in a delusional fantasy world filled with made up numbers and complete nonsense that doesn’t exist. Despite this being the kind of rant an escape mental patient would spew out, its become normalized & it gets ignored,” wrote (https://x.com/antitoxicpeople/status/1974865921983586422?s=46) an account on X.

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MMA

Fox Business lets Trump enforcer Bill Pulte spin his debunked “mortgage fraud” accusations against Lisa Cook (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-business/fox-business-lets-trump-enforcer-bill-pulte-spin-his-debunked-mortgage-fraud)

09/26/25

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MMA 10 25

Frequent Fox appearances are central to the Trump administration's climate and energy misinformation strategy

Special ProgramsClimate & Energy (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-energy)

Written by Evlondo Cooper (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/evlondo-cooper)

Research contributions from Harrison Ray (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/harrison-ray)

Published 09/29/25

Fox News and Fox Business have not simply covered President Donald Trump’s destructive climate and environmental agenda (https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/5469235-trump-administration-environmental-assault/) — they have served as the administration’s preferred vehicles (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-manufactured-legitimacy-zeldins-destructive-climate-and-environmental-rollbacks) for selling it to the public.

Since late July, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have made dozens of appearances across Fox News and Fox Business programs to defend the proposed repeal of the EPA’s endangerment finding, shift blame for soaring electricity bills away from fossil fuel volatility, and portray offshore wind projects as both unreliable and dangerous.

By turning to Fox networks, senior Trump officials gain a platform (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-shields-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-he-promotes-most-destructive-climate) where destructive environmental deregulation is framed as common sense and basic policy questions are never asked. What emerges from these appearances is not legitimate debate or accountability journalism, but a symbiotic relationship that allows the Trump administration to launder harmful misinformation through Fox’s news and opinion programming — leaving viewers with a distorted picture of climate science, energy policy, and the real stakes of the administration’s environmental rollbacks.

Topline findings

Doug Burgum, Chris Wright, and Lee Zeldin have appeared a combined 36 times on Fox networks from July 29 through September 21. Zeldin and Burgum are tied for the most appearances during this period, with 13 apiece, followed by Wright with 10.

Fox Business’Mornings with Maria Bartiromofeatured the three Trump administration officials the most, with 8 total appearances, followed by the network’sVarney & Co.(7 combined appearances) and Fox News’America Reports(5 appearances). Kudlow, The Ingraham Angle, and Fox & Friends each hosted the Trump officials twice during the studied period.

Trump officials used Fox appearances to push misinformation after the administration proposed repealing the EPA’s landmark endangerment finding

While Fox networks have spread misleading claims about climate (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/katrina-helene-timeline-fox-news-hurricane-misinformation-harmful-narratives-and-climate) and energy (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/years-falsehoods-fox-news-helped-solidify-offshore-wind-prime-target-trump) for years, the appearances by administration officials in the weeks following the proposed repeal of the endangerment finding released on July 29 offer a snapshot of how they work hand-in-hand with the Trump White House to downplay the scientific basis for greenhouse gas regulation, distort the causes of rising electricity prices, and attack renewable energy.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin

Zeldin has leaned on Fox’s coverage to launder claims that climate regulations are illegitimate and that reliance on renewable energy is driving economic pain.

During the August 13 episode (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033394) of Fox Business’ Kudlow, Zeldin argued that the endangerment finding — a 2009 scientific determination that provided (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administration-launches-assault-epas-endangerment-finding-following-decades-long) the legal framework for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions — rested on “a lot of mental leaps” and claimed that “the Clean Air Act doesn’t make any reference to the greenhouse gases.” (In reality, the Supreme Court’s Massachusetts v. EPA ruling explicitly (https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a) found that greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants under the Act.) He paired that dismissal with charges that Obama-era scientific findings were exaggerated and “pessimistic,” and closed the segment by promoting natural gas pipelines as the only path to affordable energy and job growth.

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From the August 13, 2025, episode of Fox Business' Kudlow

During the September 1 episode (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033395) of Fox News’ One Nation with Brian Kilmeade, Zeldin presented Trump’s deregulatory agenda as the backbone of U.S. “energy dominance,” dismissing offshore wind projects as inefficient and unreliable for consumers. In contrast, he again portrayed fossil fuel expansion — particularly natural gas — as both environmentally superior and essential for national security.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright

Wright has similarly leaned on Fox to attack renewable energy as too costly, unreliable, and an obstacle to America’s economic and technological ambitions. He also used his appearances to make sweeping claims that fossil fuel expansion is the only realistic path forward and to blame renewable energy for electricity price increases.

During a segment about the “importance of unleashing U.S. energy” to meet growing demand from artificial intelligence on the September 4 episode (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033398) of Fox & Friends, Wright told viewers that artificial intelligence represents “perhaps the highest use of electricity.” Later that day on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Wright described (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033400) offshore wind projects as a “guaranteed” driver of higher electricity costs, telling host Laura Ingraham that wind and solar are “variable, parasitic sources” that make the power grid less reliable and more expensive. He also claimed that by adopting offshore wind, the United States would be “competing for the most expensive electricity in the world.” Ingraham did raise the issue of higher electricity costs during the Trump administration but allowed Wright to spin, evade, and double down on falsely blaming (https://www.mediamatters.org/new-york-times/climate-week-new-york-times-has-opportunity-hold-energy-secretary-accountable-recent) renewable energy.

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From the September 4, 2025, edition of Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle

On the September 19 episode (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033418) of Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, Wright labeled global investment and uptake of renewables such as wind and solar as a “complete trainwreck” and insisted that climate change is a “slow-moving, gradual phenomenon, nowhere near a crisis or a disaster.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum

Burgum has also used Fox appearances to promote the administration’s fossil fuel expansion agenda while attacking renewables as unreliable and costly.

During the August 2 episode (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033407) of Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, Burgum defended the administration’s proposed rollback of the endangerment finding, agreeing with Zeldin and Wright that the EPA had overstepped its authority. He also blamed increased energy costs on Obama- and Biden-era climate regulations, pushed deregulation as a way to unleash economic growth, and attacked offshore wind.

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From the August 2, 2025, episode of Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street

On the August 20 episode (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033409) of Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, Burgum announced a sweeping offshore oil and gas leasing plan while continuing to attack offshore wind. He tied fossil fuel production to U.S. dominance in the race for artificial intelligence, claiming that only coal and gas could deliver the electricity needed for growth, and contrasted this with “blue state” reliance on renewables, which he described as intermittent, subsidized, and responsible for high electricity costs.

The climate and energy realities Fox keeps from its audience

Fox networks have repeatedly provided Zeldin, Wright, and Burgum with a platform to repeat administration talking points and propaganda without pressing them on the evidence that undercuts their claims. As a result, Fox viewers have been left with a curated narrative that omits the most important facts.

For example, on Kudlow, after Zeldin dismissed the endangerment finding as “a lot of mental leaps,” Fox host and former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow never pointed out (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-shields-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-he-promotes-most-destructive-climate) that it was grounded in the Supreme Court’s 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision and decades of scientific consensus. Nor did viewers hear that it has prevented (https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/benefits-and-costs-clean-air-act-1990-2020-second-prospective-study) hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and delivered billions in net economic benefits.

And when Wright insisted that renewables drive up electricity prices on The Ingraham Angle, the Fox host did not mention that analysts instead point (https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/cnns-matt-egan-explains-why-electricity-prices-are-soaring) to fossil fuel volatility, surging demand from AI data centers, and Trump’s own decision (https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/how-obbb-will-impact-the-power-grid/) to roll back (https://www.eenews.net/articles/solar-dominates-grid-installations-but-faces-seismic-shift/) and cancel (https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5417842-trump-administration-cuts-green-energy/) renewable energy projects as the primary drivers of increased electricity costs.

On Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, as Burgum railed against offshore wind energy and celebrated coal and gas as the foundation of energy dominance, Bartiromo never noted (https://www.mediamatters.org/new-york-times/climate-week-new-york-times-has-opportunity-hold-energy-secretary-accountable-recent) that solar energy combined with battery storage is now the cheapest and fastest-to-build source of new power, or that clinging to coal plants saddles consumers with higher bills (https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/fossil-fuels/cost-trump-keep-coal-open) while increasing pollution. Instead, the segment cast fossil fuels as the only reliable option, ignoring the economic and health benefits of renewables.

The Trump administration’s reliance on Fox News and Fox Business is not incidental; it is a core (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-runs-defense-trump-administration-its-delayed-response-texas-flooding) communications (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-misled-its-viewers-what-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-would-mean-american-energy-jobs) strategy (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-bret-baier-promised-fair-and-balanced-interview-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-was). By prioritizing their appearances on Fox networks, officials like Zeldin, Wright, and Burgum gain access to a powerful megaphone while shielding themselves from scrutiny or accountability. Fox’s “straight news” programs give their talking points the appearance of neutrality (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-bret-baier-promised-fair-and-balanced-interview-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-was), and its opinion hosts repeat and amplify those same claims until they harden into (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-has-spent-years-claiming-inflation-reduction-act-policies-will-make-energy-more) conventional wisdom (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/his-first-100-days-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-has-used-his-frequent-fox-appearances).

The result is the laundering of misleading talking points: Administration officials feed misinformation into Fox, the network recycles and legitimizes it, and audiences are left with a propagandistic narrative that obscures the public health costs of climate change and environmental deregulation and dismisses the economic benefits of clean energy.

Methodology...

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WATTERS CLEARLY JOKING ABOUT VIOLENCE /BOMB BUT WHAT MAKES A LEGIT TARGET FOR JOKE?

Jesse Watters says America needs to bomb or “maybe gas” the United Nations (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-says-america-needs-bomb-or-maybe-gas-united-nations)

09/23/25

Sean Hannity calls Trump's U.N. speech “the best speech he's ever given” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-calls-trumps-un-speech-best-speech-hes-ever-given)

RAMBLED, LIED? NOBEL PRIZE 7 WARS, 4X TIME LIMIT

09/23/25

MMA

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MMA

Right-wing media run wild with the blatantly false claim that Democrats are shutting down the government to secure “health care for illegals”

The New York Times noted a “misleading” Republican talking point on the looming shutdown. That talking point is all over right-wing media.

Written by Gideon Taaffe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/gideon-taaffe), Isabella Sherk (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/isabella-sherk) & Pete Tsipis (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/pete-tsipis)

Published 09/30/25

Right-wing media are pushing a lie that Democrats are threatening to shut down the government over “free health care for illegal immigrants” and want to “blow up the budget” for “illegal aliens” even though undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded health benefits.

The Democrats are actually pushing to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act without which millions of Americans could face significantly higher health care premiums and lose access to health care. Additionally, Democrats are pushing to reverse cuts to federally funded health care that were passed under Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill” in July.

As the government faces a shutdown, conservatives lie about Democrats’ funding priorities

The U.S. government may face a shutdown on October 1 if Congress does not pass a short-term funding bill, and currently the two main points of contention are Democrats’ call to extend enhanced federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage that are set to expire this year and reverse cuts to health care, including Medicaid, passed in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”CNN, [9/30/25 (https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/politics/fact-check-trump-free-health-care-immigration)]

Democrats have proposed to continue the ACA subsidies, which would help “22 million Americans lower their health insurance costs” and save health care for an estimated 4 million.According to the nonpartisan health policy research group KFF, the result of letting the subsidies end would be “an increase of more than 75% in premiums on average for enrollees; a 90% increase in many rural areas.” Subsequently, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 4 million people will lose health insurance. CBS News, \9/30/25 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-affordable-care-act-enhanced-premium-tax-credit/); KFF, 9/3/25 (https://www.kff.org/from-drew-altman/explaining-the-muddle-on-aca-tax-credits/); Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, [9/22/25 (https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/five-key-changes-to-aca-marketplaces-amid-uncertainty-over-premium-tax-credit)]

Several prominent Republicans have falsely claimed that Democrats are trying to use a government shutdown to demand health care for undocumented immigrants.President Donald Trump posted a deepfake video to Truth Social of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in a sombrero and a mustache and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) claiming, “If we give all these illegal aliens health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us.” Vice President JD Vance posted, “Democrats are about to shutdown the government because they demand we fund healthcare for illegal aliens.” And House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) put out a press release that claimed “Democrats are Choosing Health Care for Illegal Aliens over American Troop Pay.” Truth Social, \9/29/25 (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115290424560405640); Politico, 9/30/25 (https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/09/30/congress/hakeem-jeffries-racist-trump-deepfake-video-00586804); Twitter/X, 9/25/25 (https://x.com/JDVance/status/1971202169870438560); MikeJohnson.house.gov, [9/28/25 (https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2690)]

NY Times: The Democrats’ budget proposal “does not provide free health care for unauthorized immigrants.”Undocumented immigrants are “largely barred from federally funded health care,” as the Times reports, and while the Democrats’ proposal would restore eligibility for certain groups of “lawfully present” immigrants, it would not make unauthorized immigrants eligible. The Times adds: “There is no uniform definition for ‘lawful presence,’ a term typically used by federal and state health care and social welfare programs to determine eligibility. Most groups of ‘lawfully present’ noncitizens have authorized or legal immigration status like refugees and asylum recipients.” The New York Times, [9/29/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/republicans-shutdown-fact-check-health-immigration.html)]

Right-wing media falsely claim Democrats are shutting down the government over health care for undocumented immigrants

Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt claimed Democrats say “we want health care for all Americans, but that would include the illegals.”Co-host Lawrence Jones replied, “They’re still fighting for illegals. You just lost the election over it.” He said the Democrats don’t have political support on this: “You lost on it. Move forward.” Fox News, Fox & Friends,[9/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033568)]

Teasing a segment, Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher said, “A government shutdown now 25 hours away and it appears Democrats are still pushing free health care for illegal immigrants.” Fox News, Fox News @ Night, [9/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033573)]

Fox host Sean Hannity said, “Schumer and his Democratic friends … want free health care for illegals as part of that deal.” He said it is “interesting because Democrats used to be totally against free health care benefits for illegals” and played clips of Schumer and then-first lady Hillary Clinton opposing the idea. Fox News, Hannity, [9/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033579)]

On his radio show, Hannity said Schumer won’t get what he wants because “we're not going to pay for health care for illegal immigrants by virtue of the fact they don't deserve benefits that are supposed to be reserved for the American people.” Premier Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, [9/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033582)]

Fox host Mark Levin posted that Democrats “want to give their biggest constituency, illegal aliens, free healthcare at your expense, and blow up the budget.” He added that they will shut down the government if Republicans don’t “go along and spend another $1 trillion plus!” Twitter/X, [9/27/25 (https://x.com/marklevinshow/status/1971976633138495502)]

Hannity claimed that “if there is a government shutdown, it will be on the Democrats,” saying, “Democrats are fighting for, you know, for services for illegal immigrants. They're fighting for more DEI programs.” Hannity stated this to a caller who criticized Hannity for saying federal employees would “go home for two weeks, sit on the couch, and then come back and get back pay.” Premier Radio Networks,The Sean Hannity Show, [9/26/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033576)]

Hannity also claimed that Democrat demands “include things like over a trillion dollars in new spending for health care for illegals, taxpayer-funded gender swap surgeries for minors, open borders, men in women’s sports.” Fox News, Hannity, [9/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033574)]

Right-wing podcast host Laura Loomer wrote, “Democrats are threatening to shut down the government unless they get taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegals.” She added, “They really do hate America.” Twitter/X, [9/26/25 (https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1971724700129837554)]

Right-wing talk show host and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that “access to health care” is “code for taxpayer financed healthcare for illegals.” Twitter/X, [9/30/25 (https://x.com/seanspicer/status/1972975525749727537)]

Right-wing influencer Catturd posted, “Imagine shutting down the government because you want illegals to have free healthcare, and then thinking it’s gonna be popular with the American people.” Twitter/X, [9/30/25 (https://x.com/catturd2/status/1973042961001939361)]

### Sean Hannity: “I don't care if the government shuts down” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/sean-hannity-i-dont-care-if-government-shuts-down)

09/30/25 12:35 PM EDT

### Benny Johnson: “I feel like most workers in the federal government are nonessential. I think most of them could be replaced by an AI chatbot, frankly.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/benny-johnson/benny-johnson-i-feel-most-workers-federal-government-are-nonessential-i-think-most)

09/30/25 12:13 PM EDT

### Newsmax host: “Let's not pretend that the idea of a government shutdown isn't somewhat alluring to most of us” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-lets-not-pretend-idea-government-shutdown-isnt-somewhat-alluring-most-us)

09/30/25

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How Fox covers for Trump administration malfeasance

Monday night was a perfect case study

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published09/23/25 MMA

The job of a Fox News evening host isn’t to cover President Donald Trump and his administration, it’s to give them cover. The network’s stars are shameless propagandists who employ a variety of tactics to hide the president’s misdeeds from their viewers. Their Monday night programs, which followed days of administration chaos and corruption, perfectly encapsulate how this process works.

Trump and his supporters, in just a few short months, have ushered in an unprecedented and radical transformation (https://www.axios.com/2025/09/23/trump-unprecedented-presidency-behind-the-curtain) of American political life. A president who won office in large part (https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/07/business/inflation-economy-trump-tariffs) by exploiting voter discontent over rising prices has exacerbated that problem (https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/24/economy/us-tariffs-passthrough-consumers) through unilateral tariffs while simultaneously consolidating power, crushing dissent, enriching himself and his allies, and dismantling and remaking agencies that secure goals like public health.

The result is that any given day can feature several instances of wildly scandalous behavior, any one of which might have sunk a previous administration.

On Monday night, four such stories were circulating: Trump pushed out a U.S. attorney who had refused to prosecute his political opponent on insufficient evidence and replaced him with a crony; several outlets reported that his Justice Department appointees quashed a probe into a White House adviser who had been recorded taking a cash bribe; there was ongoing fallout from his top media regulator publicly threatening media companies over airing Jimmy Kimmel’s show; and at a White House event the president and his advisers issued a warning over Tylenol usage based on an unproven link to autism.

Any of those stories, explained in context, could prove devastating for the president and his team. But Trump has maintained high approval ratings with his supporters — and thus maintained lock-step backing from congressional Republicans — in no small part because his base gets information through the filter of right-wing media. And much of the right-wing media, fearing a revolt from their audiences, isn’t inclined to provide information that conflicts with their biases.

Here’s how each of those scandals played out Monday night on the panel show The Five and the eponymous programs of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, and Sean Hannity.

Fox ignored Trump replacing a defiant prosecutor with a crony

What happened:On Friday, ABC News reported (https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-poised-fire-us-attorney-resisting-effort-charge/story?id=125700904) that Trump was “expected to fire” U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert because Siebert had refused White House demands to bring mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who previously prosecuted Trump, because investigators did not find incriminating evidence against her. After Siebert left office, Trump publicly called on (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/us/politics/trump-justice-department-us-attorneys.html) Attorney General Pam Bondi to “act fast” on prosecutions against James, former FBI Director James Comey, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) in what The New York Times called “an extraordinary breach of prosecutorial protocols that reach back to the days following the Watergate scandal.” The president subsequently appointed (https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/politics/lindsey-halligan-us-attorney-eastern-virginia-trump-james-comey) Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and longtime Trump legal adviser with no experience as a prosecutor, to replace Siebert; she took office as acting U.S. attorney on Monday.

Fox’s response: Fox’s stars spent the years of Trump’s first term and Joe Biden's presidency complaining of a two-tiered system of justice (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/after-trumps-indictment-lock-her-brigade-feigns-horror-over-political-prosecution) in which federal law enforcement agencies were persecuting the right (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/rights-rubicon-narrative-farce) while letting the left off the hook (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumpist-media-demanding-politicized-justice). In reality, Republican and Trump-appointed officials kept finding sufficient evidence to prosecute Trump and his allies and didn’t find enough to do the same against his foes. But now that Trump is loudly and publicly demanding politicized prosecutions — and pushing out his own appointed prosecutor when he refused to play along — the same voices have gone silent: The story was not mentioned Monday on The Five or the programs of Ingraham, Watters, and Hannity.

Many such cases: Fox hosts have similarly ignored stories about Trump’s relationship (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/donald-trump-killed-jeffrey-epstein-story-right) with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. killing (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/rfk-jr-kennedy-mrna-vaccines-fox-news-rcna223917) research into next-generation vaccines; statements (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-scoffed-andry-hernandez-was-just-gay-barber-when-trump-sent-him-torture-prison) by an immigrant the Trump administration sent in error to a notorious foreign prison who says he was beaten and sexually assaulted by guards; reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-gave-new-classified-email-revelation-hegseth-signal-scandal-just-40-seconds) information derived from a classified email over an unsecured group chat; and an exodus (https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/fox-stars-pass-defending-hegseth-amid-pentagon-chaos) of top Defense Department staffers over concerns with Hegseth’s management style.

Fox excused Trump regulator threatening media companies

What happened: Two days after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel inaccurately suggested that the alleged killer of Turning Points USA founder Charlie Kirk was part of “the MAGA gang,” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr publicly threatened (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/jimmy-kimmel-and-maga-strong-arming-american-media) ABC’s affiliates and its corporate parent, Disney, with regulatory retribution. Nexstar, a large affiliate network which needs Carr’s approval for a corporate merger, subsequently said its affiliates would immediately preempt Kimmel’s show; soon after, ABC announced that the program was suspended indefinitely. On Monday, after widespread criticism of the administration’s effort to curtail speech and ABC’s capitulation, Disney said (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/business/media/jimmy-kimmel-returns-abc.html) Kimmel would return to the air on Tuesday.

Fox’s response:Several Fox hosts used the news that Kimmel was returning to the air to claim that his initial removal had been a business decision unrelated to administration pressure. Hannity claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033292) that while those “on the left” had been “melting down” and falsely blaming Trump for Kimmel’s suspension, it was now proven to have been “a decision by ABC Disney, not the government.” Watters called (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033295) it a “show-biz decision” and aired a chyron stating “ABC benched Kimmel, not Trump.” Ingraham agreed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033296) with guest Raymond Arroyo’s claim that “ABC deciding to put Kimmel back on, it does lay to rest this narrative that somehow the government was orchestrating his removal from the air.” Fox host and former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said (https://x.com/Acyn/status/1970261100626424210) on The Five, “The government didn't decide it because he’s back tomorrow, so quite clearly the government didn’t force this.” Their talking point aligned with arguments that Republican politicians (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1969119830436352319) and Carr himself (https://nypost.com/2025/09/22/media/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-denies-government-censorship-led-to-jimmy-kimmel-suspension-its-because-of-his-ratings/) had offered about the case as they backpedaled away from its free-speech implications.

Many such cases:Fox hosts similarly made excuses when Trump tried (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/even-jesse-watters-can-tell-trump-trying-fire-fed-governor-cook-over-pretext) to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook over a pretext; when Trump failed to release (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-desperate-deflections-illustrate-rights-trump-epstein-dilemma) Epstein documents as he promised; when a Democratic senator was violently removed (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-parroted-dhs-claim-padilla-lunged-toward-noem-video-debunks-it) from a Department of Homeland Security press conference; when a foreign government gifted (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-comically-pathetic-spin-foreign-government-gifting-trump-400-million-plane) Trump a plane valued at $400 million; when the administration sent people (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/how-fox-handling-reports-trump-administration-may-have-erroneously-sent-people-foreign) in error to a notorious foreign prison; and when top Trump aides discussed (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-propagandists-scramble-explain-former-colleagues-texting-war-plans-reporter) plans for military strikes in an unsecured text chain — and inadvertently included a journalist in the group.

Fox aided Trump advisor caught in bribery scandal

What happened: MSNBC and other news outlets reported (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-averts-its-eyes-former-employee-homan-reportedly-receiving-bag-cash) over the weekend that the FBI had recorded White House border czar Tom Homan accepting a bag of cash from undercover agents in September 2024 as part of a corruption investigation, and that the probe was subsequently scuttled by Trump law enforcement appointees. Homan, at the time a Fox contributor and a close Trump adviser pegged for a key administration role on immigration if Trump were elected, had reportedly indicated to the agents that he could help them win government contracts. In statements, top officials from the FBI, DOJ, and White House claimed the probe had not uncovered evidence of illegal activity — but notably did not deny that Homan had been recorded taking a bag of cash from undercover agents.

Fox’s response: Fox hosts regularly provide administration officials and other appointees an opportunity to field friendly questions that help them spin damaging stories. Ingraham gave Homan that treatment (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033299) on Monday. After offering him softball questions about a new California law banning ICE agents from wearing masks and how the administration can “speed up” mass deportations, she asked him to respond to the story from “our always reliable MSNBC” that “you took $50,000 in cash in a bag from an undercover FBI agent to help them win government contracts in Trump's second term.” In his minute-long response, Homan denounced the “hit piece,” claimed that “nothing illegal happened,” and touted his own “sacrifices” and work for the president — but notably did not deny taking the bag of money. For her part, Ingraham let Homan ramble and ended the interview rather than asking a follow-up question to clarify that point.

Many such cases: Fox hosts similarly aided Kennedy after he purged (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-helps-kennedy-jr-spin-cdc-purge) top leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Hegseth after he shared (https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/nx-s1-5372348/signal-pete-hegseth-defense-department) attack plans over an unsecured text chain.

Fox cheered Trump pushing unproven Tylenol-autism link

What happened:Researchers have found (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-real-reason-autism-rates-are-rising/) that autism is largely a heritable condition and that the increase in cases over the years is due primarily to a broadening of the diagnostic criteria. But at a Monday event at the White House, Trump, Kennedy, and other top health aides “launched a broad offensive against the mainstream understanding of autism, claiming without new evidence that acetaminophen — the active ingredient in the common pain reliever Tylenol — was a cause of the disorder,” as The New York Times put it (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/health/kennedy-autism-tylenol-trump.html). Health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, previously called such evidence inconclusive, and the drug is “considered one of the few safe options to treat pain or fever during pregnancy.”

Fox’s response: Ingraham on Monday touted (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033300) the administration for “sounding the alarm” over a link between Tylenol and autism in response to how “the number of children with autism has spiked unbelievably over the last number of years.” She then hosted Trump health officials Mehmet Oz and Marty Makary to tout the “growing body of evidence” in support of the administration’s position and to denounce contrary findings as “false.” Watters likewise highlighted (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033304) the White House’s “major medical bombshell” before turning to another Trump health official, Jay Bhattacharya, to praise the administration for supporting “prudent medicine” and providing a “judicious evaluation” of the evidence.

Many such cases: Fox hosts similarly cheered after Bondi reportedly ordered (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/tulsi-gabbards-russiagate-conspiracy-theory-cant-even-survive-softball-fox-news-interview) federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury probe into various Obama administration figures on spurious grounds; Trump ordered strikes (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-let-chief-trump-propagandist-hannity-lead-special-coverage-us-strikes-iran) on Iranian nuclear targets; the president enacted various (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/art-deal-fox-propagandists-spin-wildly-trumps-huge-tariff-win) unilateral tariff shifts (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/three-ways-maga-media-are-responding-trumps-tariffs-crashing-stock-market); and the Trump administration implemented (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/sean-hannity-once-celebrated-fbi-rank-and-file-now-hes-touting-trumps-purge) a mass purge of FBI agents.

MMA //

The Trumpist media is demanding politicized justice (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumpist-media-demanding-politicized-justice)

06/14/23 1:24 PM EDT

Jimmy Kimmel and the MAGA strong-arming of American media (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/jimmy-kimmel-and-maga-strong-arming-american-media)

09/18/25 12:00 PM EDT

Fox averts its eyes from former employee Homan reportedly receiving a bag of cash (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-averts-its-eyes-former-employee-homan-reportedly-receiving-bag-cash)

09/22/25

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mma

Fox ignores climate change while covering collapsing houses along the North Carolina coast

SpecialPrograms Climate & Energy (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-energy)

Written by Ilana Berger (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/ilana-berger)

Published09/19/25

During a September 18 segment, Fox & Friends covered the most recent instance of a house collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean — this time on Hatteras Island in North Carolina — and mentioned erosion along the coast, but left out that climate change is contributing to the problem. Sea-level rise and erosion from increasingly severe storms has helped claim 11 other homes (https://apnews.com/article/outer-banks-beach-erosion-collapse-north-carolina-fc303aa4f1bc72724565c14d24f75182) in the unincorporated community of Rodanthe, North Carolina.

Video

Citation

From the September 18, 2025, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends

CARLEY SHIMKUS (CO-HOST): A stilt house collapsing on the shore along the Outer Banks of North Carolina this week. It's now the 12th home claimed by the Atlantic Ocean in the past five years. The two-story beach home fell at the north end of Hatteras Island. Thankfully, the home was empty at the time. Officials say recent storms have worsened erosion, leading to more collapses like this. Those are your headlines, guys. Huge home.

AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): It's interesting they let them just collapse. They don't destroy them before, knowing this is going to happen.

SHIMKUS: Yeah, that's right. And clearly the ocean is moving up the shore or they wouldn't have built that home in the first place.

EARHARDT: It's a big problem. It's a big problem on the East Coast. And you spend so much to have that beachfront property and then, you know — over time, it's gone.

SHIMKUS: It is, yes.

The Charlotte Observer (https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article312136551.html) correctly implicated the role of climate change in its reporting on the home’s destruction, highlighting that Hurricane Erin in August generated “waves as high as 50 feet,” causing “severe erosion in some places along the East Coast.”

The Observer noted that “the home was well away from the ocean and behind a vegetated dune when it was built in 1969. But a series of storms, which have occurred more frequently in recent years due to climate change, carved away the beach and the dune and brought the surf up to the pilings of the home and a string of others to its north and south.”

While the Fox & Friends segment mentioned that worsening storms “have caused erosion,” the network has repeatedly downplayed (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-deniers/fox-trots-out-same-climate-denial-narrative-every-major-hurricane-hits-us) any connections between hurricanes and climate change, which has been making storms grow rapidly and more intense, destroying homes and businesses. Fox has also downplayed (https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/jesse-watters-bringing-his-egregious-brand-climate-denial-8pm-hour) the threat of sea level rise, which occurs (https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level#::text=Global%20mean%20sea%20level%20has,world%20ocean%20%28blue%20colors%29.) “mostly due to a combination of melt water from glaciers and ice sheets and thermal expansion of seawater as it warms,” according to NASA.

As FactCheck.org (https://www.factcheck.org/2024/08/trump-revives-and-further-decreases-his-absurdly-low-estimate-of-sea-level-rise/) pointed out, “For every inch of sea level rise, approximately 100 inches of beach are lost, according to NASA oceanographer and climate scientist Josh Willis.”

Trump’s Department of Energy recently published a so-called “critical review” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administrations-critical-review-climate-science-authored-some-fox-news-favorite) of climate science, which included several climate contrarians as authors and “cherry-picks (https://blog.ucs.org/rachel-cleetus/a-resounding-rejection-of-the-us-does-sham-climate-science-report/) text, data, and studies that paint an incomplete picture” in order “to suggest rising sea-levels in the US are only due to land-sinking,” according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (https://blog.ucs.org/rachel-cleetus/a-resounding-rejection-of-the-us-does-sham-climate-science-report/). The DOE report uses limited information to claim (https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/DOE_Critical_Review_of_Impacts_of_GHG_Emissions_on_the_US_Climate_July_2025.pdf) that there is “no obvious acceleration beyond the historical average rate of sea level rise.”

Meanwhile, members of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which manages the coastal area that was impacted, told The Charlotte Observer that “there are probably dozens of homes endangered on the oceanfront.”

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Fox averts its eyes from former employee Homan reportedly receiving a bag of cash

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Research contributions from Harrison Ray (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/harrison-ray)

Updated 09/22/25

Fox News has yet to address on-air the recent reports that White House border czar Tom Homan, while working as a contributor for the network in September 2024, accepted a bag of cash from undercover FBI agents as part of a corruption investigation which was subsequently closed under the Trump administration.

MSNBC reported (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/tom-homan-cash-contracts-trump-doj-investigation-rcna232568) on Saturday:

In an undercover operation last year, the FBI recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration, according to multiple people familiar with the probe and internal documents reviewed by MSNBC.

The FBI and the Justice Department planned to wait to see whether Homan would deliver on his alleged promise once he became the nation’s top immigration official. But the case indefinitely stalled soon after Donald Trump became president again in January, according to six sources familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, Trump appointees officially closed the investigation, after FBI Director Kash Patel requested a status update on the case, two of the people said.

It’s unclear what reasons FBI and Justice Department officials gave for shutting down the investigation. But a Trump Justice Department appointee called the case a “deep state” probe in early 2025 and no further investigative steps were taken, the sources say.

The federal investigation was launched in western Texas in the summer of 2024 after a subject in a separate investigation claimed Homan was soliciting payments in exchange for awarding contracts should Trump win the presidential election, according to an internal Justice Department summary of the probe reviewed by MSNBC and people familiar with the case.

The handoff, according to MSNBC, came on September 20, 2024, while Homan was making (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/border-czar-tom-homan-trump-restarts-revolving-door-between-fox-and-his-administration) frequent appearances on Fox as a paid network contributor in which he promoted Trump’s xenophobic positions. Homan had joined Fox after retiring as ICE’s acting director in 2018, a position in which he reportedly served (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-contributor-tom-homan-intellectual-father-family-separation) as the “intellectual ‘father’” of the Trump administration’s depraved family separation policy.

The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/us/politics/tom-homan-fbi-trump.html) and ABC News (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-ended-probe-border-czar-tom-homan-allegedly/story?id=125781386) subsequently confirmed MSNBC’s reporting, with the Times adding the detail that the cash payment had been “made inside a bag from the food chain Cava.”

Notably, in their statements to the outlets, FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson did not deny the reporting that Homan had been recorded taking a bag of cash from undercover agents. Instead, they claimed that the Justice Department had not uncovered evidence of illicit activity when it closed the investigation.

But MSNBC’s legal experts concluded that while Homan’s “actions didn’t clearly fit under a standard bribery charge” because neither he nor Trump were in office at the time, further investigation was warranted to determine whether he would continue accepting bags of cash once he was a public official. (A lesser charge would have been possible based on his promise to commit the crime, and MSNBC reported that “several FBI and Justice officials believed that they had a strong criminal case.”)

To state the obvious: Fox would be covering this story if it implicated a Democratic official and administration. But as of posting time (noon ET), the network has not mentioned it.

Homan is the lynchpin (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/inside-alliance-between-right-wing-media-and-trump-border-czar-tom-homan) of the right’s anti-immigrant strategy. He makes regular appearances on Fox and throughout the MAGA media ecosystem, helping them churn out propaganda in support of Trump’s cruel (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-champion-migrant-detention-camps-amid-reports-horrific-conditions), unlawful (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/trump-ignores-order-return-abrego-garcia-right-wing-media-falsely-claim-undocumented), and increasingly unpopular (https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/politics/deportations-backfiring-trump-analysis) mass deportation policies.

Homan is a loyal member of the Trump team, and so its other members are uninterested in whether he was taking bags of cash in exchange for promises of future favors. Former Fox host Megyn Kelly made this explicit, responding to the MSNBC scoop over the weekend by posting (https://x.com/megynkelly/status/1969520771115385206), “We DO NOT CARE. Don’t bother [Homan] he’s a national treasure.”

Fox’s stable of propagandists apparently agree. The network regularly (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/another-massive-trump-corruption-scandal-right-wing-media-bury) shields (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/donald-trump-killed-jeffrey-epstein-story-right) from its viewers (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-gave-new-classified-email-revelation-hegseth-signal-scandal-just-40-seconds) information (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-news-hiding-gops-brutal-medicaid-cuts) that reflects poorly (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-trump-feedback-loop-comes-chicago-troops-may-be-next) on Trump, the policies he supports, and the administration he assembled. A recording of their former colleague accepting a bag of cash is apparently no different.

{Update (9/22/25, 3:10 p.m.):* White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the Homan probe during her briefing, which Fox carried live in its 1 p.m. hour. Leavitt responded (https://x.com/Acyn/status/1970179676871197023) that Homan “never took the $50,000 that you're referring to, so you should get your facts straight.” After the briefing concluded, Fox anchor Gillian Turner asked (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033258) Fox political correspondent Byron York (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-ballad-of-byron-york-meet-conservative) about the exchange. York called Leavitt’s denial “huge” and a “clear conflict” with what was reported elsewhere.}:

MMA //

Fox contributor Tom Homan is the “intellectual ‘father’” of family separation (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-contributor-tom-homan-intellectual-father-family-separation)

08/08/22

With “Border Czar” Tom Homan, Trump restarts the revolving door between Fox and his administration (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/border-czar-tom-homan-trump-restarts-revolving-door-between-fox-and-his-administration)

11/12/24

Inside the alliance between right-wing media and Trump “Border Czar” Tom Homan (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/inside-alliance-between-right-wing-media-and-trump-border-czar-tom-homan)

08/07/25

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mma

Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo pushes raising retirement age for Social Security (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-business/fox-business-maria-bartiromo-pushes-raising-retirement-age-social-security)

09/18/25

mma

Fox News completely ignored Senate hearing with ousted CDC director Susan Monarez (https://www.mediamatters.org/robert-f-kennedy-rfk-jr/fox-news-completely-ignored-senate-hearing-ousted-cdc-director-susan)

09/17/25

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mma

Fox News embeds with feds bringing the war on terror to Trump’s invasion of Chicago

The military created its modern embed program to sell the post-9/11 wars. Now, as Trump unleashes his deportation machine on Chicago and beyond, Fox News is along for the ride.

Written by John Knefel (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/john-knefel)

Published09/17/25

Men in military fatigues loitered out of focus as Fox News national correspondent Griff Jenkins, in an understated, earth-toned shirt, somberly described the launch of a new, multi-agency operation in a city one of his colleagues had recently described (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-trump-feedback-loop-comes-chicago-troops-may-be-next) as “a war zone.” Jenkins was on what Fox anchor Bill Hemmer referred to as an “exclusive ride-along,” embedded with militarized forces in tactical gear as they — in the words of their top commander — went hunting (https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/09/08/september-ice-surge-massachusetts-boston-arrests).

“Operation Midway Blitz is fully underway,” Jenkins intoned (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032999) during the September 9 segment. “They are surging in this elite team of ICE agents behind me, just moments ago executed a criminal arrest warrant for an illegal Mexican agent.”

Although Jenkins was in Chicago, not the outskirts of Baghdad in 2003, the optics couldn’t have been any clearer if former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were holding a special deck of 55 cards (https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/weekinreview/april-27-may-3-playing-55-pickup-in-iraq-the-game-s-one-third-over.html#::text=THE%20Pentagon's%20public%20relations%20barons,The%20Game's%20One%2DThird%20Over.). Operation Midway Blitz was MAGA’s updated take on Operation Iraqi Freedom’s “shock and awe,” and compliant media were along for the ride.

As former President George W. Bush launched his global war on terror after the attacks on 9/11, the U.S. military modernized (https://www.nyulawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/NYULawReview-80-4-Zeide.pdf) its approach to journalistic access and created an embed program — attaching reporters to front-line units with the ultimate goal of selling the invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. While journalists had a modicum of freedom from military censorship during the Vietnam War, which resulted in negative coverage that the brass blamed (https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/374) for the U.S. failure there, the model was different by 2003.

The new approach was to stymie critical reporting before it went public, what some researchers refer (https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34621/chapter/294946623) to as a “precensorship” regime. The predictable result was coverage that legitimized (https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/jglobfaul.11.1.0027) the Iraq War and deemphasized (https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/embedded-reporting-influences-war-coverage-study-shows) stories that centered on Iraqi victims and exposed the horrors of the occupation.

Now, Fox News and the Trump administration are bringing that paradigm to U.S. cities as the wars on terror, drugs, and immigrants congeal into an all-purpose authoritarian campaign on domestic soil.

Trump hasn’t deployed National Guard troops to Chicago yet, though he has repeatedly made that threat (https://www.axios.com/2025/09/12/trump-chicago-national-guard-pritzker-crime-memphis). His new target (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/trump-memphis-national-guard-crime.html) is Memphis, Tennessee, in part because Republican Gov. Bill Lee supports the effort (https://apnews.com/article/trump-memphis-national-guard-deployment-crime-washington-f678a17a66d3e49b2f67930a6ea70e6b), which will include other federal agencies as well. Operation Midway Blitz, on the other hand, is an element of Trump’s mass deportation campaign, which is spearheaded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The stakes for Trump’s militarized approach were made plain on September 12, when an ICE agent shot and killed a man (https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/ice-shooting-franklin-park-illinois/) after a vehicle stop just outside Chicago.

Jenkins’ report was filed three days earlier, but it clearly showed how such stops and arrests can quickly escalate.

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From the September 9, 2025, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom

“Take a look at this video,” Jenkins said, describing the violent detention of a Chicago resident. “Early they captured him coming out of his house. He got into his vehicle and tried to hide in there.”

“The ICE agents were forced to break the window and extract him,” Jenkins continued over footage of agents wearing camouflage and body armor — some in masks — throwing the man to the ground and handcuffing him.

“Griff, you saw some action — immediately,” Hemmer said to close out the segment.

Fox News helped bring the war on terror to the southern border

Jenkins’s stunt represents an escalation from Fox News in that it imposes the logic and aesthetics of foreign war reporting on a major U.S. city, but the network has a long history of working alongside armed agents of the state to produce what are essentially press releases, most recently as it pertains to immigration enforcement.

The parallels between the heady days of the George W. Bush administration and Trump’s second term are everywhere, for those curious to look.

As the industrial base of the war on terror evolved (https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/us/us-military-firms-eye-border-security-contracts.html) to focus on the U.S. southern border, so too did the complimentary media coverage. The center of gravity for the right’s national security priorities (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/brief-history-right-wing-medias-incendiary-border-invasion-talking-point) shifted from places like Fallujah to places like Texas’ Eagle Pass, and Fox News reporters and producers could titillate their audiences with dramatic, war-like footage (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fox-news-us-mexico-border-bullet-proof-vest-a8856316.html) much closer to home.

Fox’s Bill Melugin, who served for years as a border correspondent, frequently (https://x.com/search?q=embedded%20%28from%3Abillmelugin_%29&src=typed_query&f=top) embeds with ICE units and state law enforcement like the Texas Department of Public Safety. Like Fox’s recent Chicago footage, Melugin’s coverage (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/la-times-sympathetic-profile-fox-news-bill-melugin-lets-him-hook-his-role-networks-racism) has served to reinforce (https://www.mediamatters.org/vdare/white-nationalists-embrace-fox-news-bill-melugin) the right-wing argument that the border was a war zone where only a militarized response would suffice.

Melugin’s own reporting helps illustrate how the war on terror metastasized to fit the needs of the Republican Party — and Fox News — in the Trump era. As Media Matters previously reported (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/bill-melugin-fox-news-top-anti-migrant-reporter):

Melugin was the key driver of one of the biggest immigration stories of 2021, the perceived crisis of Haitian migrants who had established a small camp under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas. There was a crisis, but it was for the Haitians who were relegated to extreme deprivation, humiliation, and stigma — not for the residents of Del Rio or for the United States more broadly.

Melugin initially used an airborne drone (https://twitter.com/billfoxla/status/1438140522535833601?lang=en) to cover the story, later appearing (https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1438662161673465860) on Tucker Carlson Tonight repeatedly to discuss his footage. When the Federal Aviation Administration instituted (https://news.yahoo.com/fox-news-drone-banned-filming-154605571.html) a two-week flight restriction over Del Rio, the Texas Department of Public Safety allowed (https://dailycaller.com/2021/09/17/texas-department-gives-fox-news-bill-melugin-helicopter-ride-over-del-rio-texas-cover-border-crisis/) him to embed in an agency helicopter to continue his coverage. The FAA later gave Fox clearance (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/faa-grounds-drones-exposing-thousands-of-migrants-under-bridge) to fly the drone again, which Melugin did, keeping the manufactured crisis in the headlines (https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2021-09-13%202021-10-01&geo=US&q=del%20rio%20bridge).

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He regularly refers to families as “family units,” the official (https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/supplemental_policy_guidance.pdf), and dehumanizing, term used by the Department of Homeland Security. His reports often sound like he’s on safari, hunting prey. “Just a short time ago we had a group of runners come zipping right by us,” he said (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-airs-remarkable-video-man-trying-sink-rafts-migrants-them) in November. “We found two of those runners hiding in a bush. Very difficult to see them.” Later in the segment, Melugin referenced a “remarkable” video published by far-right website Breitbart that showed a man trying to sink rafts migrants were using to cross the Rio Grande.

In April 2022, Melugin co-bylined an article (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-people-terrorist-database-southern-border-2021-cbp-data) warning that “Border Patrol apprehended at least 23 people coming across the southern border whose names are on the terror watchlist in 2021.” The story served as the basis (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-news-dishonestly-fearmongering-about-terrorism-southern-border) for at least seven segments the day it was published, part of a longrunning and false (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-twist-facts-fearmonger-terrorists-are-coming-across-us-mexico-border) right-wing narrative that terrorists were widely attempting to infiltrate the United States through the southern border.

Fox News makes the war on terror great again

Jenkins’ embed is play-acting, another form of threat inflation that simultaneously casts Chicago as a war zone — despite the city’s historically low rates (https://jasher.substack.com/p/contextualizing-chicagos-enormous) of gun violence — and Trump as its liberator. His performance is an attempt to legitimize Trump’s campaign, and to naturalize the full importation of war on terror logic to U.S. streets. Beyond Chicago, Fox has supported Trump’s threats to other cities, including (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-call-overwhelming-force-and-arrests-la-protests) sending (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-cheer-trump-deploy-national-guard-other-american-cities-after-dc) in troops to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City.

And if Melugin’s vague fearmongering about terrorists at the border in the early 2020s felt like an afterimage of the 9/11 era, Fox’s coverage of the first six months of Trump’s second term is more like a targeting scope coming into focus. The parallels between the heady days of the George W. Bush administration and Trump’s second term are everywhere, for those curious to look.

The war on terror is back, and this time it's wearing a bright red MAGA hat.

Fox anchor Harris Faulkner recently echoed (https://www.mediamatters.org/harris-faulkner/fox-anchor-those-who-question-legality-trumps-missile-strike-venezuelan-boat-are) Bush’s formulation (https://youtu.be/zB145D3XJzE) that “either you are with us or with the terrorists” when she responded to Trump’s extrajudicial killing (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/us/politics/trump-venezuela-boat-drugs-attack.html) of 11 people on a boat off the coast of Venezuela on September 2. Addressing critics of Trump’s order, Faulkner asked: “Are they working against America and for the drug cartels?” (Trump has since targeted (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/15/trump-venezuela-drug-strike/) a second boat, killing three people, and claims to have “knocked off” a third without offering further details.)

Fox celebrated (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-concoct-their-own-legal-justification-trumps-extrajudicial-strike) the initial strike itself and has been pushing (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-medias-campaign-military-intervention-and-regime-change-venezuela) for military escalation in Venezuela — up to and including regime change. The playbook is so familiar Fox’s Jesse Watters reanimated one of the key phrases used to sell the invasion of Iraq. “That drugged out dinghy was a floating weapon of mass destruction packed with enough poison to kill countless Americans,” Watters said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033011) on September 3.

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From the September 3, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

A range of Fox personalities celebrated (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-hosts-have-absolutely-no-idea-how-gitmo-prison-going-work-they-love-it) Trump’s decision just days after taking office to send people to Guantanamo Bay, perhaps the defining symbol of both the beginning of the war on terror and its seeming permanence. Pete Hegseth, the former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host now serving as Trump’s secretary of the newly renamed (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/restoring-the-united-states-department-of-war/) Department of War, deployed (https://x.com/PressSecDOD/status/1894451140474859699) to the Guantanamo detention camp with the National Guard following 9/11. Two decades later, he returned (https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/article/4047625/defense-secretary-affirms-commitment-to-border-security-plan-to-house-migrants/) there in his official capacity (https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4078647/hegseth-visits-guantanamo-bay-engages-with-troops/) “to speak to service members who are currently supporting the illegal alien holding operations being led by the Department of Homeland Security.”

The war on terror is back, and this time it's wearing a bright red MAGA hat. But for those not attached — in every sense of the word — to the government forces currently terrorizing U.S. cities, it’s clear the war never even ended at all.

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LISA KENNEDY MONTGOMERY (CO-HOST): I don't like it. I don't like it because of the nuns. Because all it takes is one fishing boat with a broken radio or people who don't speak English and you're killing innocent civilians and I do not like that.

The war on drugs failed the first time around. Things can go very badly here. We have not properly addressed demand in this country. That has not gone away. That is one of the reasons that the cartels proliferated during and after the war on drugs. So we do have to address demand in this country. We do have to address why do people, especially kids, in this country want to put things in their body they know can kill them? It is terrifying.

And instead, we're doing it wrong because we are, you know, we're giving people heroin to shoot up instead of taking people who need the most mental health treatment and who need the most drug treatment and getting them into facilities which can extend their lives and make them better. So, you know, I do agree with Rand Paul here that if there are people we want to go after, instead of just killing them without any due process, put them on trial. And, you know if they get tried in a state where they do have the death penalty, then let due process play out.

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Fox continued Trump’s campaign to fire Fed board member Lisa Cook just before reports seemed to exonerate her (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-continued-trumps-campaign-fire-fed-board-member-lisa-cook-just-reports-seemed)

09/16/25 MMA

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note no ref to kirk bef shot?

an 9 25

After MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in Utah on Wednesday afternoon, September 10, a long list of centrist Democrats, liberals and progressives wasted no time wholeheartedly condemning the attack (https://www.alternet.org/progressives-who-reviled-charlie-kirk-s-politics-repudiate-his/) — from California Gov. Gavin Newsom to former President Joe Biden to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan (https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/1965897582552690966), who is originally from the U.K., tweeted, "Charlie Kirk called me a 'lunatic' and a 'prostitute' and demanded I be deported. Nothing, nothing, justifies killing him, or robbing his kids of their dad. We don't know the identity or motive of the shooter but murder can never be the response to political disagreements."

On Fox News, however, far-right host Jesse Watters had a threatening tone (https://x.com/therecount/status/1965889376610566338) when he called for retaliation against Kirk's critics.

READ MORE: 'He did not care': Details emerge about 71 year-old mistakenly arrested after Kirk murder (https://www.alternet.org/arrest-kirk/)

Watters told viewers, "They are at war with us, whether we want to accept it or not. And what are we going to do about it? Charlie would want us to put as much pressure on these people as possible….. This is unacceptable, and it has to stop. And it has to stop now. And everybody's accountable. And we're watching what they're saying on television and who's saying what. The politicians, the media, and all these rats out there. This can never happen again. It ends now…. This is a turning point."

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Watters called for the right to "avenge Charlie's death" — a comment that journalist Pete Twinklage found especially disturbing.

On X, formerly Twitter, Twinklage posted (https://x.com/PeterTwinklage/status/1965915376870633859), "this is spectacularly dangerous rhetoric. the Murdochs need to bench Watters immediately. vowing to 'avenge' Kirk's horrific assassination instead of calling for calm is beyond irresponsible. the country is a tinderbox and this lunatic is juggling dynamite and matches."

Watters' comments are generating a lot of discussion on X.

READ MORE: Group of students 'stood up and cheered' after Charlie Kirk was shot: eyewitness (https://www.alternet.org/charlie-kirk-shot-students/)

New Jersey-based Kim Hurdman tweeted (https://x.com/kimhurdman/status/1965950030273196261), "Why would the Murdoch’s bench him? They installed him. The entire network promotes this mindset and ideology. Telling people their political opponents are enemy[.] They spent 40 yrs getting fabulously wealthy telling older white pp who to be afraid of and who to hate. Get real."

Journalist Jessica Durkin posted (https://x.com/jessdrkn/status/1965946065456345489), "Meanwhile MSNBC is apologizing up and down because Matthew Dowd said the truth on that channel that Kirk speaks hate."

U.S. Marines veteran Gene Frenkel tweeted (https://x.com/3Fiddy5/status/1966114995667955953), "MSNBC fired Dowd.. Watters deserves the same."

Another U.S. Marines veteran, Paul Nun, commented (https://x.com/paulspadenun/status/1965913105650901226), "Jesse Watters made an entire career around stoking division. He failed to mention the Republican terrorist who murdered Democratic politicians a few weeks ago."

X user Martin Judd remarked (https://x.com/jartinz/status/1965975451878514688), "Murdochs have just announced the most radical far-right son will run the place. So he is not going to be of any help."

Journalist/author John L. Valentine wrote (https://x.com/SageAmenti/status/1965968425727177200), "This punk isn't going to do anything but run his mouth. He's a TV warrior. Brave behind his desk. He'll leave the violence he's trying to incite to others. His call for more violence won't end the violence. It'll only exacerbate it."

READ MORE: 'None of us should tolerate this': Trump ripped over 'deplorable' promise of 'retribution' (https://www.alternet.org/trump-deplorable-retribution/)

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11 PPL ON BD SO LIKELY HUMAN SMUGGLING?

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September 5, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Faulkner Focus

HARRIS FAULKNER (ANCHOR): We begin with this Fox News alert. The Trump administration ramping up its mission to stop narco-terrorists who are bringing in deadly drugs to the United States. Now he has slowed things down to a crawl at the border. So that has helped. But we have a tremendous amount of things coming into the country in other ways. I mean, you know, they are being pushed from China, we know that. That's where the original sourcing is. The Pentagon is reportedly deploying ten advanced fighter jets to Puerto Rico now to join the fight against the drug cartels. Those jets will join a growing military build-up into the Caribbean. So I want to get into how this is still getting into the country. We will. I'm Harris Faulkner. You are in the Faulkner focus.

This week the U.S. Military took out a vessel the administration says was carrying Venezuelan gang members and drugs. It's hard to believe that that wouldn't be a good thing for everybody — because it is. Somebody's not really telling the truth on this. Under a Trump administration, the people on the left and the legacy media say this is a bad thing. Why?

...

FAULKNER: I love that part about: It feels to me. That's not exactly how any of this works. So are they just fooling around on the left or do they realize what they actually sound like? Are they working against America and for the drug cartels with their support? These are questions they need to answer.

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Fox News mostly ignored warnings from FEMA employees that Trump is setting the stage for a “disaster on the level of Hurricane Katrina” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-mostly-ignored-warnings-fema-employees-trump-setting-stage-disaster-level)

09/04/25 3:37 PM EDT

### National TV news coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s 20th anniversary was solemn and respectful but largely elided the structural inequalities the storm exposed (https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/national-tv-news-coverage-hurricane-katrinas-20th-anniversary-was-solemn-and)

09/04/25

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an 8 25

Before Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) appointed Fox News entertainer Jeanine Pirro U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, NPR reports she (https://www.npr.org/2025/09/04/nx-s1-5526879/fox-news-jeanine-pirro-reckless-maniac) already had a reputation with her old bosses at Fox.

"Insane," is how one Fox corporate board member described one of her public statements, according to NPR.

"Reckless maniac," is how a Fox News executive put it.

“I don't trust her to be responsible," another executive admitted.

READ MORE: Economist Paul Krugman says Trump 'telling the truth' on this issue — but there's a catch (https://www.alternet.org/krugman-trump-housing-crisis/)

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Still another company head was horrified at Pirro’s “tendency to find random conspiracy theories on weird internet sites."

NPR reports these opinions were lifted from legal documents made public last month in a defamation lawsuit brought by Smartmatic, a voting technology company, against Fox News. Pirro is named as a defendant. The critiques circulated when Pirro was at the top of her purported game at Fox as an explosive entertainer fond of big, blaring statements and claims, similar to the breathless threats and “federal assault” prosecution Pirro lobbed at a man who hurled a hoagie (https://www.alternet.org/jeanine-pirro-mocked/) at a U.S. border agent in Washington, D.C.

“He thought it was funny. Well, he doesn’t think it’s funny today because we charged him with a felony assault on a police officer, and we’re going to back the police to the hilt. So, there — stick your subway sandwich somewhere else,” Pirro shouted into her office camera (https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/stick-your-subway-sandwich-jeanine-pirro-comes-down-hard-on-hoagie-hucking-bro/).

A federal grand jury did not agree (https://www.alternet.org/jeanine-pirro-grand-jury/), handing Pirro her second defeat (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/fbi-agent-assault-dc.html) at indicting D.C. residents protesting President Donald Trump’s flood of federal agents on local streets.

READ MORE: 'Trump takes this snub personally': Conservative mocks 'saddest little dictator' (https://www.alternet.org/trump-dictator-bulwark/)

“The U.S. attorney can try to concoct crimes to quiet the people, but in our criminal justice system, the citizens have the last word,” said defense attorneys for Sidney Lori Reid (https://archive.is/20250825230216/https:/www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/fbi-agent-assault-dc.html#selection-675.308-675.324), who Pirro tried to prosecute allegedly placing herself between ICE agents and someone they were detaining. “We are anxious to present the misdemeanor case to a jury and to quickly clear Ms. Reid’s name.”

NPR reports former Trump senior official Sarah Isgur saying the jury was still out on whether Pirro can be an effective prosecutor.

"At some point in the near future, she's going to be really tested — like all U.S. attorneys with these kinds of big posts are," said Isgur. "And we'll find out whether those comments were prescient or whether she really does understand the difference between the two hats."

Read the full NPR report at this link (https://www.npr.org/2025/09/04/nx-s1-5526879/fox-news-jeanine-pirro-reckless-maniac).

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an 8 25

Nearly all major cable news networks carried the high-profile press conference in Washington D.C. in which victims of convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein called for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all of its Epstein-related evidence. Fox News, however, largely dismissed it.

Mediaite reported Wednesday (https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/fox-news-cuts-out-of-mtg-epstein-presser-once-she-criticizes-trump-doj/) that Fox aired the presser up until Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) took aim at the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration for continuing to keep the Epstein files under wraps, specifically naming the FBI, the CIA and the DOJ. At that point, host Dana Perino cut away.

"So Marjorie Taylor Greene continues speaking at this press conference about the Epstein files, the Epstein victims, as well – a highlight on them today," Perino said, before segueing into a separate story attacking Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as "the worst mayor in America."

READ MORE:'The American people are watching': Epstein victims put Trump on notice (https://www.alternet.org/epstein-victims-trump/)

Others also noticed Fox News suddenly cutting away from the press conference. Media Matters for America senior fellow Matthew Gertz wrote on X (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1963257483134132355): "While CNN and MSNBC are airing the press conference featuring Jeffrey Epstein's victims, Fox News is providing counter-programming featuring a Trump appointee."

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"MSNBC and CNN giving full coverage to Epstein victims testimony today, because Trump is president and wants it to go away," conservative freelance journalist Jack Hunter tweeted (https://x.com/jackhunter74/status/1963256476245401843). "Fox News not covering it at all, because Trump is president and wants it to go away."

Deadline.com correspondent Ted Johnson also confirmed (https://x.com/tedstew/status/1963249695959994826) that Fox News diverted from the press conference by posting four screenshots with the text: "CNN, MSNBC and BBC on press conference with Epstein victims, Fox News so far is not."

"What an absolute disgrace on the part of @FoxNews (https://x.com/FoxNews) -- the network cut away from the Epstein survivors press conference," one X user wrote (https://x.com/MillardFillmor1/status/1963253433235898550). "Fox is clearly taking orders from the White House."

READ MORE:'We have a problem': CNN data guru sounds alarm as 70% of Americans abandon core value (https://www.alternet.org/american-voters-pessimism/)

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Fox and other right-wing media are ignoring or praising the Trump family's self-serving cryptocurrency ventures (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/fox-and-other-right-wing-media-are-ignoring-or-praising-trump-familys-cryptocurrency)

08/28/25

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The hosts of Fox News’ Fox & Friends tried to help Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clean up the mess caused by the purge of top leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, downplaying the agency’s crisis while serving up softball questions to the Department of Health and Human Services secretary in a Thursday morning interview.

The White House said Wednesday night (https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/08/27/susan-monarez-cdc-director-ousted/) that it had fired CDC Director Susan Monarez, just a month after her confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The Washington Post reported that Kennedy, who was a notorious antivaccine activist before his appointment at HHS, had demanded Monarez’s resignation after she declined to say that she would “support rescinding certain approvals for coronavirus vaccines.” At least three senior CDC officials (https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/08/3-cdc-senior-leaders-quit-following-agency-leaders-ouster/407742/) announced their resignations following her dismissal, including the agency’s chief medical officer and its top scientists overseeing vaccines and emerging infectious diseases.

Fox bears significant responsibility (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/rfk-jr-kennedy-mrna-vaccines-fox-news-rcna223917) for Kennedy’s ongoing dismantling of U.S. health agencies and their work. The network’s stars helped mainstream antivaccine sentiment within the GOP, elevated Kennedy during his 2024 presidential campaign as part of a strategy to return President Donald Trump to the White House, and greased the skids for Kennedy’s ascension to the pinnacle of the U.S. health bureaucracy. They even assured their viewers, in the words (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-host-suggests-rfk-jr-appointment-means-we-might-not-have-worry-about-our-children) of Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt, that Kennedy was “not going to take away vaccines.”

But rather than treating Kennedy’s CDC purge as an off-ramp, Fox responded by doubling down on its support.

Plenty of reporters surely wanted to speak to Kennedy after he pushed out the CDC director then watched other agency leaders leave. But it was the co-hosts of Fox & Friendsthat got the opportunity, and it’s obvious why — they were willing to treat the exodus as a minor story. Indeed, Brian Kilmeade’s promo focused on an entirely different topic.

“RFK Jr. is taking on the chronic disease epidemic and how he wants to change medical schools to make America healthy again,” Kilmeade said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032734). “The HHS secretary will deal with that — and all his staff changes — coming your way.”

That was also the tenor of the interview.

Video

Citation

From the August 28, 2025, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends

Kennedy fielded nearly four minutes of questions about Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Minnesota Catholic school before guest host Emily Compagno finally raised the issue of Monarez’s ouster.

But Compagno did not mention the reason for Monarez’s dismissal or the number of CDC officials who had subsequently resigned, instead asking: “The CDC director was fired after refusing to resign, as her lawyers accuse you, sir, of putting millions of lives at risk, as the CDC vaccine chief slammed in a resignation post. What are your thoughts on that?”

Kennedy responded that “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on a personnel issue” before pivoting to critique the CDC’s praise of vaccines and its need for “strong leadership” that “will be able to execute on President Trump's broad ambitions.”

Kilmeade then read from a statement criticizing Kennedy from Monarez’s lawyers and noted two of the other CDC resignations before adding, “Is this something that’s caught you by surprise? What’s your reaction to people that are getting a little worried?”

Kennedy responded: “I think that no, it has not caught us by surprise. Again, I cannot comment on personnel issues, but the agency is in trouble, and we need to fix it, and we are fixing it, and it may be that some people should not be working there anymore.”

And with that, discussion of the CDC losing four top leaders overnight was concluded, as Compagno asked Kennedy an open-ended question that allowed him to segue to “our newest initiative to try to get the medical schools to start teaching nutrition.”

After a few minutes of discussion on that topic, the interview closed with an ominous sign for the future, as the HHS secretary previewed his promised September report on the purported causes of autism.

“We are now developing sufficient evidence to ask for regulatory action on some of those, or at least recommendations,” Kennedy said.

It seems likely that Kennedy will attempt to carry out (https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5471327-autism-epidemic-kennedy-trump/) the anti-vax project to which he’s already dedicated years of his life, using false claims that vaccines cause autism to try to alter the childhood vaccine schedule that reduces pediatric deaths and hospitalizations (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/childhood-vaccination-has-saved-millions-of-lives-but-rising-hesitancy-could-reverse-decades-of-progress/) from infectious diseases.

:{After last night, there are fewer senior leaders at CDC to stand up to Kennedy and his conspiracy theories. And after this morning, we can expect Fox to be in his corner.:{}:

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Murdoch media find a scapegoat for New Jersey’s high electric rates

As data centers demand enormous energy outputs and Garden State grid operators reportedly slow-walk new projects, right-wing media take shots at renewable energy

Special ProgramsClimate & Energy (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-energy)

Written by Ilana Berger (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/ilana-berger)

Published 08/27/25

Murdoch media outlets are blaming high electricity bills in New Jersey on “green-energy mandates.” But experts and local politicians say price hikes are being driven by data centers, which (https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/clean-energy-tax-credits-tech-industry-e4239baa) “guzzle electricity around the clock,” and decisions made by the regional operator.

The price of electricity has been on the rise across the country. Between 2021 and 2024, the average monthly residential electricity bill (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/with-americans-facing-utility-bill-increases-this-year-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-threatens-to-drive-costs-even-higher/) in America went up by $22 per month. Now, energy prices are rising (https://www.npr.org/2025/08/16/nx-s1-5502671/electricity-bill-high-inflation-ai) twice as fast as inflation and are expected to increase further (https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/how-obbb-will-impact-the-power-grid/).

Several factors, including increased demand for electricity to power new data centers and New Jersey grid operator PJM’s reported failure (https://www.njpp.org/publications/explainer/why-are-new-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-and-what-does-pjm-have-to-do-with-it/) to quickly connect renewable projects to the grid, are contributing to the rate hikes in New Jersey.

As electricity bills become a prominent concern in New Jersey and across the country, Energy Secretary Chris Wright complained (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/19/trump-energy-power-prices-00512230?utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack) to Politico, “We’re going to get blamed.” Indeed, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is set to increase (https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/how-obbb-will-impact-the-power-grid/) energy costs “by around $165 per household per year in 2030, and by more than $280 in 2035 — a jump of over 13% compared to current costs.” Instead of acknowledging that, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post are scrambling to find a way to blame rate hikes on now-imperiled renewable energy projects — projects that tech companies fought to keep (https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/clean-energy-tax-credits-tech-industry-e4239baa) as they search for ways to make their data centers viable.

Electricity bills have spiked in New Jersey, a result of changes in the state’s energy market

In New Jersey, wholesale electric bills rose by 20% in 2025, and ratepayers will likely pay up to 5% more on top of that starting in June 2026. The rate hike has impacted customers of the regional transmission operator PJM, which serves 13 states including New Jersey. The spike came a year after PJM held its annual capacity auction in 2024. During auctions, power generators sell electricity to providers and commit to meet future energy demand. Utility Dive, \7/23/25 (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-interconnection-capacity-auction-prices/753798/); Inside Climate News, 8/18/25 (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18082025/new-jersey-measures-demand-pjm-interconnection-transparency/); Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, accessed [8/19/25 (https://www.ferc.gov/understanding-wholesale-capacity-markets)]

State policymakers and industry insiders agree the key to driving down costs is boosting energy supply.In a letter, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and eight other governors from states where PJM operates accused it of failing to “efficiently connect new resources to its grid and to engage in effective long-term transmission planning.” According to The Gothamist, although “New Jersey currently has 33 large-scale, shovel-ready solar projects awaiting approval by PJM … many could take a year or 18 months longer to get approval.” The Gothamist, [8/19/25 (https://gothamist.com/news/trump-may-kill-dozens-of-nj-clean-energy-projects-already-delayed-for-years)]

Trump has railed against renewables in New Jersey and across the nation

Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “STUPID AND UGLY WINDMILLS ARE KILLING NEW JERSEY. Energy prices are up 28% this year, and not enough electricity to take care of state. STOP THE WINDMILLS.” Twitter/X, [8/19/25 (https://x.com/kylascan/status/1957794853342887983)]

Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS. THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!! MAGA” Twitter/X, [8/20/25 (https://x.com/DailyTruthPosts/status/1958362284750987348)]

Murdoch media claim that “green-energy mandates” and fossil fuel plant closures are to blame for rate hikes seen in states like New Jersey

When asked about skyrocketing electricity bills on Fox Business, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, (R-NJ) told guest host Cheryl Casone, “We needed gas plants — instead of opening new ones, we closed them. … We put billions upon billions of dollars of money from the ratepayers and the taxpayers into foreign corporations for wind energy, which are failed projects.”After Trump railed against wind farms on Truth Social, calling them “the scam of the century,” Casone asked Van Drew, “You also say that offshore wind is a scam and has driven New Jersey energy bills through the roof. What kind of price increases have your constituents seen?” Van Drew has been leading the charge against wind projects in New Jersey for years. Fox Business, Mornings with Maria, \8/22/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032661); Media Matters, [3/23/23 (https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/misinformation-about-recent-whale-deaths-dominated-discussions-offshore-wind-energy)]

Fox News host Lawrence Jones: “New Jersey residents are waking up to the cost of going green.” Jones interviewed Bjorn Lomborg, who said, “If you want to go green, it has real costs. … People are in rebellion against the high green costs.” Fox News, Fox and Friends, [8/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032574)]

OnFox & Friends Weekend, Charles Hurt said, “New Jersey electric bills have tripled the summer,” and claimed people are blaming Democrats because they’re “always prioritizing global warming over people’s ability to pay their electric bill.” Guest Joe Piscopo, a right-wing radio host, used the segment to promote Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who “has all the answers to stop these high prices and save energy.” Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, [8/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032575)]

The New York Post’s editorial board blamed soaring energy rates in New York “largely” on “green-energy mandates that Gov. Kathy Hochul embraced along with the rest of the party” and said the “‘climate agenda’ is delivering pain we’ve long warned of, in New York and New Jersey.”New York Post, [8/16/25 (https://nypost.com/2025/08/16/opinion/insane-energy-policies-are-set-to-burn-democrats-in-new-jersey-new-york/)]

Fox anchor Jon Scott amplified the Post’s editorial and spoke with Fox News contributor Phil Flynn, who attacked New Jersey’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, saying, “The Garden State may be where the Green New Deal actually dies because you’re getting such blowback from people getting their electricity bills.”Fox News, Fox Report with John Scott, [8/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032576)]

OnThe Big Money Show, host Dagen McDowell blamed “green-obsessed Gov. Phil Murphy,” saying that “his big ego and his 100% clean electricity production by 2035 plan has all of his constituents paying 15% more for retail power than the national average.” Fox Business, The Big Money Show, [8/15/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032577)]

Fox & FriendsandAmerica’s Newsroomboth ran a correspondent report on higher electricity prices in New Jersey, blaming the “state's Democratic-led push to shut down coal and nuclear plants without reliable replacements.”The reports quoted Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill explaining that the regional grid operator is behind the hikes, but correspondent CB Cotton also suggested that sustainable energy policies are to blame. Cotton said on America’s Newsroom, “Critics are blaming the state's Democratic-led push to shut down coal and nuclear plants without reliable replacements, leaving that power grid strained as demand soars” and added, “The outrage is spilling into politics with the governor's race tightening.” She made a similar statement on Fox and Friends. Fox News, Fox & Friends, \8/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032579); America’s Newsroom,[8/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032578)]

In the New York Post, conservative writer Bethany Mandel pushed the narrative that the rate hikes in New Jersey are the result of “Democrats’ bungled energy policies.”She also cited an unnamed “energy expert” to claim that hikes are the result of “the state’s aggressive shutdown of coal-powered plants under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.” In the op-ed, Mandel also argued that rising costs in the state “could blow November’s race wide open.” New York Post, [8/10/25 (https://nypost.com/2025/08/10/opinion/new-jerseys-insane-electric-bills-could-cost-dems-the-state/)]

Paul H. Tice, who has called climate change a “scam,” wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “How Phil Murphy Caused New Jersey Electricity Prices to Soar.” Like others, he blamed fossil fuel power plants closures and the state’s commitment to decarbonizing its economy by 2035. Wall Street Journal, \8/8/25 (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/how-phil-murphy-caused-new-jersey-electricity-prices-to-soar-18c9e6ce); Twitter/X, 9/1/23 (https://x.com/PaulHTice/status/1697708878325072252); [11/26/24 (https://x.com/PaulHTice/status/1861423946341437922)]

Several factors, including data center energy usage and long interconnection queues, are contributing to rate hikes

In New Jersey, energy supply has not been able to keep up with demand, and experts say that data centers are driving the massive increase in demand. PJM says that in New Jersey alone, data centers “account for 70 percent of projected increase in demand.” But it’s not just a Garden State problem. The International Energy Agency estimates that “driven by AI use, the US economy is set to consume more electricity in 2030 for processing data than for manufacturing all energy-intensive goods combined, including aluminium, steel, cement and chemicals.” International Energy Agency, \4 (https://www.njpp.org/publications/explainer/why-are-new-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-and-what-does-pjm-have-to-do-with-it/)/10/25 (https://www.iea.org/news/ai-is-set-to-drive-surging-electricity-demand-from-data-centres-while-offering-the-potential-to-transform-how-the-energy-sector-works); New Jersey Policy Press, [5/29/25 (https://www.njpp.org/publications/explainer/why-are-new-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-and-what-does-pjm-have-to-do-with-it/)]

PJM has been slow to get new energy projects up and running to meet this demand, with many renewable projects sitting around unplugged.New Jersey's grid hasn't been able to keep up with this increased demand, reportedly largely because of “PJM’s own delays in connecting new energy projects to the grid,” according to New Jersey Policy Perspective. As of March, “143 gigawatts worth of projects — including 79 projects in New Jersey — were awaiting approval in the interconnection queue, enough to power about 115 million homes.” This would nearly double PJM’s current grid supply. Out of these projects, 95% percent are renewable energy or storage projects. New Jersey Policy Perspective, [5/29/25 (https://www.njpp.org/publications/explainer/why-are-new-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-and-what-does-pjm-have-to-do-with-it/)]

Unreliable natural gas power plants are also driving up prices for PJM customers, and the operator's governance structure privileges “for-profit, utility, and fossil fuel companies.”According to the Natural Resources Defense Fund, “Since PJM did not account for fossil fuel resource weaknesses in its previous capacity market auctions, customers paid for these plants as if they were reliable. That’s like buying a house at full price only to realize the foundation is crumbling. It now turns out that the repairs are quite expensive.” The small number of projects that PJM has recently connected to the grid have been ”primarily fossil fuel projects," and PJM’s “governance structure … gives significant influence to for-profit, utility and fossil fuel companies,” while operating “largely behind closed doors with limited transparency,” according to New Jersey Policy Perspective. NRDC, \8/22/24 (https://www.nrdc.org/bio/claire-lang-ree/pjms-capacity-auction-real-story); New Jersey Policy Perspective, [5/29/25 (https://www.njpp.org/publications/explainer/why-are-new-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-and-what-does-pjm-have-to-do-with-it/)]

Similar trends are playing out on a national scale, with Trump extending the lives of two older power plants that were slated to retire, which could cost U.S. ratepayers billions. The energy consulting firm Grid Strategies found in an August 2025 report that “if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) mandates that the large fossil fuel power plants scheduled to retire between now and the end of 2028 continue to operate, the cost to ratepayers could exceed $3.1 billion per year.” PJM has publicly supported Department of Energy efforts to keep some coal, oil, and gas plants open, even as “state regulators, regional grid operators, environmental groups, and consumer groups are pushing back” according to Canary Media. Canary Media,\7/10/25 (https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/fossil-fuels/trump-coal-plant-order-challenges), 7/28/25; (https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/energy-markets/pjm-rising-costs-interconnection-reform) EarthJustice, [8/14/25 (https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/independent-report-finds-that-the-trump-administrations-orders-to-keep-coal-fired-power-plants-running-could-cost-consumers-between-3-6-billion-a-year)]

Driven by climate change, extreme weather can also impact electric rates through a vicious cycle.Severe weather can damage infrastructure, requiring expensive repairs and driving utilities to invest in “grid hardening” and resilience measures. Extreme weather events, like the winter storm that bludgeoned Texas in 2021, can also result in emergency pricing because they can cause supply shortages. Federation of American Scientists, \8/18/25 (https://fas.org/publication/when-fire-extreme-heat-and-an-aging-electrical-grid-intersect/); Climate Central, 4/24/24; (https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/weather-related-power-outages-rising) The Texas Tribune, [2/22/21 (https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/22/texas-pauses-electric-bills/)]

Experts say Trump’s policies will ultimately create a less reliable grid, especially given the high demands of data centers

Experts have warned that creating barriers for renewable energy projects at a time when more energy is needed will raise prices for consumers and make the U.S. less competitive. Two former Biden officials who worked on science and technology policy at the White House wrote in Tech Policy Press that Trump’s AI action, which seeks to accelerate the AI growth and development, is being hobbled by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. They said the plan “will not deliver what is needed because it focuses on the past instead of the future. The US will likely end up with higher costs, higher pollution, and less competitiveness.” The officials also wrote that “the US should be enabling new electricity supplies to come online, and quickly. Solar, energy storage, and wind power are clean energy assets that can be quickly deployed to meet AI’s demands, and are the dominant sources of new energy capacity to get connected to the grid today.” According to climate policy think tank Energy Innovation, repealing renewable energy tax credits and other measures laid out in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will “harm America by cutting new electricity capacity additions, increasing consumer power prices, and reducing U.S. GDP and job growth.” Tech Policy Press, \8/7/25 (https://www.techpolicy.press/trumps-ai-strategy-is-at-war-with-itself/); Energy Innovation, [7/1/25 (https://energyinnovation.org/report/updated-economic-impacts-of-u-s-senate-passed-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-energy-provisions/)]

Trump’s tariffs also threaten grid stability.Trump’s high tariffs on Chinese goods will impact grid-scale storage, as China manufactures “nearly all battery cells used in US utility-scale storage products.” These battery systems are essential for making sure the grid has enough energy to go around when there are spikes in demand due to AI operations. According to Wood Mackenzie, Trump’s tariffs could mean that “the cost of a utility scale solar facility in the US will be 54% more expensive than in Europe and 85% more expensive than a new solar plant built in China.” Utility Dive, \6/9/25 (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/tariffs-to-spike-power-generation-costs-reports/750133/#::text=A%20battery%20energy%20storage%20system,2030%20demand%2C%20Wood%20Mackenzie%20said.), 7/25/25; (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/data-centers-seek-flexible-power-solutions-for-resilience-sustainability/753945/) Wood Mackenzie, [6/2/25 (https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/tariffs-to-increase-costs-and-slow-down-development-for-us-power-industry/)]

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From Katrina to Helene: A timeline of Fox News’ hurricane misinformation, harmful narratives, and climate denial

August 29 marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in Louisiana

Written by Allison Fisher (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/allison-fisher)

Published 08/28/25 mma

For two decades, Fox News has weaponized major disasters caused by supercharged storms to attack political opponents, push right-wing narratives, and deny climate change.

Major storms that hit populated areas generate wall-to-wall TV news coverage. At its best, this coverage exposes systemic issues that leave certain populations vulnerable to disasters, keeps a spotlight on both rescue and recovery processes to keep accountable those responsible for disaster response, and discusses the link between our warming planet and the intensification of storms, along with solutions for reducing climate pollution.

At its worst, coverage ignores these issues, downplaying or denying the role of climate change and using disasters to amplify false narratives and misinformation that serve a political agenda. In 20 years of hurricane reporting, Fox News’ coverage has predominately reflected the latter.

Below is an overview of some of the major storms that have made landfall in the U.S. over the past 20 years – and how Fox covered them.

2005 Hurricane Katrina: Fox pushed a false narrative of widespread violence and redirected federal failures to Democratic state and local officials

Hurricane Katrina remains the costliest extreme weather disaster in U.S. history (https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/) and one of the deadliest, with many of the 1,392 deaths (https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/how-many-people-died-in-katrina-toll-reduced-17-years-on/article_e3009e46-91ed-11ed-8f2a-a7b11e1e8d34.html) likely having come as a direct result of the federal government’s failed response (https://kpel965.com/katrina-20-years-later-failures-louisiana/). Over 1.5 million survivors were displaced, making it also “one of the largest forced migrations in U.S. history (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dd0b80e414b44331827429b19e1371af). … Families were separated, homes were lost, and entire communities were erased.”

The media latched on to unverified (https://web.archive.org/web/20060206145521/https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rumors27sep27,0,5492806,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines) stories of violence and societal breakdown (https://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/setting_the_record_straight.php), demonizing those most impacted (https://nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/JLPP-27-2-Wen.pdf) by the storm and further delaying rescue and recovery efforts (https://dallasweekly.com/2025/07/hurricane-katrina-documentary-nat-geo/). Military forces were deployed to suppress the victims (https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/hurricane-katrina-press-media-twenty-20-years-later-anniversary-looting-portrayal-race.php) rather than evacuate them. Fox pushed this narrative of violence — “robberies, rapes, carjackings, riots and murder. Violent gangs are roaming the streets at night, hidden by the cover of darkness” — and supported the Bush administration's (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-garrett-falsely-claimed-house-report-katrina-verified-his-misleading-red-cross) reported strategy of blaming the faulty emergency response (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-touts-misleading-red-cross-account-blame-blanco) on Democratic state and local officials.

2012 Hurricane Sandy: Fox personalities and guests tried to brand the federal response to Hurricane Sandy as “Obama’s Katrina”

Superstorm Sandy hit the eastern United States in October 2012, causing at least 182 deaths (https://apnews.com/general-news-985fa861a86743d489f2c2979b72a851) and approximately $65 billion in damage. Fox criticized the Obama administration's Hurricane Sandy relief efforts (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/fox-smears-fema-comparing-sandy-response-katrina) by comparing them to the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. In fact, there were few similarities between the responses, and the Obama administration's response to Sandy was widely praised by members of both parties.

Discussing Hurricane Sandy on the November 1, 2012, edition of his show, Fox host Sean Hannity asked: “So where's President Obama? Well, after his photo-op with Gov. Chris Christie, and the help of your tax dollars, he boards Air Force One and he begins his day with a stump speech.” Hannity later said, “And with the horrifying images of Sandy's devastation now contrasted with the president's constant campaigning, this is starting to look like, in my opinion, Obama's Katrina.”

2017 Hurricanes Harvey & Irma: Fox personalities downplayed the storms, claiming, “It’s called the weather,” and suggested that the number of hurricanes making landfall is “decreasing”

Hurricane Harvey was, at the time, “the most significant tropical cyclone rainfall event (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092017_Harvey.pdf) in United States history” and was particularly devastating to Black and Hispanic communities (https://gizmodo.com/survey-reveals-hurricane-harvey-hit-black-and-latinos-h-1821082159) in Texas. Discussing Hurricane Harvey on the August 25, 2017, edition of The Five (https://www.mediamatters.org/embed/clips/2017%3A09%3A07%3A55832%3Afnc-thefive-20170825-harveyclimate), Fox host Jesse Watters downplayed the impact of climate change on hurricanes, stating, “Hurricanes have been happening since the beginning of time. … These things just happen. It’s called the weather” — a nonsensical argument, as scientists are not claiming that climate change causes hurricanes, but that it makes them stronger and more intense (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13082021/six-takeaways-about-tropical-cyclones-and-hurricanes-from-the-new-ipcc-report/).

Hurricane Irma, which hit Florida, was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. It claimed 129 lives (https://weather.com/news/news/2018-03-13-hurricane-irma-death-toll-nhc-final-report) in the U.S. and Caribbean and cost an estimated $52 billion in damages (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-633r). Discussing Hurricane Irma on the September 11, 2017, edition of The Five (https://www.mediamatters.org/embed/clips/2017%3A09%3A13%3A55943%3Afnc-thefive-20170911-irmaclimate), co-host Greg Gutfeld also brought up the frequency of hurricanes while ignoring intensity, stating that “landfalling U.S. hurricanes, they’ve been decreasing over the last 140 years.”

2017 Hurricane Maria: Fox defended Trump’s response to Hurricane Maria and his lie that the death toll in Puerto Rico was inflated

Hurricane Maria killed an estimated 3,000 people (https://www.npr.org/2019/09/24/763958799/2-years-after-hurricane-maria-hit-puerto-rico-the-exact-death-toll-remains-unkno) in the U.S. territory and caused roughly $90 billion (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-four-years-hurricane-maria-far-recovery-rcna2073) worth of damage. President Donald Trump’s administration was widely criticized for its response and for blocking federal aid (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-blocked-puerto-rico-hurricane-aid-1159976/) to Puerto Rico, which struggled for weeks to return power to its residents. The mayor of San Juan publicly criticized Trump’s response (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/30/us/politics/trump-puerto-rico-mayor.html), and Trump drew backlash (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/it-totally-belittled-the-moment-many-look-back-in-anger-at-trumps-tossing-of-paper-towels-in-puerto-rico/2018/09/13/8a3647d2-b77e-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html) when he threw paper towels into the crowd (https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/donald-trump-paper-towels-puerto-rico/index.html) at a relief center. Lying (https://www.mediamatters.org/erick-erickson/right-wing-media-figures-are-defending-trumps-lies-about-puerto-rican-death-toll) about death toll numbers, Trump claimed Democrats had inflated the number to make him look “as bad as possible.”

Fox personalities were among the right-wing media figures who leapt to Trump's defense (https://www.mediamatters.org/erick-erickson/right-wing-media-figures-are-defending-trumps-lies-about-puerto-rican-death-toll). Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs called the Hurricane Maria death toll a “farce” (https://www.mediamatters.org/lou-dobbs/lou-dobbs-hurricane-maria-death-toll-farce-and-amazing-tortured-inflation) and “an amazing tortured inflation.” Fox News’ John Roberts suggested that the dispute over Maria's death toll in Puerto Rico was part of Trump’s “feud with Puerto Rican officials (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/fox-reporter-calls-trumps-suggestion-marias-death-toll-puerto-rico-hoax-part-his-feud).”

On the October 19, 2017, edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight (https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/10/19/tucker-carlson-trump-cant-be-racist-against-puerto-ricans-because-they-self-identify-being-white/218275), the former host defended Trump from charges of racism against Puerto Ricans because “Puerto Rico is 75 percent white, according to the U.S. Census.” Carlson characterized as “unfounded” the charges that the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was racist and added that “the race angle” bothered him because “it makes people hate each other, and it’s just stupid.”

2018 Hurricane Florence: Fox guest and climate science denier Joe Bastardi claimed, “If there’s climate change going on, it's actually decreasing the amount of major hits”

Hurricane Florence caused catastrophic damage to the Carolinas, claiming at least 37 lives (https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/hurricane-florence-aftermath-weather-flooding-power-outage-death-toll-fema-latest-forecast-live/). On Fox, climate denier Joe Bastardi (https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-bastardi) and Rush Limbaugh’s former “official climatologist” Roy Spencer (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administrations-critical-review-climate-science-authored-some-fox-news-favorite) dismissed the link between climate change and intensifying hurricanes in favor of the denier argument that the frequency of hurricanes is decreasing. (Climate science (https://www.npr.org/2024/10/08/nx-s1-5143320/hurricanes-climate-change) does not argue that climate change is increasing the number of storms, but rather that it is making storms (https://www.npr.org/2024/10/08/nx-s1-5143320/hurricanes-climate-change) “more intense, with higher wind speeds, heavier rainfall, and more severe storm surge.”)

On the September 14, 2018, edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight (https://www.mediamatters.org/embed/clips/2018%3A09%3A21%3A61715%3Afox-tuckercarlson-09142018-spencer), Spencer talked about the declining frequency of “hits of the United States by major hurricanes,” claiming there’s too much “natural variability” to determine what influence human actions have had on hurricanes. On Hannity (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3387736), Bastardi stated, “The amount of hurricanes in the last 50 years, from Florida to New England, is 37% of what it was the previous 50 years, so if there’s climate change going on, it's actually decreasing the amount of major hits.”

2019 Hurricane Dorian: Fox personalities dismissed the impact of climate on hurricanes and defended Trump’s “Sharpie-gate.” Hannity called the media who reported on Trump’s lie “psychotic jackasses.”

Affecting many states in the south, Hurricane Dorian was also the worst storm ever to hit the Bahamas and was responsible for at least 78 deaths (https://www.foxweather.com/learn/where-did-dorian-strike-how-bad-was-hurricane). But the lives that Dorian claimed were overshadowed by the spectacle of “Sharpie-gate” when the president altered a map of the storm’s predicted path (https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/06/politics/trump-sharpie-hurricane-dorian-alabama/) with a marker. After Trump lied about the path of Hurricane Dorian, using a Sharpie to manufacture a threat to Alabama, not only did prime-time host Sean Hannity defend (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/defending-trumps-lie-about-alabama-and-dorian-peak-sean-hannity) him, but Fox’s Howard Kurtz attacked the media (https://www.mediamatters.org/howard-kurtz/fox-news-howard-kurtz-attacks-media-covering-trumps-repeated-lies-about-alabama-and) for covering Trump’s comments. Hannity called the media who reported on Trump’s lie “psychotic jackasses” and claimed that only “Trump derangement syndrome” could explain why reporters would point out that the president was wrong.

Roy Spencer appeared on the September 2, 2019, edition of The Story with Martha MacCallum (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3827916) to downplay climate change’s impact on hurricanes. Spencer stated that there is “no long term trend in either their intensity or in the number of major hurricanes … that have hit Florida.” On the September 4, 2019, edition of Fox & Friends (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3828201), co-host Ainsley Earhardt again brought up storm frequency in order to downplay the link between climate change and hurricanes, stating, “Hurricanes have been happening since the beginning of the atmosphere.” Later, on September 4, 2019, Jesse Watters appeared on The Story with Martha MacCallum (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3828291) to claim falsely (https://eesm.science.energy.gov/research-highlights/anthropogenic-influence-hurricane-dorians-extreme-rainfall) that “there's no correlation between temperature and hurricanes, and there's no trend over the last hundred years about intensity or ferociousness or numbers.”

2021 Hurricane Ida: Fox host Sean Hannity claimed, “The left is blaming climate change for the heavy rainfall, severe weather, and using it as yet another pretext to push their Green New Deal socialist agenda”

Hurricane Ida caused extensive damage from the Southeast to the Northeast U.S., where it brokeprecipitation records (https://theconversation.com/hurricane-ida-2-reasons-for-its-record-shattering-rainfall-in-nyc-and-the-northeast-long-after-the-winds-weakened-167252) in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania (https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/hurricane-ida-damage-cost-pennsylvania-20210908.html) and caused major flash flooding, killing 95 people (https://interconnectedrisks.org/2022/disasters/hurricane-ida) and causing an estimated $85 billion in damages. (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/1980-2024/?disasters[]=tropical-cyclone) Fox News used the storm (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/wake-hurricane-ida-fox-doubling-down-climate-denial-order-attack-bidens-infrastructure) to downplay the seriousness of climate change and attack then-President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, including the infrastructure bill that contained measures to make communities more resilient in the face of extreme weather.

While discussing Hurricane Ida on the September 7, 2021, edition of The Ingraham Angle (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3967691), one of the network’s favorite climate contrarians, Michael Shellenberger (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-medias-favorite-climate-contrarians-go-fox-shows-bash-bidens-climate-plan), said that the frequency of hurricanes is decreasing and that there is “no significant increase” in intensity — a bald-faced lie. (https://www.npr.org/2024/10/08/nx-s1-5143320/hurricanes-climate-change) On the September 8, 2021, edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3967916), Joe Bastardi downplayed the intensity of the storm by arguing that other bad storms happened in the 1950s.

On the September 2, 2021, edition (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3967581) of Fox News’ Hannity, Sean Hannity began a segment downplaying the impacts of climate on Ida by stating, “The left is blaming climate change for the heavy rainfall, severe weather, and using it as yet another pretext to push their Green New Deal socialist agenda.” On the September 5, 2021, edition (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3967681) of Fox News’ The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton, host Steve Hilton ran a short segment on Democrats supposedly using Ida to implement the Green New Deal.

2022 Hurricane Ian: Former Fox host Tucker Carlson falsely stated “there’s no science” behind claims connecting climate change to more intense storms

Hurricane Ian brought a historic storm surge and catastrophic flooding (https://www.popsci.com/environment/hurricane-ian-florida-2/) to Florida and was responsible for at least 84 storm-related fatalities (https://www.axios.com/2022/09/30/hurricane-ian-florida-death-toll). As Hurricane Ian pummeled Florida and the Carolinas, Fox News dismissed (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/hurricane-ian-hits-florida-fox-news-undermines-climate-change), mocked (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-manufacture-outrage-over-cnn-host-don-lemon-discussing-relationship), and outright denied (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-deniers/climate-denial-abounds-fox-hurricane-ian-devastates-florida) climate change’s impact on hurricanes. On the September 29, 2022, edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3994556), former Fox host Tucker Carlson focused on hurricane frequency and downplayed the intensity argument, falsely claiming that “there’s no science behind these claims.” On the September 28, 2022, edition of Hannity (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3994507), Sean Hannity stated, “During hurricane season, you usually have hurricanes, like we did a hundred years ago.” Later that night on The Ingraham Angle (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3994438), Michael Shellenberger stated that hurricanes are “not intensifying right now, so any perception that hurricanes are more intense is just a perception fed by that relentless alarmist media.”

Meanwhile, Jesse Watters mocked Biden's disaster response (https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/fox-news-host-uses-hurricane-ian-mock-action-climate-change). Watters said, “Maybe the reason Joe [Biden] isn't talking with the leader of the state that's about to be devastated by this natural disaster is because he's already got the whole thing covered with the Inflation Reduction Act. Sen. Amy Klobuchar laid it out for us clearly. There's no need to worry, people, because the Inflation Reduction Act and voting for Democrats is going to stop hurricanes.”

2023 Hurricane Idalia: Fox guest and climate science denier Judith Curry said scientists have “seriously mischaracterized” the threat of climate change

Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast, causing approximately $4 billion in damage (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/1980-2024/?disasters[]=tropical-cyclone) to one of the state's poorest and least populated areas (https://www.wlrn.org/business/2023-09-05/idalia-economy-recovery-florida). As climate-fueled Hurricane Idalia barreled toward Florida, Jesse Watters Primetime (https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/jesse-watters-hosts-oil-industry-funded-scientist-buttress-his-climate-denial-and) hosted Judith Curry, a climate contrarian who consulted (https://www.desmog.com/judith-curry/) for oil and gas companies during her time in academia, to argue that scientists have “seriously mischaracterized” the threat of climate change. She claimed that the “dominant factor” in climate change is “far and away” Earth’s “natural climate variability.”

On the August 30, 2023, edition of Fox News’ so-called straight news program Special Report with Bret Baier (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4010880), anchor Bret Baier dismissed comments from Joe Biden connecting the storm to climate change.

2024 Hurricane Helene: Fox host Jesse Watters claimed that “the Biden-Harris administration spent a billion dollars of FEMA money on illegal aliens”

With 213 fatalities, Hurricane Helene became the second deadliest hurricane (https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/helene-is-2nd-deadliest-u-s-hurricane-in-50-years-could-cost-250-billion/1698452) to hit the U.S. mainland in 50 years, with economic losses estimated at more than $200 billion. Fox used Hurricane Helene (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-lies-about-federal-response-hurricane-helene) to attack the Biden administration’s policies and disaster response while laundering harmful misinformation, even while politicians of both parties representing the impacted areas praised the response (https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/03/politics/fact-check-trump-biden-hurricane-response) and begged media and bad actors to stop spreading misinformation (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hurricane-helene-disinformation-social-media-public-officials-response-rcna174305) that ultimately disrupted rescue (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/06/us/hurricane-helene-north-carolina-misinformation.html) and recovery efforts and put Federal Emergency Management Agency workers in danger (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/social-media-posts-calling-violence-against-fema-gained-traction-fear-about-armed-groups).

One of these false and harmful claims (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/how-lie-about-immigrants-and-fema-disaster-aid-spread-across-fox-news) contended that FEMA’s hurricane victim relief funds had been drained by aid to undocumented immigrants. In reality, the funding is separate and unrelated. Jesse Watters and Sean Hannity led the charge in repeating the false claim; Watters’ prime-time show repeated the lie in 5 consecutive broadcasts starting October 3, and Hannity managed 6.

Fox News also falsely claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/right-wing-media-falsely-insist-there-no-federal-response-hurricane-helene-while) that Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration were ignoring millions of Americans impacted by intense flooding while dishonestly claiming (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-falsely-and-dishonestly-claim-hurricane-helene-survivors-are-only) that victims were only entitled to $750 in aid, when in reality that is just the start of federal benefits. Fox’s misleading coverage of the $750 payments was “one of the more dishonest omissions ever seen on Fox News – which is saying something,” Mediaite senior editor Michael Luciano wrote (https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/fox-news-hosts-dishonestly-cut-off-kamala-harris-speech-to-claim-hurricane-victims-are-only-getting-750/) of the misleading attack by Fox hosts Hannity, Watters, and Laura Ingraham.

Fox personalities also complained (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-lies-about-federal-response-hurricane-helene) about the Biden administration’s pledge to give $157 million to Lebanon, incorrectly claiming that the humanitarian aid for Lebanon was being taken from funds that would otherwise be used for disaster relief assistance. Hannity misleadingly suggested (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4024640) U.S. foreign aid was competing with disaster relief for funding. Watters, meanwhile, incredulously asked (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4024643), “How is it that Biden and Harris can send money overseas faster than they can send it to our own citizens?”

2025 extreme weather season: Fox News is giving the Trump administration a pass on federal disaster response

In May, just weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season and peak extreme weather, CNN obtained an internal memo (https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/politics/fema-review-concerns-hurricane-season) warning that FEMA was “not ready” for hurricane season. According to the internal assessment, preparations for hurricane season have been “derailed” and issues abound at the agency, “including a general uncertainty around its mission, lack of coordination with states and other federal agencies, low morale and new red tape that will likely slow responses.” Fox ignored (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-giving-trump-administration-pass-federal-disaster-response) reporting on the agency's lack of preparation for this year’s extreme weather season. The network was also quiet about multiple states that expressed frustration over delayed or denied disaster relief from the Trump administration.

On June 2, acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson made headlines, first in Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fema-staff-confused-after-head-said-he-was-unaware-us-hurricane-season-sources-2025-06-02/), for telling staff in a daily briefing that he had been unaware the U.S. has a hurricane season. Legacy (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/us/politics/fema-david-richardson-hurricane-season.html)news (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/femas-acting-director-unaware-hurricane-season-started-white/story?id=122455820)outlets (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-head-wasnt-aware-hurricane-season/), including cable networks CNN and MSNBC, covered Richardson’s controversial remarks and the wider concerns about FEMA’s hurricane preparedness while Fox News seemingly ignored them (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/fox-news-ignores-acting-fema-administrators-controversial-remarks-left-staff-baffled).

After the deadly flooding in Central Texas in early July, Fox News personalities attacked the media and prominent Democrats (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-relentlessly-politicized-extreme-weather-events-during-biden-era-now-its-accusing) for linking the flooding to climate change and for raising concerns about Trump administration cuts to agencies and services that predict and respond to extreme weather events. When reporting showed that the Trump administration’s response had been delayed, Fox ran defense for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-runs-defense-trump-administration-its-delayed-response-texas-flooding).

---

an 8 25

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has found yet another way to troll President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) and his MAGA allies: selling Bibles online for $100 — which is Newsom's way of making of making fun of "Trump Bibles."

Although Fox News pundits weren't offended by "Trump Bibles," some of them are deeply offended by Newsom's latest trolling (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-host-melts-down-at-newsom-for-selling-his-own-bible/) campaign. Newsom is selling the Bibles via his online store, the Patriot Shop.

Dana Perrino and Will Cain were among the angry Fox News hosts.

READ MORE: 'Sick of all the lies': Missouri farmer erupts at GOP rep for backing 'dictator' Trump (https://www.alternet.org/missouri-dictator-trump/)

Cain told viewers, "He seems to have found ground, legs with the left by mocking President Trump. Like the ChatGPT personality, he's just borrowing now from President Trump, copying his style with X post, now he's even going for his own MAGA style merch."

IFrame Content (https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.715.0_en.html#fid=goog_1447874403)

IFrame Content (https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.715.0_en.html#fid=goog_1447874404)

IFrame Content (https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.715.0_en.html#fid=goog_1447874405)

Perino said of Newsom, "You have to stop it with the Twitter thing," and complained about his "performative, confrontational style" — which, she said, only "wins you points with the loony radical base."

Newsom's latest trolling campaign and Fox News' angry responses to it are generating a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

The Monterey County Republican Party posted (file:///C:/Users/breas/OneDrive/Documents/Windows%20Files%20%28PC%29/AlterNet%20Folder%202025%20%28PC%29/Aaron%20Blake,%20WaPo,%20Trump,%20Broken%20Promises%203-B.docx), "Gavin Newsom's signed Bible sold out at 0, because the ones he touched kept burning his skin. Sick sick man."

READ MORE: Inside Trump's downfall — and the thing that will finally do him in (https://www.alternet.org/trumps-downfall/)

Politico's Christopher Cadelago observed (https://x.com/ccadelago/status/1959688626281070802), "A trolling Gavin Newsom is selling a holy bible along with other MAGA-inspired merch — and the $100 bible is already sold out."

...

---}:

mma

Fox News' Bret Baier promised a “fair” and “balanced” interview with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin that was anything but

Fox’s “straight news” show proves once again to be a safe space for Trump officials to propagandize the administration's most radical rollbacks

Special ProgramsClimate & Energy (https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-energy)

Written by Evlondo Cooper (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/evlondo-cooper)

Published 08/22/25

Fox News has spent years manufacturing consent for the GOP to dismantle climate policy, building a narrative ecosystem that depicts environmental regulations as illegitimate and recasts climate funding as corruption.

Former Republican congressman turned Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is one of the latest beneficiaries of this ecosystem (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/key-trump-officials-appeared-more-500-times-fox-networks-first-100-days-his-presidency), relying on Fox’s programming to promote his rollbacks. His August 19 appearance on Special Report with Bret Baier showed how the network’s flagship “straight news” show turns the Trump administration’s destructive (https://www.npr.org/2025/08/19/nx-s1-5501576/climate-pollution-epa-regulation-endangerment-finding) policy (https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/5459177-epa-endangerment-finding-repeal/) into routine politics, treating one of the most consequential climate rollbacks in modern history as common-sense rather than a public health emergency.

Baier let Zeldin define the stakes and avoid the consequences of Trump’s EPA rollbacks

During the nearly 10-minute interview, Fox anchor Bret Baier invited Zeldin to frame the EPA’s endangerment finding — the legal foundation for greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act which Zeldin recently announced (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administration-launches-assault-epas-endangerment-finding-following-decades-long) plans to revoke — on his own terms.

:{:{First, Zeldin dismissed the finding as a series of “mental leaps,” a line that Baier let stand without noting its legal basis in the Supreme Court’s 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision or its firm grounding in scientific consensus. When Baier pivoted to discuss the Biden administration’s climate funding, he allowed Zeldin to parrot debunked (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/climate/lee-zeldin-gold-bars-epa.html) allegations of “waste and abuse.” }:

The Fox “news-side” anchor also credulously echoed Zeldin’s talking points (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/after-trumps-attempt-halt-20-billion-climate-projects-vulnerable-communities-fox-falsely) about “pass-throughs” rather than pressing him on what canceling $29 billion in grants for programs such as Solar for All (https://apnews.com/article/trump-solar-clean-energy-epa-zeldin-19c838ee2d9be3e80aadb5dfe0526891) would mean for emissions, public health, or making energy more affordable for low-income communities (https://abcnews.go.com/US/lowering-energy-bills-low-income-households-difficult-epa/story?id=124481490). Baier ended the interview by paraphrasing Politico’s description (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/06/zeldin-is-gutting-epa-and-building-political-heft-in-maga-land-00263179) of Zeldin’s former congressional colleagues being “mystified” by his actions as EPA administrator. This provided Zeldin with an opportunity to rebut his critics while avoiding questions from experts, industries, or communities affected by his policies.}:

Video

Citation

From the August 19, 2025, episode of Fox News' Special Report

In May, Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo referenced (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029868) the same Politico description during her program, setting Zeldin up to defend himself in similar fashion. By raising vague criticisms from colleagues instead of hard questions about policy impacts, Bartiromo and Baier provided Zeldin with an easy stage to launder administration talking points and reframe catastrophic policy rollbacks as common-sense governance.

Baier promised a “fair” and “balanced (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032592)” interview with Zeldin, but he delivered only the facade of actual journalism — a flattering segment dressed up as accountability that, in practice, serves to mislead viewers and shield the administration from scrutiny.

Special Reportlaunders Fox’s climate denial narratives into “straight news”

Fox News has long amplified fossil fuel industry talking points and elevated climate contrarians (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-medias-favorite-climate-contrarians-go-fox-shows-bash-bidens-climate-plan) to downplay or dismiss the scientific consensus on global warming. Several such figures — Judith Curry, John Christy, Steven Koonin, and Roy Spencer — recently helped co-author the Department of Energy’s widely discredited “critical review (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administrations-critical-review-climate-science-authored-some-fox-news-favorite)” of climate science, which is being used to justify rolling back the endangerment finding and other protections. Fox has played a key role in the decades-long campaign (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administration-launches-assault-epas-endangerment-finding-following-decades-long) by right-wing groups to dismantle the finding itself.

This pattern of denial and distortion also runs through Special Report. For years, Fox’s flagship “straight news” program has consistently softened or distorted the stakes of global warming and climate action. Between 2009 and 2021, more than 87% of its climate segments contained misinformation or misleading narratives (https://www.mediamatters.org/bret-baier/foxs-flagship-straight-news-show-has-troubling-record-climate-crisis).

Zeldin has slotted into this system seamlessly. During his first 100 days as EPA administrator (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/his-first-100-days-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-has-used-his-frequent-fox-appearances), Zeldin made 36 cable news appearances, 35 of them on Fox networks — more than any other Trump Cabinet official. He has used this saturation to shape the climate discourse, pushing talking points that frame climate funding as corruption, environmental regulation as overreach, and fossil fuel expansion as common sense. Fox has amplified these claims (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-manufactured-legitimacy-zeldins-destructive-climate-and-environmental-rollbacks) across its networks (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-has-aired-least-56-segments-about-biden-administrations-20-billion-climate), airing more than 50 segments portraying the Biden administration’s $20 billion in climate funding as waste, fraud, or abuse. By repeating Zeldin’s rhetoric and omitting the evidence that undermines it, Fox has helped harden these claims into conventional wisdom for its audience.

Together, Fox’s opinion shows and its “straight news” programs such as Special Report form a unified ecosystem that primes viewers to accept the right’s policy priorities without question. By the time the Trump administration moved to repeal the endangerment finding, Fox had already established the narrative for Zeldin’s talking points.

Fox rarely, if ever, holds Trump administration officials accountable (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/his-first-100-days-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-has-used-his-frequent-fox-appearances). By contrast, networks like CNN have aired critical segments and investigations, even if their rare live interviews with Trump officials too often miss the mark (https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/mainstream-tv-news-outlets-have-squandered-rare-opportunities-hold-trump). And while CNN and other outlets must do better when they have rare opportunities to interview administration officials, Baier’s role is different.

Special Report is the program Fox relies on the most for its credibility as a news network, and that is why Baier’s handling of Zeldin matters. In presenting the Trump EPA administrator’s comments without pushback under the network’s “straight news” banner, Baier helped the administration to justify repealing the endangerment finding — potentially the most consequential climate rollback in modern history.

### The Trump administration's “critical review” of climate science is authored by some of Fox News’ favorite climate deniers (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administrations-critical-review-climate-science-authored-some-fox-news-favorite)

08/14/25 3:47 PM EDT

### Mainstream TV news outlets have squandered rare opportunities to hold Trump officials accountable for climate harms (https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/mainstream-tv-news-outlets-have-squandered-rare-opportunities-hold-trump)

08/12/25 4:01 PM EDT

### The Trump administration launches assault on the EPA’s endangerment finding following decades-long right-wing media campaign (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-administration-launches-assault-epas-endangerment-finding-following-decades-long)

08/14/25

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New legal filings show the depths of Fox's loyalty to Trump

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published 08/23/25 MMA

My latest piece (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/fox-news-smartmatic-lawsuit-filings-trump-2020-election-rcna226652) for MSNBC is about how newly public filings in the lawsuit by voting technology company Smartmatic shed more light on how Fox News systematically punished staffers who told the truth about President Trump's attempt to steal the 2020 election while rewarding those who aided that effort:

What stands out most as one sifts through the Smartmatic filings is that almost all the Fox employees shown enacting this “pivot” kept their jobs and were even promoted. While some have left the network over the past year, they did so to join Trump’s second administration. Meanwhile, those depicted as trying to stand up for facts were largely purged. With hindsight, it’s easy to see that since airing deceit after the 2020 election, Fox has solidified an incentive structure in which staffers are rewarded for propping up Trump and everything he does, while they risk consequences only for breaking with that edict.

The documents show Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO and co-chairman of Fox’s parent company, and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott supporting (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/eight-damning-new-revelations-about-foxs-2020-election-lies-smartmatic-filings#paragraph--narrative-item--3473548) Fox News host Jeanine Pirro’s uncensored return to the network’s airwaves, a platform she used to push election conspiracy theories. After Murdoch’s father, Rupert, retired (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/rupert-murdoch-trump-fox-news-corp-retirement-rcna111351) in 2023, Lachlan ascended to chair of Fox Corp., while Scott retained her position.

[...]

This obvious disparity sent a clear message to Fox’s employees: If you deviate from the MAGA script, you put your career at risk, but if you follow it, you will be rewarded. That incentive structure has echoed down through Fox’s coverage ever since, as the network hollowed out (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/timeline-decimation-foxs-news-side) its “news” side, propped up (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/maga-propaganda-machine-helped-carry-trump-back-white-house-and-its-not-done-poisoning) Trump’s return to the leadership of the Republican Party and then the White House, and served (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-let-chief-trump-propagandist-hannity-lead-special-coverage-us-strikes-iran) as a megaphone (https://www.mediamatters.org/lara-trump/presidents-daughter-law-hosts-weekly-show-fox-news-call-it-propaganda-too-kind) for an administration stocked (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/comprehensive-review-revolving-door-between-fox-and-second-trump-administration) with former colleagues.

Read the whole thing. (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/fox-news-smartmatic-lawsuit-filings-trump-2020-election-rcna226652)

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MMA

Eight damning new revelations about Fox’s 2020 election lies from the Smartmatic filings

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published 08/21/25

Newly available filings in the election technology company Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News provide fresh insights into the network’s egregious and irresponsible promotion of President Donald Trump’s 2020 election lies — four and a half years after Fox’s propaganda helped trigger a violent insurrection in which enraged Trumpists sacked the U.S. Capitol.

The documents (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=ihdnQtVbPEg_PLUS_szA3Px1XnQ&system=prod), which support (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ&system=prod) Smartmatic’s motion for summary judgment and were originally filed in April, were first reported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/08/19/jeanine-pirro-trump-republicans-fox/) by The Washington Post after a judicial hearing officer removed many of the redactions.

The documents feature numerous previously unseen text messages and internal communications between Fox hosts, executives, producers, and other employees as Trump attempted to use false claims about the 2020 election to subvert the results of the election he lost and remain in power.

Fox’s internal machinations during this period were previously made public through the lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, another election technology company which accused the network of defamation (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/dominion-voting-systems-fox-news-defamation-lawsuit-primer) over its post-election coverage. Fox ultimately settled that suit as it went to trial (https://www.mediamatters.org/foxdominion-lawsuit/dominion-saga-exposed-fox-propaganda-outlet-its-always-been-accountability) in 2023 for a record $787.5 million.

The contours of Smartmatic’s story are broadly similar to — if no less damning than — the one Dominion told: Fox hosts and executives knew (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/they-knew-it-was-lie-behind-scenes-happenings-fox-while-network-pushed-false-claims-about) that Trump lost the 2020 election and that the claims of widespread election fraud he and his supporters pushed were false, but they nonetheless pivoted in the days following the election to promote such conspiracy theories (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-has-cast-doubt-or-pushed-conspiracy-theories-about-election-results-nearly-600) -– including falsehoods about the company (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-many-election-lies-about-smartmatic) — because they were taking heat from viewers overcalling Arizona (https://www.mediamatters.org/bret-baier/bret-baier-wants-move-past-dominion-revelations-they-should-follow-him-rest-his-career) for Joe Biden and feared losing market share (https://www.mediamatters.org/2020-election-lawsuits/fox-news-lied-about-dominion-and-2020-election-compete-far-right-newsmax) to more aggressive competitors like Newsmax

But the Smartmatic filings provide new evidence that helps flesh out the tale of Fox’s cowardice and corruption.

Maria Bartiromo leveraged her status at Fox to try to overturn the election: “I am news”

Maria Bartiromo was once a respected business reporter (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/maria-bartiromo-fox-news-trump/2020/12/22/35520a90-3fb1-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html), but reinvented herself as a hardcore MAGA propagandist during the first Trump administration. But even as she went further (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/maria-bartiromos-fox-shows-pushed-indicted-fbi-informants-story-more-200-times-2023) and further (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-business/maria-bartiromos-wild-and-kind-racist-election-conspiracy-theory-collapses-immediately) down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole, Bartiromo has retained her position on Fox’s “news” side, anchoring Fox Business’ three-hour weekday program Mornings with Maria as well as the weekend show Sunday Morning Futures,which is simulcast on Fox News.

Smartmatic’s filings show Bartiromo leveraged that position as she tried to get Sidney Powell, the MAGA attorney notorious for her far-fetched election claims (https://www.mediamatters.org/maria-bartiromo/maria-bartiromo-one-fox-news-worst-conspiracy-theorists-she-may-soon-get-promotion#::text=Bartiromo%20was%20a%20key%20promoter%20of%20Rudy%20Giuliani%20and%20Sidney%20Powell%E2%80%99s%20conspiracy%20theories%20about%20voting%20machines), to come on her Fox Business show in mid-November 2020. (Bartiromo hosted (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/maria-bartiromos-source-election-conspiracy-theories-wind-tells-me-im-ghost-i-dont-believe) Powell on her Fox News show earlier that month to push election lies (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3912001) after Powell sent her an email featuring fraud hypotheses from someone who also claimed that “the Wind tells me I’m a ghost, but I don’t believe it.”)

“Sidney we must keep you out there,” Bartiromo wrote (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=106) in a November 17, 2020, Signal message.

She contrasted her own role at the network with that of then-Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, another avid promoter of election fraud lies, and suggested she could provide more helpful treatment, saying, “Dobbs is considered very opinionated. I am news. How about Friday?”

Bartiromo later suggested to Powell that her own goal was to reverse the election results and keep Trump in power. “I am very worried,” she wrote. “Please please please overturn this. Bring the evidence. I know you can.”

Bartiromo still has both of her “news” shows.

Jeanine Pirro explicitly declared her loyalty to Trump and the GOP

The filings show (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=102) then-Fox host Jeanine Pirro texted Ronna McDaniel, then the chair of the Republican National Committee, the following on September 21, 2020: “I work so hard for the party across the country… I’m the # 1 watched show on all news cable all weekend. I work so hard for the President and the party.”

It’s not precisely news (https://www.mediamatters.org/jeanine-pirro/insane-toxic-trump-adulation-jeanine-pirro) that Pirro viewed her work at the network as an extension of Trump’s campaign — it would in fact have been difficult to come away with a different conclusion after watching her commentary over the years.

Nonetheless, it’s helpful to have that confirmed explicitly in writing.

CEO Suzanne Scott ordered promotion of Fox prime-timers in “news” hours

In mid-November 2020, I reported that Fox appeared to be trying to stave off its competitors by heavily promoting its prime-time “opinion” stars during its purported “news” hours. This campaign included the “news” programs running ads (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-promo-hypes-opinion-hosts-casting-doubt-election-results) hyping the hosts casting doubt on the election results, airing on-screen bugs (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-desperate-push-preserve-viewers-exposes-hollowness-its-news-side) promoting their shows, and playing lengthy clips (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/tucker-carlson-becoming-foxs-news-side-assignment-editor) from the “opinion” shows.

The Smartmatic filings reveal (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=49) that Fox CEO Suzanne Scott apparently ordered this breach of the purported wall the network maintained existed between its “news” and opinion divisions. She emailed top Fox executives on November 9, 2020, demanding that the “news” hours increase its promotion of “opinion” talent like Pirro and the prime-time hosts. She wrote (emphasis added):

On the website – its 345p and I still dont see our opinion folks being promoted on .com – I’m seeing a ton of FOX nation – need that changed asap for the next few weeks. Same for FOX News channel – not seeing nearly enough promotion of primetime talent other than the little bug. And we should get a Pirro promo in as well. This is something I called around about first thing this morning. I’m traveling next four days and expect this to be handled well.

Sean Hannity hosted Rudy Giuliani despite complaining he was “insane”: “I’m not redpill78”

Sean Hannity went from considering Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani an “insane” person he could not conceive of hosting to welcoming him back onto his program in 10 days.

The Fox host functioned as an extension (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/guide-sean-hannitys-role-trumps-chief-white-house-propagandist) of Trump’s White House and regularly hosted (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/leaked-memo-shows-fox-knew-hannitys-show-pushed-ukraine-disinformation-did-nothing) Giuliani to spin Ukraine conspiracy theories that Fox’s research team said were not credible (https://www.mediamatters.org/trump-impeachment-inquiry/ukraine-misinformers-named-leaked-fox-memo-have-made-hundreds-appearances). But the former New York City mayor turned Trump lawyer was apparently going too far (https://www.mediamatters.org/rudy-giuliani/human-hand-grenade-year-rudy-giuliani#::text=the%20hotel%20room.-,November,-The%20American%20right%E2%80%99s) for even Hannity in the early days of Trump’s campaign to delegitimize the 2020 election results.

The filings show Hannity texted (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=260) associates on November 10, 2020, to say of Giuliani: “He is going nuts. We canceled the guy. Read what’s wrong…. He’s insane.” He told producers the following day that Giuliani is “acting like an insane person. I’m not redpill78.” (According to the Smartmatic filing, “Hannity testified that his reference to ‘redpill78’” — a streaming program (https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/anti-vax-influencers-are-using-qanon-shows-spread-misinformation-about-covid) associated (https://www.mediamatters.org/google/despite-cracking-down-qanon-youtube-continues-profit-content-supporting-conspiracy-theory) with the QAnon conspiracy theory (https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/how-true-vote-cultivated-relationships-qanon-influencers-target) — “indicated that he was skeptical” of Giuliani.)

On November 19, 2020, Hannity interviewed Giuliani about his election fraud claims.

Hannity subsequently testified that he had hosted Giuliani because he was a “top newsmaker.”

He retains his Fox prime-time show.

Jeanine Pirro’s path back into the Murdoch network’s good graces

The Dominion filings show (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-handling-jeanine-pirros-election-conspiracy-theories-reveals-full-extent-its) that a Fox executive took Pirro off the air the weekend after Election Day, preempting her November 7, 2020, broadcast because he did not “trust her to be responsible.” They also reveal that after Pirro’s show returned the following weekend, her executive producer struggled in vain to prevent her from promoting what he termed her election “conspiracy theories.”

Those filings, however, do not fully explain why Pirro returned to the air in the first place. Smartmatic’s filings fill in that gap: They show that Pirro’s removal sparked a backlash (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=43) from the MAGA faithful that Fox’s CEO, at Fox prime-time star Sean Hannity’s urging, sought to quell by increasing Pirro’s profile and allowing her to comment without “being censored.”

According to the filings, Hannity told Pirro via text message on November 10, 2020, that he had already reached out (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=49) to Scott to talk about issues including Pirro’s treatment by the network. When Pirro vented to her colleague, “I’M TIRED OF THE CENSORSHIP AND I’M EMBARRASSED BY HOW THEY CALLED THIS ELECTION,” he further explained that he was “looking for changes” including “to leave u alone.”

Hannity may have already been getting results: Scott’s email the previous day ordering more promotion of Fox’s opinion hosts included Pirro along with the prime-time hosts. A few days later, promos for Pirro’s upcoming show were running (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=52) and being distributed through right-wing channels.

A flurry of communications (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=53) about Pirro’s show followed between Scott and Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and between Scott and Fox executive vice president of primetime programming Meade Cooper the day before Pirro’s next broadcast.

“Has anyone spoken to Judge Jeanine before her show this weekend?” Murdoch asked Scott. “It would be good if she corrects the record and clears up the schedule change last week.”

Scott passed the request on to Cooper, who replied that they weren’t planning to make a statement about that and added, “David Clark is reviewing all scripts and working with her on her open. She is very into not being censored but he is working with her closely on it.”

“We don’t want to censor her,” Scott replied.

According to the filing, Scott “had a conversation with Pirro related to coverage of election fraud claims before Pirro’s November 14 show.” The same day, when Hannity texted her to crow about all the promos she was getting, Pirro replied, “I gave 3 demands. New producer. No censorship. 9 pretapes. Suzanne [Scott] promised me NOT overruled by Meade cooper.”

The newly unleashed Pirro used the opportunity the cowed Fox executive team gave her to promote election conspiracy theories that ultimately proved very expensive for Fox.

But it’s hard to get disciplined at Fox (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jeanine-pirros-fox-producer-thought-she-was-nuts-trump-just-named-her-dcs-top-prosecutor) for being too supportive of Trump — she was subsequently promoted to the weekday panel show The Five and recently left Fox to become U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Fox exec: “It’s not the talents call” to cut away from White House press conference pushing election lies

Scott’s handling of Pirro shows how willing Fox was to bend over backward to provide editorial independence to its conspiratorial opinion hosts. But “news-side” personalities at the network who tried to shut down such claims weren’t so lucky.

The Smartmatic filings show top Fox executives expressing dismay (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=48) after anchor Neil Cavuto cut away (https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/11/09/fox-cuts-coverage-kayleigh-mcenany-trump-campaign-press-conference/6228124002/) from a November 9, 2020, White House press conference featuring press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and told viewers, “She’s charging the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue showing you this."

Tom Lowell, Fox’s vice president and managing editor of news, subsequently told other top Fox executives that anchors like Cavuto should not have the authority to cut away from live events, writing (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=51): “Needs to be a chain of command here considering the environment we are in. It’s not the talents call and [t]he EP [Executive Producer] needs approval from you [Mitchell] or Jay [Wallace] in the handling of pressers.”

Fox’s CEO on airing election fraud “witnesses” live: “This is BUSINESS”

When GOP state legislators put on (https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/rudy-giuliani-pennsylvania-gop-legislators-allege-disputed-election-irregularities-during-senate-committee-hearing/) a series of sham election fraud “hearings” (https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/12/04/fact-checking-rudy-giulianis-grandiose-georgia-election-fraud-claim) in late November and early December 2020, which featured Trump’s legal team (https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2020/11/rudy-giuliani-trump-pennsylvania-election-senate-hearing/) and discredited “witnesses” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/03/melissa-carone-michigan-trump-giuliani-election/) with unverified or debunked claims, Trump praised (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1334205905089474564) Fox’s right-wing competitors (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1334613299875487754) for airing (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1334209470117924867) the hearings live — and criticized (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1334205396479840256) Fox for failing to do so.

Scott responded (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=57) to the pressure by urging her network to start taking such hearings live in a December 2, 2020, email to Lowell. She suggested that the “witness testimony” at the events constituted the “evidence that the news division has been saying doesn’t exist,” and concluded, “This is BUSINESS. RIGHT NOW BAD BUSINESS.” From her email:

The entire impeachment was about one anonymous hearsay whistleblower. We ran the Schiff Nadler show wall to wall. If we wanted to send a strong message to the audience, run the witness testimony. That’s called evidence that the news division has been saying doesn’t exist. Now will the results ever change. Odds are next to zero. This is BUSINESS. RIGHT NOW BAD BUSINESS.

Lowell admitted that the network had featured witness testimony in stories about the hearings without fact-checking them but warned Scott that airing the events live was not a good news practice.

“It is one thing for us to give a platform to the Presidents Attorneys and surrogates, or people like this guy on with Sean [Hannity] right now who signed an affidavit, but we need to be skeptical of some of these supporters who just wander in to make statements about things they think they saw,” he wrote in an email to Scott.

Jesse Watters was told not to push election fraud lies, did it anyway

The Smartmatic filings provide new details about what Fox’s Jesse Watters was told and what he did during this period, while he was the host of the weekend evening program Watters’ World.

Watters was explicitly warned (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=44) not to promote election fraud claims immediately after the 2020 election, according to the filings.

“On November 6, Watters texted Fox host Pete Hegseth, ‘By the way, did you get the memo about not saying fraud?’” the filing states.

Watters testified that this was a reference to instructions relayed by his producer, Megan Albano. In a text message the same day, Albano told Watters, “If we call the race, you cannot, under any circumstances, cast doubt on” the election because “the powers that be are not having any of it.”

This message did not stick, the filing shows (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=88): “On November 21, 2020, an original television broadcast of Watters’ World aired at 8:00 p.m. on Fox News. Dobbs appeared as a guest, discussing a ‘cyber-attack’ using voting machines to steal the 2020 election, and Watters presented an ‘investigation’ into Dominion and Smartmatic.”

The filing further states (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=olzwemuCPi6hRO6vLFAOVQ==&system=prod#page=73) that in a text to The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld, Watters wrote: “Think about how incredible our ratings would be if Fox went ALL in on STOP THE STEAL.”

Fox has since given Watters two promotions — he gained (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/timeline-decimation-foxs-news-side#::text=of%20his%20term.-,January,-%3A%20Fox%20gives%20Jesse) his own weekday evening show in January 2022, and that program took over (https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/fox-news-changes-weekday-primetime-lineup-gives-jesse-watters-pivotal-8-pm-timeslot/) the network’s “pivotal” 8 p.m. timeslot in June 2023.

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MMA

### Matt Walsh to Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL): “You're an anchor baby. You became an American thanks to a paperwork loophole.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/matt-walsh-rep-delia-ramirez-d-il-youre-anchor-baby-you-became-american-thanks-paperwork)

08/13/25 3:23 PM EDT

### On CNN, The New Yorker's David Kirkpatrick discusses his reporting that Trump is “pocketing off the presidency,” making at least $3.4 billion (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/cnn-new-yorkers-david-kirkpatrick-discusses-his-reporting-trump-pocketing-presidency)

08/13/25 2:55 PM EDT

### Right-wing media champion migrant detention camps amid reports of horrific conditions (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-champion-migrant-detention-camps-amid-reports-horrific-conditions)

08/13/25 12:55 PM EDT

### Newsmax host says that following DC, Trump will target more “blue cities” like Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco, and New York City (https://www.mediamatters.org/ed-henry/newsmax-host-says-following-dc-trump-will-target-more-blue-cities-los-angeles-detroit-san)

08/13/25 9:14 AM EDT

### Anti-trans pundits who championed the idea of protecting women’s sports now say that throwing sex toys at women athletes is hilarious (https://www.mediamatters.org/outkick/anti-trans-pundits-who-championed-idea-protecting-womens-sports-now-say-throwing-sex-toys)

08/12/25 7:01 PM EDT

### Greg Gutfeld suggests expanding D.C. police takeover to Baltimore and Chicago (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greg-gutfeld-suggests-expanding-dc-police-takeover-baltimore-and-chicago)

08/12/25 6:35 PM EDT

### Fox News host: “Jim Crow 2.0 is kind of great” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-host-jim-crow-20-kind-great)

08/12/25 5:44 PM EDT

### Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett advocates for federal takeovers of New York City and Chicago (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/gregg-jarrett-advocates-federal-takeovers-new-york-city-and-chicago)

08/12/25 5:41 PM EDT

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MMA

August 12, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

JOHNNY JOEY JONES (CO-HOST): Lastly to Clyburn, if it's Jim Crow 2.0, just so you know, Jim Crow was pretty bad, but Jim Crow 2.0 is kind of great. I mean, we have it in Georgia and we had more people of color turn out and vote in this last election than ever before. So the more they use that -- the more they try to use the racist attack, the more the results yield something completely the opposite.

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AN 8 25

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is widely seen as a top contender to challenge Republican Senator John Cornyn in a high-stakes race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate. Early polling shows her leading the Democratic field.

Fox News hosts in recent weeks (https://www.foxnews.com/video/6374644064112) have targeted (https://www.yahoo.com/news/jesse-watters-hits-jasmine-crockett-214852975.html) the outspoken Texas Democrat, an attorney, and in one particularly caustic segment on Thursday, they denigrated her intelligence and capabilities.

“Her incompetence is beastly,” declared Fox News co-host Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery. “I mean, she certainly is a mental deficient.”

READ MORE: GOP Senator Denounces Anti-ICE Democrats as ‘Pawns’ of an ‘Anarchist Agenda’ (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/gop-senator-denounces-anti-ice-democrats-as-pawns-of-an-anarchist-agenda/)

“If you listen to any of her statements, and she is callous. She’s also, you know, she’s a dumb-dumb, and you can’t take her seriously,” Kennedy continued. “She doesn’t have solid policy positions, and, uh, you know, she is a recalcitrant piece of garbage.”

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Kennedy concluded that “all she cares about is making her profile more massive, and she’s massively incompetent.”

According to Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/jasmine-crockett-poll-texas-senate-cornyn-paxton-2097262), “Crockett has not yet declared a run for Senate but has been viewed by many as a rising star in the Democratic Party on the national stage. Her rise has also drawn significant criticism and backlash from Republicans.”

In response to Crockett denouncing (https://x.com/RepJasmine/status/1943050693876814114) President Donald Trump’s “racist and wrong” remarks about the President of Liberia, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields on Thursday attacked the Texas Democratic Congresswoman.

READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/absolute-cringe-dhs-ridiculed-after-attacking-cnn-report-by-confirming-it/)

“Jasmine Crockett has the brain capacity of a jellyfish and is the last person on Earth to critique anyone’s mental acuity, let alone intelligence,” Fields said, as The Hill (https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5393782-crockett-criticizes-trump-english-comment/) reported. “The Democrats’ rising star has done more to cement the party’s demise than the President she breathlessly supported, the decrepit and feeble Joe Biden.”

In a poll commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), Crockett “led with 35 percent support among surveyed Democratic voters, ahead of [Colin] Allred at 20 percent, with [Beto] O’Rourke and Texas Representative Joaquin Castro both at 13 percent,” Newsweek noted.

Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/dumb-dumb-fox-news-host-declares-rising-democrat-a-mental-deficient-amid-senate-buzz/).

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MMA MSNBC

NO LNX

Aug. 10, 2025, 3:00 AM PDT

By Matt Gertz, senior fellow for Media Matters for America

Fox News hosts elevated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to help return President Donald Trump to the White House. They then greased the skids for Kennedy’s confirmation as secretary of health and human services. But as he works to demolish American health care research, they are nowhere to be found.

Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic who once described Covid-19 shots as “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” announced on Tuesday that he is terminating nearly $500 million in federal contracts supporting the development of next-generation vaccines and other treatments based on mRNA technology. “After reviewing the science and consulting top experts at NIH and FDA, HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses,” he said in a video posted online.

Before the pandemic, Kennedy was not a natural fit for the Fox audience.

But Kennedy’s announcement drew harsh criticism from infectious disease experts and other scientists. They warned that the cuts could stall treatments for everything from respiratory illnesses to cancer, leave the nation more exposed to pandemics, undermine public trust in vaccines and threaten U.S. global leadership in medical advances.

While Kennedy’s announcement was widely discussed on MSNBC and CNN, as well as by national broadcast, print and digital outlets, Fox News has almost entirely ignored it. A single 30-second news brief on its “Special Report” program represents the entirety of the Trumpist propaganda network’s coverage through Thursday, according to a Media Matters review.

Fox News may not want to claim credit for Kennedy as he stifles crucial medical research, but it certainly deserves it. You can’t explain the evolution from Trump’s first administration, which fast-tracked the development of mRNA vaccines for Covid-19 through Operation Warp Speed, to the second term’s anti-vax, “Make America Healthy Again” schtick without talking about the network’s role in turning the GOP base against vaccines and toward conspiracy theorists like Kennedy.

'Misinformed' or 'speaking in the wrong terms': Doctor rebukes RFK Jr. over cutting mRNA research

05:03

When pharmaceutical companies began rolling out the vaccines produced under the Trump administration in late 2020 and early 2021, Fox News’ stars could have used the unique influence they have over their viewers to encourage them to get their Covid-19 shots. But Trump had lost his re-election bid, and the network that had worked so hard to keep him in office instead pandered to anti-vaxxers by turning against the vaccination campaign helmed by his successor, President Joe Biden.

Led by its then-prime-time star Tucker Carlson, the network incessantly promoted misleading and false claims about safe, effective vaccines with the potential to save their viewers’ lives — day after day, month after month, year after year. The network uplifted conspiracy theories, gave airtime to conspiracy theorists and culture war vaccine opponents, demagogued against efforts to get more people to receive these lifesaving shots, and propped up ineffective cures as potential substitutes. Fox News continued to broadcast these segments even as more Republican parts of the country, with lower vaccination rates, suffered higher Covid-19 death tolls, as The New York Times’ David Leonhardt detailed.

All of the fawning attention on Kennedy from the right had the impact one would expect.

Before the pandemic, Kennedy, the scion of a Democratic dynasty who once called for a boycott of Fox News host Sean Hannity and described him as a fascist, was not a natural fit for the Fox audience. But with the Covid-19 vaccine campaign underway, his decades of work undermining vaccines and his attacks on the new mRNA vaccines in particular suddenly made him attractive to the right.

When he began his presidential campaign in March 2023 — with Carlson’s show as his launchpad — MAGA media stalwarts saw an opportunity. They treated Kennedy’s bid, first in the Democratic primary and then as an independent candidate, as a potent spoiler candidacy to boost Trump’s return to power. Kennedy became a constant presence on the programs of pro-Trump commentators. Fox provided him with more airtime than many would-be Republican standard-bearers received.

All of the fawning attention on Kennedy from the right — alongside mainstream news coverage of his bizarre history, such as his claim that a parasite in his brain had triggered memory loss — had the impact one would expect: Kennedy became more popular with Republicans than Democrats. As polls increasingly showed that he was pulling support from Trump, though, MAGA media figures like Hannity abruptly turned on Kennedy. After Carlson reportedly helped to facilitate Kennedy’s decision to drop out and endorse the once-and-future president, Fox hosts resumed showering the anti-vax champion with praise.

‘Explosive’ conservative non-doctor turbocharging RFK Jr’s healthcare coup

05:52

As Election Day approached, talk turned to what reward Kennedy could expect in return. Paul Dans, the former head of Project 2025, floated Kennedy’s name for HHS secretary — and that’s precisely the position Trump nominated him for.

Not everyone on the right was willing to accept Kennedy’s ascent. The editorial boards of Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal and New York Post denounced the decision and called for Senate Republicans to vote down his nomination.

Murdoch’s print voices lost out to his cable news shouters.

But Fox News hosts were elated. As Kennedy’s nomination moved through the Senate, they touted him as a “reformer” and “true health care crusader” who had “the skills, knowledge, and experience” needed for the job.” When Kennedy said he wasn’t going to take away anyone’s vaccines, Fox said he wasn’t going to take away anyone’s vaccines.

Murdoch’s print voices lost out to his cable news shouters — the Senate confirmed Kennedy on a near-party-line vote, with Sen. Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, the sole Republican vote against him.

Israel has accused the UN of failing to deliver food to Palestinians and Hamas of stealing aid, but reports contradict those accusations

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of stealing the aid provided by humanitarian agencies. According to The New York Times, “The government has used that claim as its main rationale for restricting food from entering Gaza. But the Israeli military never found proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid from the United Nations, the biggest supplier of emergency assistance to Gaza for most of the war, according to two senior Israeli military officials and two other Israelis involved in the matter. In fact, the Israeli military officials said, the U.N. aid delivery system, which Israel derided and undermined, was largely effective in providing food to Gaza’s desperate and hungry population.” The New York Times, [7/26/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/world/middleeast/hamas-un-aid-theft.html)]

An internal USAID analysis reviewed 156 reported cases of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid theft or loss in Gaza between October 2023 and May 2025 — and found “no reports” that Hamas benefited from U.S.-funded supplies. None of the incidents could be directly attributed to Hamas, and at least 44 incidents where aid was “reported stolen or lost” were linked, directly or indirectly, to Israeli military actions. According to Reuters, there was a “limitation” on the study because “Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, \so] it was possible that U.S.-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas.” Reuters also acknowledged that just because there were no reports of widespread aid diversion by Hamas, it “does not mean that diversion has not occurred.” But while the U.S. State Department continues to assert there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, it has not released any footage supporting these claims. [Reuters, [7/25/25 (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/usaid-analysis-found-no-evidence-massive-hamas-theft-gaza-aid-2025-07-25/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)]

Israel has also blamed the U.N. for being uncooperative and refusing to deliver aid to Gaza, but “the U.N. says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting.” As The Associated Press reported, “Large crowds of desperate people, as well as criminal gangs, overwhelm trucks as they enter and strip off the supplies. Witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire on the crowds, causing deaths and injuries.” The report quoted a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who said, “Taken together, these factors have put people and humanitarian staff at grave risk and forced aid agencies on many occasions to pause the collection of cargo from crossings controlled by the Israeli authorities.” As the nonpartisan think tank the Atlantic Council noted, “Israel has systematically denied the entry of aid, created roadblocks to ensure that the little that does get in is not safely accessible, and perpetuated false narratives intended to discredit the humanitarian community and justify its blocking of aid.” The Associated Press, \7/25/25 (https://apnews.com/article/aid-gaza-hunger-united-nations-e703faaaba945e838aabfb3c7fa32d70); ABC News, 7/28/25 (http://abcnews.go.com/International/jordan-requesting-us-gaza-aid-airdrops-trump-administration/story?id=124143747); The Atlantic Council, [7/29/25 (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/inside-the-israeli-governments-starvation-of-gaza-from-an-aid-group-trying-to-deliver-food/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)]

Some reports about starvation in Gaza drew criticism because children in viral images had underlying health conditions — but they also suffered from malnutrition

A New York Times article titled “Gazans Are Dying of Starvation” described the ongoing devastation in Gaza and the mounting hunger crisis.From the July 24 piece: “Hollow-eyed, skeletal children languish on hospital beds or are cared for by parents, who gaze helplessly at protruding ribs and shoulder blades, and emaciated limbs resembling brittle sticks.” The New York Times, [7/24/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/world/middleeast/gaza-starvation.html)]

On July 29, the Times added an editor’s note to its July 24 article clarifying that one 18-month-old toddler featured in the piece also had underlying health conditions. A note posted on social media said that the paper had “learned new information, including from the hospital that treated him and his medical records.” However, the piece maintained that “his health deteriorated rapidly in recent months as it became increasingly difficult to find food and medical care, and the medical clinic that treated him said he suffers from severe malnutrition.” The New York Times, \7/24/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/world/middleeast/gaza-starvation.html); Twitter/X, [7/29/25 (https://x.com/NYTimesPR/status/1950311365756817690)]

Fox News criticized the Times, writing, “New York Times admits using misleading cover photo of emaciated Gaza child.” Fox News highlighted several examples of right-wing media figures attacking the Times for their correction. Fox News, [7/30/25 (https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-admits-using-misleading-cover-photo-emaciated-gaza-child)]

Earlier this year, reporting on the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza and its impact on children featured Osama al-Raqab, whose cystic fibrosis had worsened with malnutrition.As The Associated Press reported in early May, “Osama al-Raqab’s cystic fibrosis has worsened since the start of the war. Lack of meat, fish and enzyme tablets to help him digest food meant repeated hospital visits and long bouts of chest infections and acute diarrhea, says his mother, Mona. His bones poke through his skin. Osama, 5, weighs 20 pounds (9 kilos) and can hardly move or speak. Canned food offers him no nutrition.” The Jerusalem Post later reported that al-Raqab was flown to Italy in June and “is receiving care.” The Associated Press, \5/3/25 (https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-palestinians-malnutrition-children-f94af55885aadaee7e95b2492fc432e9), The Jerusalem Post, [7/28/25 (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-862513)]

Right-wing figures have claimed “no one is starving in Gaza,” calling images of hungry children “propaganda” and “emotional, visual, optical warfare”

Citation

Molly Butler / Media Matters

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk called pictures of starving children in Gaza “propaganda” and “emotional, visual, optical warfare” and claimed the “lies against Israel are relentless,” showing The New York Times’ picture of the 18-month-old suffering from malnutrition and emphasizing his “muscular disorder.”Kirk’s guest Rabbi Pesach Wolicki also claimed Palestinians in Gaza are “not emaciated. They're not starving. The people of Gaza are not starving. But Hamas needs to perpetuate this narrative.” Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031987)]

Right-wing podcaster and self-described “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer called claims of starvation in Gaza “insane Pallywood Propaganda,” adding, “There is no starvation in Gaza. It’s a big lie.”She posted: “When the leftists try to make you feel bad over fake starvation in Gaza, ask them if they also cry for the children of cops killed by free Palestine protestors. I’m kind of tired of seeing fake stories about starvation when my tax dollars are going toward feeding terrorists via the World Food Program which is managed by CINDY MCCAIN. … There is no starvation in Gaza. It’s a big lie. … This insane Pallywood Propaganda has to end. If it doesn’t end, Trump should shut down the World Food Program. Let’s see the audit. Penny for penny.” Twitter/X, \7/28/25 (https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1950032688523424106); Media Matters, [7/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer/laura-loomer-pushes-baseless-islamophobic-claims-wake-nyc-shooting)]

Conservative personality Dinesh D’Souza commented, “Does this look like the behavior of people who are starving?” in response to a story about Palestinians speaking out about having to chase aid airdropped into Gaza. Twitter/X, [7/29/25 (https://x.com/DineshDSouza/status/1950208195214926107)]

As a guest on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins*, Jewish News Syndicate’s Ruthie Blum said, “Let me just set the record straight — there is no famine in Gaza.”She continued, “The accusation that Israel is purposely starving people is absolutely outrageous. It's a lie. It's a blood libel, and Hamas spread it.” Twitter/X, [7/28/25 (https://x.com/FRCdc/status/1949945745030726135)]

TheBlaze’s Glenn Beck asked, “Have you seen the pictures of mom or dad holding the babies that are supposedly starving and they seem perfectly healthy? Does that seem reasonable to you? There’s no critical thinking here at all.” Beck then went on to add, “I’m sure there’s hunger there, real hunger. … I’m not dismissing that there’s not real hunger there, and we should do everything that we can. But, you know, let’s put some of the onus on Hamas as well. And then, can we stop listening to the people of Hamas tell us by showing these babies, who now we know have problems from birth.” Twitter/X, [7/29/25 (https://x.com/glennbeck/status/1950256282176282953)]

Right-wing podcaster Stephen L. Miller posted, “If Gaza wants to convince anyone other than Western media that we are truly at the brink of a genocidal famine, they should stop putting healthy well fed adults in front of cameras.”Twitter/X, [7/30/25 (https://x.com/redsteeze/status/1950723257503744417)]

Many right-wing figures blamed Hamas or the UN, claiming they are “purposely starving the population as a PR strategy against Israel” and Hamas is “stealing the aid”

Citation

Molly Butler / Media Matters

Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro claimed, “Hamas is stealing the aid.”He also attacked the United Nations, saying, “The UN literally refuses to ship food in if they are escorted by the IDF, because the U.N. wants to fund Hamas.” The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031988)]

National Review’s Rich Lowry wrote an article titled “Hamas Is to Blame for Gaza’s Woes,” which claimed that Hamas “considers the agony of Gazans a useful weapon in the narrative war. From this perverted point of view, a famine would be welcome news.”The piece concluded, “Hamas would rather see the population starve than give up on the war, or its grip on power.” National Review, [7/29/25 (https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/07/hamas-is-to-blame-for-gazas-woes/)]

After playing a clip of Trump saying the U.S. will get food into Gaza, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner said, “Now if they could just stop the bloodthirsty savages of Hamas from shooting at their own people and taking supplies away from them, that would be a miracle.”Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031986)]

Fox & Friendsco-host Brian Kilmeade claimed that “the problem is it’s Hamas. Hamas started it. They don’t care about their people. … They want to blame Israel for it.”Co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Lawrence Jones agreed, with Earhardt saying, “They steal the aid that Israel sends in, that America sends in.” Fox News,Fox & Friends, [7/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031984)]

Fox News senior strategic analyst Jack Keane claimed it is “Hamas that has stopped the aid from coming in by not making this deal.” Keane: “Are there some humanitarian starvation and serious gravity taking place among the people in Gaza? You betcha there are. But it's Hamas that has stopped the aid from coming in by not making this deal.” Fox Business,Mornings with Maria, [7/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031982)]

Newsweek’s Josh Hammer alleged that “anti-Israel forces have a new op: Israel-induced famine in Gaza. More lying. Hamas and the UN are obstructing aid from entering.”Twitter/X, [7/28/25 (https://x.com/josh_hammer/status/1949938892150329541)]

Stephen L. Miller claimed, “The famine in Gaza is because of Hamas.”Twitter/X, [7/23/25 (https://x.com/redsteeze/status/1948229793150824618)]

OnOutnumbered, Fox host Mark Levin claimed, “Hamas is killing and starving its own people.” He added, “The U.N. is actually helping Hamas. The only people feeding the Palestinians there — the United States and the Israelis.” Fox News, Outnumbered, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031979)]

Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen agreed with Netanyahu’s claim that there is “no policy of starvation in Gaza” and claimed the reason for famine in the region is “Hamas, not Netanyahu.” Thiessen: “What is important to remember here is the reason why there is starvation in Gaza — Netanyahu is right. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. The reason is that Hamas has been defeated but they refuse to surrender. They have no chance of prevailing and in any normal situation like this, where they had suffered such military setbacks, the other side would surrender and end the fighting and allow humanitarian assistance to come in. And Hamas is refusing to do that. And that's the source of the problem in Gaza. It's Hamas, not Netanyahu.” Fox News, Special Report, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031974)]

Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich posted: “Gaza is the only place where the UN and Hamas are purposely starving the population as a PR strategy against Israel.”Twitter/X, [7/26/25 (https://x.com/KatiePavlich/status/1949149338615115865)]

Right-wing podcaster Ben Ferguson claimed starvation in Gaza was caused by “adults who decided to put killing Israelis ahead of making sure their own kids are safe.”Ferguson added, “This is not Israel's fault. This is Hamas' fault; this is terrorists’ fault. They are the ones starving these kids. So I’m sick of people saying somehow this is Israel's fault. They attacked Israel. Period.” Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031969)]

Fox News contributor Guy Benson said Trump is “right” for saying the “fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Benson added, “He’s right & every good person who cares (or purports to care) about the suffering in Gaza should say this loudly and with one voice, every day. That so many do not is a grotesque tell.” Twitter/X, [7/31/25 (https://x.com/guypbenson/status/1950899433056436498)]

Right-wing radio host Larry Elder claimed, “The food is being stolen by Hamas.”He also claimed that the New York Times article that featured the 18-month old toddler “was a complete and total lie, and so many members of the media … ran with it because it advanced the narrative: Gaza is suffering from mass starvation because of the dastardly Israelis.” The Salem Radio Network, The Larry Elder Show, [7/31/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032076)]

Fox News host Lawrence Jones said there’s “propaganda” regarding “the Gaza story,” that “people just believe everything that is put out there, the images,” and that Hamas is “taking some of the aid away.” Jones: “As it relates to the war propaganda, Israel is losing it, when it comes to the Gaza story right here. People just believe everything that is put out there, the images. They may put an editor's note on there \in the Times story], but the damage has already been done. I even talked with some of my friends — they don't know the full story about what Hamas is doing, taking some of the aid away.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, [7/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031985)]

A small group of right-wing figures — some with ties to white nationalist or far-right politics — have acknowledged the situation in Gaza

Citation

Molly Butler / Media Matters

A few right-wing media figures have acknowledged the ground reality in Gaza, including some in the alt-right or white nationalist communities who have weaponized pro-Palestinian rhetoric and activism in order to advance an antisemitic agenda. In an article (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/nazis-palestinian-rallies-antisemitism-rcna124300) addressing why some neo-Nazi groups have attended pro-Palestinian protests, lawyer Karen Dunn wrote, “For these groups, the large-scale protests across America present a golden opportunity to mainstream the same antisemitic tropes they have been pushing for years and, if they get their way, create new opportunities for extremist violence.”

Conservative podcaster Tim Dillon: America is “funding a famine” in Gaza.Dillon: “We are now funding the starvation of a group of people halfway across the world or all the way across the world.” The Tim Dillon Show, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/middle-east/tim-dillon-america-funding-famine-gaza)]

Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum acknowledged that there are cases of starvation in Gaza, while mentioning the New York Post’s reporting that one child who was starving “suffers from genetic disorders.” MacCallum: “Meanwhile, we have other sources in Israel saying it is being taken out of context and The New York Post reporting, quote, ‘viral images of starving Gaza boy don't tell the whole story. He suffers from genetic disorders, critics say.’” But there is no — it is quite clear that people are starving in Gaza and we see the numbers and we see the response and we see the food that has not gotten to them.” Fox News,The Story with Martha MacCallum, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031991)]

On his podcast, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said “starvation in Gaza” is hurting Israel’s image among “young people.” Paul said, “Young people, whether I think they’re in the United States or whether in Israel, they’re sick and tired of it. … I think this problem with Gaza and the starvation in Gaza is calling attention to this and as bad as it is, hopefully it will, some good things will come of that and more people will wake up.” Rumble, The Ron Paul Liberty Report, [7/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032019)]

While talking about Trump’s attempts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Fox News’ Howard Kurtz acknowledged, “There is mass starvation in Gaza, and Trump has broken with Bibi Netanyahu on that mounting humanitarian crisis.” Fox News, MediaBuzz, [8/3/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032116)]

War Roomhost Steve Bannon responded to Trump’s comment about starvation, saying, “That’s cutting out – that’s really taking Bibi’s biggest tactic. Let’s be blunt and call it what it is.” His guest Jim Rickards responded, saying, “You're right. This is starvation — not just starvation, it's also the hospitals, medicine, medical treatment, etc.” Real America’s Voice,War Room, [7/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031967)]

Far-right commentator Candace Owens attacked “Zionists,” saying they are “pretending that people are not starving in Gaza.” Owens, who has also engaged in antisemetic rhetoric and conspiracy theories, added: “You are outright mocking, at points, … images of children that are starving, saying that they deserve that. And you can only behave like a sadistic, psychopathic, murderous individual for so long before the world takes notice.” YouTube, Candace, \7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031990); Media Matters, 3/22/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/candace-owens/candace-owens-leaves-cancel-culture-comes-daily-wire#paragraph--narrative-item--3459225); Rolling Stone, [3/22/24 (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/candace-owens-leaves-daily-wire-ben-shapiro-anti-semitism-1234992811/)]

MAGA media influencer Jack Posobiec discussed starvation in Gaza on his show, saying, “You don't have to be Pro-Israel or Pro-Hamas to be pro-humanity.” Posobiec — who, as per Southern Poverty Law Center, has “collaborated with white nationalists … and neo-Nazis” and has pushed antisemitic rhetoric — said: “It is these refugee conditions in these displacement camps that have come under fire and where starvation conditions now, as President Trump has said, are exhibited.” He continued, “Here’s what it all comes down to folks, you don't have to be pro-Israel or pro-Hamas to be pro-humanity, OK? You don’t have to come in and say all of this and all of that. But what you do want to be able to say is, it’s war. The war is what’s driving all of this.” Real America’s Voice,Human Events, \7/29/25 (https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1950332463148102100); Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed, [8/1/25 (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/jack-posobiec/)]

White nationalist Nick Fuentes spoke about the “ongoing famine, forcible starvation of the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza by Israel.” Rumble, America First, [7/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031989)]

Tucker Carlson’s guests have been discussing starvation in Gaza

Right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson has recently hosted multiple guests who have talked extensively about the realities on the ground in Gaza.

U.S. Green Beret veteran Tony Aguilar discussed his deployment in Gaza on behalf of a security contractor and talked in detail about “mass starvation” in the Gaza strip.Aguilar continued, “The narrative of there's no starvation and there's no hunger going on in Gaza, that is negligent. That is shameful that anybody would say that.” YouTube, The Tucker Carlson Show, [7/31/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032079)]

Carlson also hosted political scientist John Mearsheimer, who labeled Israel’s actions a genocide and asked, “You're going to build a ghetto. You're going to put, you know, 2 million people in a ghetto and continue to starve them. Is this sustainable?”Mearsheimer also claimed, “The Israelis are executing a genocide in Gaza.” YouTube, The Tucker Carlson Show, \7/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032080), [7/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4032081)]

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an 7 25

Fox News host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery (also known as "Kennedy") recently committed a major on-air error, and is being roundly mocked for it on social media.

On Monday, Kennedy was criticizing California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) over his proposal to allow California voters to decide this November whether to get rid of the Golden State's independent redistricting commission. Newsom floated the idea in response to Texas Republicans carrying out a mid-decade redistricting plan aiming to strip Democrats of five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"This is why California is a monoparty state. That's why Democrats have a supermajority and, you know, that's why they have two Democrat senators. That's why they have a Democrat governor," she said. "And it's such a massive majority because of this type of redistricting, which is incredibly insincere."

READ MORE: 'Middle-aged Manson girls': Far-right 'bloodthirsty' MAGA women mocked in scathing take-down

Many commentators, journalists and other experts took to social media to remind Kennedy that statewide elected officers like U.S. senators and governors are not impacted by redistricting efforts, which are confined to U.S. House districts. Progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen wrote: "Can anyone explain to me how California has 2 Dem Senators and a Dem Governor because of gerrymandering?"

"Um... how does gerrymandering impact the election of Senators and the Governor?" St. Mary's College political science professor Todd Eberly tweeted.

"It was generally assumed you were smarter than to think a STATE WIDE VOTE is affected by how congressional districts are shaped or reshaped IN that state," former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann posted to X. "It's not one county, one vote."

"She is very very dumb," quipped Democratic commentator and 2024 Democratic National Convention delegate Kaivan Shroff.

Watch the video below or at this link.

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MMA

Fox News has aired 168 segments about Tulsi Gabbard's revisionist claims regarding Russia, Obama, and the 2016 election

Written by Rob Savillo (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/rob-savillo)

Published 07/30/25

Since Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-admin-manufactured-intelligence-create-2016-russian-election-interference-narrative-documents-show) on July 18 that she claimed showed the Obama administration “manufactured and politicized intelligence” about Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in a criminal conspiracy against Donald Trump, Fox News has aired 168 segments about the unsubstantiated allegations.

Coverage peaked in the middle of last week when the network aired 28 segments on July 23. Over the weekend, Fox's Life, Liberty & Levin and Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromodevoted their entire programs to the story.

Gabbard has used her “bombshell” claims, as Fox described (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-receives-gabbards-criminal-referral-bombshell-claims-obama-admin-manufactured-russian-collusion-hoax) them, of a “treasonous conspiracy” to call for the criminal prosecution of members of former President Barack Obama’s administration. The new revelations have quickly (https://apnews.com/article/gabbard-russia-2016-steele-dossier-0452e1079506daa86d75fa0a2f22fc60) fallen apart (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/us/trump-obama-russia.html?searchResultPosition=5) under scrutiny.

Prior investigations into Russian activity during the 2016 election — including investigations spearheaded by the Republican-led House (https://apnews.com/article/8b95a7cf7bcb4585b00c038be2257ba4) and Senate (https://apnews.com/article/d094918c0421b872eac7dc4b16e613c7) intelligence committees — have concluded that Russia did interfere through social media and hacked documents.

Media Matters reviewed segments from July 18 through July 28 about Gabbard's criminal referral or the contents of the referral. The top shows to cover the story were Hannity, with 16 segments; the network's flagship weekday morning show, Fox & Friends, with 15; America's Newsroom and Fox News Live, with 12 each; America Reportsand The Faulkner Focus, with 10 each; and finally Special Report with Bret Baierand Fox & Friends Weekend, with 9 each.

Fox's daily coverage of Gabbard's revisionist claims serves a key purpose for Trump: to redirect (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/07/trump-epstein-gabbard-obama-russia/683687/) Americans' attentions (https://newrepublic.com/article/198471/trump-epstein-defense-obama-clinton-failing) away (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-steer-conversation-away-jeffrey-epstein/story?id=123927092) from the Jeffery Epstein files — something the president has demanded (https://www.npr.org/2025/07/14/nx-s1-5467151/trump-epstein-files-doj-fbi-maga).

Trump's rabid base is obsessed (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/09/why-maga-is-obsessed-with-jeffrey-epstein-00134394) with (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/magazine/the-conservative-crusade-thats-about-so-much-more-than-epstein.html) Epstein — the convicted sex offender who allegedly sexually abused underage girls for years and who died by suicide (https://time.com/5649271/jeffrey-epstein-suicide/) in 2019 amid new charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy — and the story of Trump's connection to the sex offender continues (https://time.com/7302426/jeffrey-epstein-files-trump-takeaways/) to be a problem for the president as new details emerge (https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter-we-have-certain-things-in-common-f918d796?mod=hp_lead_pos7?mod=WSJ_TJPOD) of the pair's once-close relationship.

In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed (https://thehill.com/homenews/5158153-jeffrey-epstein-client-list-bondi-review/) in a Fox News interview that Epstein's “client list” — of high-profile persons to whom Epstein allegedly trafficked young girls — was sitting on her desk, then the DOJ contradicted (https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-justice-department-pam-bondi-03fbcd024f631440f7ed62b3c6927db3) that statement in July to say no such list existed. Furthermore, The Wall Street Journal reported (https://www.wsj.com/politics/justice-department-told-trump-name-in-epstein-files-727a8038?mod=hp_lead_pos1) that the DOJ told Trump back in May that he is in the Epstein files. The DOJ subsequently denied (https://www.axios.com/2025/07/23/trump-epstein-files-doj-bondi) the accusation.

Some of Trump's most ardent supporters have cried foul (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-maga-propagandists-responded-trumps-demand-shut-about-epstein). Right-leaning podcasters are (https://www.mediamatters.org/trumprussia/right-leaning-podcasters-call-out-trump-administrations-2016-election-claims) turning (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/right-leaning-podcasters-are-turning-trump-over-jeffrey-epstein) on the president over his administration's handling of the entire saga, and more generally, right-wing media are in disarray (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-are-flailing-response-trumps-doj-memo-about-jeffrey-epstein) over developments (https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/jeffrey-epstein-suicide-client-list-trump-administration) in the case undermining the administration's credibility. Fox's attempt to sweep Epstein under the rug by way of boosting bogus claims against Obama-era administration officials makes the network complicit in Trump's efforts to quash a story that is ripping apart his MAGA faithful.

Methodology...

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MMA

[## Fox News gave new classified email revelation in Hegseth Signal scandal just 40 seconds of airtime 07/25/25

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deflect rubber reverse false equiv

an 7 25

One of the nation’s most prominent civil rights attorneys is denouncing Fox News co-host Greg Gutfeld’s attempt to normalize the word “Nazi,” diminish its horrific meaning, and strip it of the weight it carries. And she’s asking why so few seem outraged by his remarks.

“This is why the criticism doesn’t matter to us when you call us Nazis. ‘Nazi this,’ and ‘Nazi that,’ Gutfeld declared on Tuesday (video below) during the cable network’s show, “The Five,” in a segment where the chyron read: “Dems Smear ICE With Nazi Comparisons.”

“You know what? I’ve said this before,” he continued. “We need to learn from the Blacks — the way they were able to remove the power from the N word by using it. So, from now on, it’s, ‘What up my Nazi?’ ‘Hey, hey, what up, my Nazi?’ ‘Hey, what’s hanging my Nazi?'”

Sherrilyn Ifill, the civil rights attorney, Professor of Law, and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, wondered where Americans’ outrage had gone.

READ MORE: ‘Popping Champagne’: Russia Scoffs, Snubs Trump’s 100% Tariff Ultimatum (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/popping-champagne-russia-scoffs-snubs-trumps-100-tariff-ultimatum/)

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“Just loathsome,” Ifill wrote (https://bsky.app/profile/sifill.bsky.social/post/3lu3ifsmt6s2a). “I know it’s old school, but is there no demand that Fox fire him? Losing his microphone should be the minimum.”

Others also responded.

Progressive media outlet The Tennessee Holler called (https://x.com/TheTNHoller/status/1945240952030765159) Gutfeld’s remarks “One of the most tone deaf and problematic 30 seconds of TV in our history right here. This will be tough to beat.”

The Lincoln Project responded (https://x.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1945258238020046965), “So they’re just fully comfortable calling themselves Nazis now. Got it.”

The House Homeland Security Committee Democrats weighed in, writing (https://x.com/HomelandDems/status/1945446725008707991): “Greg Gutfeld is an unwatchable racist clown.”

Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo News, wrote (https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/1945316589831696484): “These quotes, even if said in jest, would destroy the careers of any other journalist on any other mainstream national media platform. But Fox doesn’t employ journalists and doesn’t have any journalistic (or decency) standards.”

READ MORE: ‘Divine Providence’: Johnson Paints Trump as ‘Miraculously’ Spared by God (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/divine-providence-johnson-paints-trump-as-miraculously-spared-by-god/)

Dr. Travis L. Stokes, Ed.D., as part of a lengthy response, wrote (https://x.com/TRAVNATION80/status/1945242245700997586): “Let me get this straight: you’re comparing the Black community’s centuries-long, survival-forged, trauma-laden, complex reclamation of the n-word—a term born from slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, police brutality, redlining, mass incarceration, and generational trauma—to you and your little Fox News clowns tossing around ‘Nazi’ like it’s a TikTok trend?”

Philosopher, historian, and activist, Dr. Émile P. Torres called it (https://x.com/xriskology/status/1945245013010423900), “The normalization of Nazism. Happening in realtime.”

This is not the first time Gutfeld has faced backlash for remarks invoking Nazism or the Holocaust. Two years ago, Gutfeld was rebuked for comments he made about Jews, the Holocaust, and Nazis.

“Officials at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland have criticized Fox News host Greg Gutfeld for saying on air that Jewish people survived Nazi concentration camps by being ‘useful’,” NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/auschwitz-memorial-criticizes-fox-news-greg-gutfeld-saying-jews-surviv-rcna96200) reported at the time.

Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/loathsome-fox-hosts-what-up-my-nazi-rant-slammed-by-civil-rights-icon/).

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PRESS SUPPRESS MAFIA DON SHAKEDOWN

AN 7 25

On July 1, CBS News' parent company, Paramount, agreed to pay $16 million (https://www.alternet.org/trump-media-shakedowns-salon-paramount/) to settle a lawsuit from President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) —who claimed that CBS edited a 2024 interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house) in a way that amount to election interference. Many Trump critics attacked the lawsuit as frivolous and baseless, arguing that Paramount was submitting to a shakedown (https://www.salon.com/2025/07/04/too-corporate-to-fight-for-a-free-press/) just to be done with the matter.

Now, Fox News is drawing criticism for its editing of a 2024 interview with Trump, and critics argue that it was edited in a way to make Trump look good — not edited for journalistic purposes.

CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, in a July 14 post on X (https://x.com/KFILE/status/1944769200310137127), formerly Twitter, tweeted video of the Fox News interview and noted their editing of comments on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

READ MORE: 'You dress as a cowgirl?' Kristi Noem bashed at homestate fundraiser (https://www.alternet.org/kristi-noem-mocked/)

Kaczynski posted, "I had not seen this Fox News extended interview with Trump from 2024 — where they deliberately edited his (Jeffrey) Epstein answer — where he won't commit to releasing the full files because of 'phony' stuff in it."

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Kaczynski, comparing the unedited interview to Fox News' edited version (https://x.com/KFILE/status/1944769522160025986), tweeted, "Check out what Trump said vs what Fox edited."

In response to Kaczynski's tweets, Media Matters' Matthew Gertz (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1944778463925108944) — obviously mindful of Trump's CBS News lawsuit — posted, "My understanding based on the CBS News precedent is that this is an illegal interference with the 2024 election that should result in Fox News paying tens of millions of dollars to orgs chosen by Kamala Harris and facing an FCC probe. Quote Andrew Kaczynski @KFILE."

In a separate tweet, Gertz posted (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1944779569413730582), "At least that's the result when the president is engaged in a corrupt abuse of power crying out for more scrutiny."

READ MORE:There's far more to Trump and Epstein's relationship: Trump biographer (https://www.alternet.org/epstein-trump/)

Former Trump supporter turned Trump critic A.J. Delgado tweeted (https://x.com/AJDelgado13/status/1944772585230598503), "Yup, I was tweeting about this last October, as were others, and no one seemed to care. It's insane that Fox edited the answer (the only reason the full answer came out is, I believe, that Will Cain later absentmindedly shared the full answer on his own show. That's the only reason we even know.)"

The Trump War Room account on X posted (https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1797720117737865557) Fox News' edited version of the interview in June 2024.

Observations from Kaczynski, Gertz and Delgado's tweets on Fox News' 2024 interview with Trump are drawing a lot of discussion on X.

Former Obama Administration official Tommy Vietor wrote, "Time for Kamala to sue Fox News???"

X user Michael Serdikoff tweeted (https://x.com/MSerdikoff/status/1944778264548954217), "This is same (guy) suing CBS for editing Harris' remarks."

Another X user, Cindy Cooper commented (https://x.com/CindyCoops/status/1944782251885224161), "So the Fox News network via Fox News Radio did air the entire answer. Thanks."

Watch the video belowor at this link. (https://www.alternet.org/trump-interview-fox)

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7 25 AN

BESSENT SAYS DEMS BLEW UP DEFICIT IN 2020

FOX RETRACTED ABREGO KILLED AM

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PROJECTION DEFLECTION DEMONIZATION?

Laura Ingraham accuses Democrats of trying to start an "armed rebellion" | Media Matters for America (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-accuses-democrats-trying-start-armed-rebellion)

mma 7 25

July 7, 2025, edition of Fox News' *The Ingraham Angle

LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): Even otherwise, reasonable people, if they're led to believe by trusted news and political sources that Trump is truly evil and that he is truly a fascist, fascist country, then isn't armed rebellion the only answer? That deranged individual wearing full tactical gear who tried to ambush the border patrol today in McAllen, Texas, yeah, apparently thought so. Now, this is what Democrats knew would happen. They knew it. And, yet, they never tamped down the rhetoric, not after city blocks were burned during the Floyd riots, not after the Trump assassination attempts.

---

RWW

Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gavin-newsom-fox-news-defamation-lawsuit-rcna215573): California’s Gavin Newsom sues Fox News, seeking a very specific amount of money

The Democratic governor is seeking more than $787 million — and if that figure sounds at all familiar, there’s a good reason for that.

ref

Trump’s condemnations of the nation’s free press are painfully routine, though the president has been a bit more hysterical than usual this week, and there’s no great mystery as to why.

Two days after the Republican declared that U.S. military strikes had “completely and totally obliterated” Iranian nuclear sites, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency completed a preliminary intelligence assessment that found the airstrikes were less effective than Trump claimed (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/clinging-dubious-claim-trump-downplays-need-iran-nuclear-negotiations-rcna215186). A great many news organizations, naturally, shared that information with the public after the assessment was leaked to reporters.

Trump and his team lashed out wildly, not only because of the leak, but because independent media outlets reported the news. In fact, on Wednesday, Trump’s personal lawyer threatened to sue (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/business/media/trump-iran-new-york-times-cnn.html) The New York Times and CNN, claiming that the newspaper and the network damaged the president’s reputation by running reports that Trump considers, among other things, “false” and “unpatriotic.”

Time will tell what, if anything, comes of such an odd threat, but as it turns out, the Republican isn’t the only political leader targeting a media outlet under related circumstances. NBC News reported (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/gavin-newsom-targets-fox-news-787-million-lawsuit-rcna215522):

California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Fox News on Friday, accusing host Jesse Watters of defamation by falsely claiming that Newsom had lied about a phone call with President Donald Trump during a dispute over the use of the National Guard in Los Angeles. The lawsuit ... claims that Fox ‘operates as a propaganda machine for President Trump’s radical right-wing agenda.’

Politico was first to report (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/27/newsom-sues-fox-news-defamation-case-00429168) on the suit.

The Democratic governor is seeking more than $787 million — and if that seemingly unusual figure sounds at all familiar, it’s because that’s roughly the amount of money the network paid in 2023 (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/new-polling-dominion-case-took-toll-fox-news-standing-rcna82934) to settle a defamation case filed by Dominion Voting System.

Or put another way, Newsom and his lawyers engaged in a bit of political trolling when they chose this specific dollar amount.

“By disregarding basic journalistic ethics in favor of malicious propaganda, Fox continues to play a major role in the further erosion of the bedrock principles of informed representative government,” the lawsuit states. “Setting the record straight and confronting Fox’s dishonest practices are critical to protecting democracy from being overrun by disinformation and lies.”

The incident that sparked the litigation came earlier this month. On June 10, a reporter asked Trump when he’d last spoken to Newsom, and the president replied (https://x.com/Acyn/status/1932476754981163010), “A day ago.” The Californian quickly responded that he had no idea (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-administration-hegseth-china-nj-primary-immigration-live-updates-rcna211664/rcrd81457?canonicalCard=true) what Trump was talking about, adding that the two had no interactions on June 9.

The president later clarified (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-administration-hegseth-china-nj-primary-immigration-live-updates-rcna211664/rcrd81492?canonicalCard=true) that he was off by a couple of days in his initial comments, and the story (such as it was) faded from view.

But on Fox News, the story unfolded a little differently. In fact, on June 10, after airing an edited clip of the president (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/27/newsom-sues-fox-news-defamation-case-00429168), Watters told viewers, “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?” The on-screen text read at the time: “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”

In reality, the governor didn’t say that Trump “never called him”; he said Trump’s claim about a June 9 call was wrong, and on that point, the president himself soon after conceded that Newsom was correct.

“If Fox News fails to issue a formal retraction and on-air apology, we will proceed with the lawsuit so that a jury can determine Fox News’s culpability and assign a monetary value to its ‘blatantly unethical’ conduct,” the governor’s lawyers Michael Teter and Mark Bankson wrote in a letter.

Fox added in a statement of its own: “Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”

As a legal matter, Newsom faces a tough challenge. As Politico’s report noted, “Public officials must clear an extremely high legal standard to prevail in defamation cases, as the U.S. Supreme Court established six decades ago in New York Times v. Sullivan.”

Watch this space.

MMA

### Fox News misled its viewers on what Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” would mean for American energy, jobs, and manufacturing (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-misled-its-viewers-what-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-would-mean-american-energy-jobs)

07/02/25 3:10 PM EDT

### Benny Johnson on Zohran Mamdani: “Trump told me yesterday he's just gonna put him in jail” (https://www.mediamatters.org/benny-johnson/benny-johnson-zohran-mamdani-trump-told-me-yesterday-hes-just-gonna-put-him-jail)

07/02/25 2:20 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro: “The child tax credit is essentially a giveaway to people who don't pay taxes in the first place” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-child-tax-credit-essentially-giveaway-people-who-dont-pay-taxes-first-place)

07/02/25 2:06 PM EDT

### Steve Bannon calls Florida Everglades ICE detention center a “congregation facility” (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-calls-florida-ice-detention-center-congregation-facility-0)

07/02/25 1:08 PM EDT

### National TV news largely failed to connect the record-breaking eastern U.S. heat dome to climate change (https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/national-tv-news-largely-failed-connect-record-breaking-eastern-us-heat-dome)

07/02/25 9:50 AM EDT

### Greg Gutfeld singles out Jewish voters in New York for attack: “Don’t talk to me" (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greg-gutfeld-singles-out-jewish-voters-new-york-attack-dont-talk-me)

07/01/25 6:50 PM EDT

### PBD Podcast panelist Adam Sosnick: “There's a big portion of Gen Z that needs to go to American reeducation camps” (https://www.mediamatters.org/patrick-bet-david/pbd-podcast-panelist-adam-sosnick-theres-big-portion-gen-z-needs-go-american)

07/01/25 4:52 PM EDT

### Fox News falsely denies GOP's “One Big Beautiful Bill” will impact Medicaid while defending cuts in the bill (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-denies-gops-one-big-beautiful-bill-will-impact-medicaid-while-defending-cuts-bill)

07/01/25 2:32 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk condemns Zohran Mamdani for how he “disgustingly” eats rice: “We in the West value cleanliness. We have utensils.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-condemns-zohran-mamdani-how-he-disgustingly-eats-rice-we-west-value)

07/01/25 2:24 PM EDT

### Many states' Medicaid programs have a different name, but local reporting is connecting the dots on One Big Beautiful Bill's massive cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/many-states-medicaid-programs-have-different-name-local-reporting-connecting-dots-one)

07/01/25 1:14 PM EDT

### Racist AI-generated videos are the newest slop garnering millions of views on TikTok (https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/racist-ai-generated-videos-are-newest-slop-garnering-millions-views-tiktok)

07/01/25 11:47 AM EDT

### CBS Evening News explains how GOP's “One Big Beautiful Bill” would harm North Carolina families (https://www.mediamatters.org/cbs-evening-news/cbs-evening-news-explains-how-gops-one-big-beautiful-bill-would-harm-north)

07/01/25 11:45 AM EDT

### Newsmax host: “At some point every entitlement needs to be looked at” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-some-point-every-entitlement-needs-be-looked)

07/01/25 8:56 AM EDT

### On MSNBC's Deadline White House, Angelo Carusone blasts Fox News for hiding the GOP's severe Medicaid cuts from its audience (https://www.mediamatters.org/angelo-carusone/msnbcs-deadline-white-house-angelo-carusone-blasts-fox-news-hiding-gops-severe)

06/30/25 5:14 PM EDT

### Fox News’ job as Trump’s tax and spending bill moves toward passage: Help it over the line (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-job-trumps-tax-and-spending-bill-moves-toward-passage-help-it-over-line)

06/30/25 12:57 PM EDT

### Newsmax's Michael Savage suggests arresting CNN owners for sedition following its report on intelligence assessment on strikes in Iran (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/newsmaxs-michael-savage-suggests-arresting-cnn-owners-sedition-following-its)

06/30/25 9:00 AM EDT

### Brian Kilmeade says that birthright citizenship is “being abused” (https://www.mediamatters.org/brian-kilmeade/brian-kilmeade-says-birthright-citizenship-being-abused)

06/27/25 5:47 PM EDT

### Fox News’ Bret Baier ignores key reason why data centers may increase energy costs (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-bret-baier-ignores-key-reason-why-data-centers-may-increase-energy-costs)

06/27/25 2:45 PM EDT

### Fox News encouraged the US to directly attack inside Iran — and then praised Trump when he listened (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/fox-news-encouraged-us-directly-attack-inside-iran-and-then-praised-trump-when-he)

06/27/25 1:37 PM EDT

### Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy on forum shopping: “We shouldn't delude ourselves, both sides do this sort of thing” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-contributor-andrew-mccarthy-forum-shopping-we-shouldnt-delude-ourselves-both)

06/27/25 12:49 PM EDT

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mma

Fox News encouraged the US to directly attack inside Iran — and then praised Trump when he listened

Written by Helena Hind (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/helena-hind), Jane Lee (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/jane-lee), Alicia Sadowski (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/alicia-sadowski) & Isabella Corrao (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/isabella-corrao)

Published 06/27/25

Fox News spent the week following Israel’s June 12 attack on Iran demanding (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/fox-news-war-iran-donald-trump-propaganda-1235367796/) that President Donald Trump join the war while fearmongering about the threat Iran poses to the U.S. On June 17, The New York Times reported (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/us/politics/trump-iran-israel-nuclear-talks.html) that Trump had changed his mind about U.S. involvement after watching Fox News “broadcasting wall-to-wall imagery of what it was portraying as Israel’s military genius.”

After the U.S. bombed (https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-war-nuclear-talks-geneva-news-06-21-2025-a7b0cdaba28b5817467ccf712d214579) three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21, Fox lavished praise on Trump's supposed foreign policy acumen despite independent experts pushing back (https://www.wired.com/story/donald-trump-sean-hannity-disinformation-iran-bombing/) on the purported success of the operation. The network’s celebration continued after Trump announced (https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-war-nuclear-trump-bomber-news-06-23-2025-9e78510c88ccc5e262341f41550609c5) “complete and total ceasefire” between Iran and Israel on June 23. Fox personalities and guests have characterized Trump as a peacemaker who should receive a Nobel Prize, defended his skirting of congressional approval for the strikes, and suggested an opportunity for “regime change” in Iran.

Before the attack, Fox News fearmongered that Iran’s nuclear and offensive capabilities posed an “imminent” threat

Fox host Jesse Watters interviewed Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Doron Spielman, who said that “the assumption is that Iran is incredibly close to having 15 nuclear warheads.” Spielman added, “We don't want to have another Holocaust on our hands — that is why, now that we have the ability, we carried out this preemptive strike.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/12/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030880)]

Fox News host Sean Hannity argued that Iran is now “close to a nuclear weapon. I don’t see that Israel had any choice here tonight but to go at those nuclear facilities.” Fox contributor and former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed, “The time was running out. A nuclear conflict in the region would have been devastating not only for the Israelis but for American interests, for the gulf Arab states as well.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/12/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030883)]

OnFox & Friends, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said that it was “a matter of days” before Iran would have “nuclear capabilities.”He continued, “They had a mass production of ballistic missiles. They wanted to be at the same level of the U.S. and Russia in terms of the number of ballistic missiles, to produce every month hundreds of missiles and to threaten Israel with the mega power of ballistic missiles.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030886)]

Fox & Friendsco-host Ainsley Earhardt: “They call us the big Satan. Israel is the little Satan.”Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030887)]

Earhardt also said Israel would not “have attacked \Iran] unless they knew this was imminent, that a nuclear weapon was coming.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030889)]

Fox host Mark Levin said that “you cannot have a death cult with nuclear weapons building intercontinental ballistic missiles, saying, ‘Death to America.’”He continued, “We can’t stand for it, the Israelis can’t stand for it, anybody with two brain cells to rub together can’t stand for this.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030881)]

Fox contributor Pompeo claimed Iran had “little terror cells” in America and other countries.Pompeo: “It’s not just the missiles or drones they’ll fly to Israel, but the Iranian IRGC — the very leadership the Israelis destroyed last night — has been working in nearly every country around the world, including the United States of America, to plant little terror cells all across the world.” Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030882)]

On Fox News, podcast host Jillian Michaels called Iran a “clear threat” to America and argued that it is not “Israel’s war.” Michaels said, “I don't think this is someone else's war or Israel's war as far as I can tell. So I think that Trump gave them numerous off-ramps, and they did not take it. I think this is a clear threat to America. I don’t think this is someone else’s war. And again, I come back to — I don't see the alternative, personally.” Fox News, Outnumbered, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030888)]

Fox News guest former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman warned that Iran having access to nuclear weapons is “a threat that impacts America as well.”He said that “it's only 10 minutes by hypersonic missile from Iran to the United States,” and stated, “What happened last night was Israel was actually fighting a war on behalf of America, and they did so successfully. And Americans as well as Israelis are safer this morning.” Fox News, America Reports, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030898)]

Hannity defended the attack on Iran: “How many missiles would it take from a foreign country and their proxies that would be fired into the USA, into our country, killing American citizens, terrorizing American citizens, before you would want that country stopped?”Fox News, Hannity, [6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030899)]

Levin said that “force” is the “only thing to stop” Iran. He added, “The elimination of that regime, it’s the only thing to stop them.” Fox News, Life, Liberty, & Levin, [6/15/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030900)]

Fox News guest Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) argued against a ceasefire: “If you had a ceasefire with Fordo intact, with Iran's ability to enrich uranium intact — yes, that would be an inconclusive outcome that would continue to threaten the United States and our friends in the region.” Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [6/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030902)]

Outnumberedguest and Hudson Institute media fellow Jeremy Hunt praised Israel’s attacks: “For Israel to be in a position where they’re weakening that regime, this is a good day for America.”He said, “They chant, ‘Death to America.’ They’ve had, apparently, assassination attempts on President Trump’s life.” Fox News, Outnumbered, [6/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030904)]

Fox News contributor Lisa Kennedy Montgomery said, “Iran wants to do what Hitler started with one bomb.”Fox News, The Five, [6/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030893)]

Hannity claimed that “in about a month, a nuclear holocaust would’ve been a real possibility” if Israel hadn’t attacked Iran.He said, “That is not a risk that any country should ever have to face.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030894)]

Fox News guest Julian Epstein claimed, “If Iran in fact gets a nuclear weapon … they are 10 minutes away from striking the United States with an ICBM.” Epstein added, “They could not only use that to threaten the United States, they could use a nuclear weapon to threaten the Middle East. … They could use it to threaten to exterminate Israel — they probably would use it.” Fox News, Fox News @ Night, [6/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030895)]

Discussing potential Iranian reprisals, Earhardt asked, “What about terror cells that are here that came in through open borders under Joe Biden?” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030910)]

Fox News contributor Hugh Hewitt claimed, “The Middle East is not going to be safe and America is not going to be safe until Fordo is destroyed.” Hewitt explained, “As long as Fordo remains operating and potentially turned back on, the nuclear program is still alive and Iran can rush to a nuke, and I think everybody in the Trump White House, certainly President Trump, understands that.” Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030901)]

Fox News anchor John Roberts: “This is a regime that has been chanting ‘Death to America’ for 45 years. If it gets its hands on nuclear weapons, the threat to the homeland and to American interests in the region would seem to be very clear.” Roberts mused, “Why does there even need to be debate here?” Fox News, America Reports, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030905)]

Fox News guest Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “I can guarantee you that if the ayatollah gets a nuclear weapon, he will use it. I believe that with all my heart and soul.”Graham continued: “You want to avoid World War III? Learn the lessons from World War II. People in World War II appeased Hitler to the point that it got so much out of hand, we had a world war and 60 million people got killed. So we live in a world where you pay now or you pay later. Let's stop this threat before he gets a nuclear weapon. Let's end this reign of terror. Let's do it now.” Fox News, America Reports, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030907)]

Fox News contributor Harold Ford Jr. warned, “If we don't act and they develop the nuclear weapon, I'm fairly confident” that Iran will “follow through on their ‘death to America and death to Israel.’” Ford continued, “This is about U.S. interest at stake. This is about your kids and my kids and hopefully grandkids one day not living in a world where the Iranians have a nuclear weapon.” Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030909)]

Fox host Brian Kilmeade claimed that “Iran has directly killed 603 Americans” and asked, “How many more signals do we need to get before we realize they are our enemy and they are our problem, too?”Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030912)]

OnJesse Watters Primetime, former Pentagon official Alex Plitsas speculated on Iran’s response to U.S. bombing: “You don't know what else they have at this point, you know, whether it’s sleeper cells, if they decide to turn to transnational terrorism. In the immediate aftermath, it would be likely targeting of U.S. bases in the region.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030906)]

Hannity said Iran is “the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism that has threatened to wipe Israel and the United States off the map repeatedly.”Fox News, Hannity, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030903)]

Hannity: “President Trump has a decision to make. Will he deliver the final blow to Iran's nuclear program? Will he rid the world of this clear and present danger and this existential threat? Will he end Iran’s threat of nuclear terror once and for all and make the world a safer place for generations to come?”He later elaborated: “The unofficial motto of Iran: ‘Death to Israel, death to America.’ … There is a new threat issued almost every day. Do you really want a country like that in possession of a nuclear weapon, or would the world be wise and smart, and would we be applying common sense, by taking this threat out while we own the skies over the entire country of Iran?” Fox News, Hannity, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030908)]

OnHannity, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) suggested that Iran is developing ICBMs to “get to America.”He concluded, “If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, I think the odds are unacceptably high that we would find out with a mushroom cloud over New York City or Los Angeles.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030911)]

OnHannity, Levin said: “I'm a warmonger because I think that these seventh century primitive barbarians with 21st century technology should be removed so that we could protect our country, our families, our children? If this is not a reason to defend ourselves, then give me one.”He claimed Trump is “going to make sure this generation and future generations are protected from nuclear missiles coming out of the Middle East from barbarian primitives from the seventh century.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030913)]

OnHannity, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said “the rest of the world will be facing” missiles fired into towns and cities “if Iran continues its reign of terror.”Fox News, Hannity, [6/17/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030897)]

Kilmeade: “They chant ‘Death to America,’ not because it's a catchphrase they can sell t-shirts for — they believe it.”Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030896)]

OnAmerica’s Newsroom, former George W. Bush foreign policy adviser Dan Senor said: “Never forget that Iran has been a threat to the United States and the West for decades.”He added, “They run rabid all over the world threatening American interests. So this is the best shot President Trump has since the revolution in 1979 to put the Iranian threat away. He would be the president that makes this thing go away. If he did, the man would deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.” Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030891)]

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) toldAmerica’s Newsroomthat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was “on the wrong side of this” for opposing U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.Johnson said that “Iran was very close to nuclear capability,” and “they would use it against Israel immediately and they would use it against the U.S. if they could, so it had to be stopped.” Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030892)]

OnThe Faulkner Focus, former Army special operations soldier Brett Velicovich said: “This whole debate about if it drags us into this larger war or not — listen, Iran already sees us as complicit. No matter what we do or don't do now, they will attempt to target U.S. interests in the future, whether U.S. assets strike them now or not. That’s the bottom line. They've been at war with us for decades.”Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030884)]

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) toldAmerica Reports: “Not only has Iran thwarted any attempt to oversee their nuclear program, but they’ve also continued to develop ballistic missiles — missiles that will reach the United States of America. Pair that with nuclear capabilities, and then the Iranians’ wish of ‘death to America’ could come true." Fox News, America Reports, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030890)]

Watters: “With the streets teetering and its military commanders assassinated, a nuke might be the ayatollah's only hope.”“He continued, “No one really knows how fast they could spin up a device and strap it into a warhead, but Trump says they’re only a few weeks away.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030914)]

Fox News host and former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany predicted that the president will eliminate Iran’s nuclear program because the ayatollah “does not care” about mutually assured destruction: “When you combine fanaticism, no care for self-preservation, and a radical religious belief with nuclear weapons, that is a danger.”Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030915)]

Hannity: “The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is a clear and present danger, an existential threat to the entire world.”Fox News, Hannity, [6/18/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030918)]

After Trump ordered US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, Fox News defended and praised the attack — and warned of retaliation

OnFox & Friends, former B-2 stealth bomber pilot and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Basham called the attack “flawless” and said its success was “miraculous.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030986)]

Former State Department deputy special envoy Ellie Cohanim toldAmerica Reportsthat “the United States, Israel, the Middle East, and truly the entire world is safer than we were just a week ago.” She claimed that “President Trump’s historic attack” took “away that radical regime’s nuclear program” and said that “he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for it.” Fox News, America Reports, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030989)]

McEnany: “I just want to say, lastly, just how wrong everyone has been on President Trump. … You've got the entire Middle East, it seems, set up in a posture where we may see more Middle East peace accords. So rather than World War III, we may get more peace.” Fox News, The Five, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030985)]

Kilmeade justified Trump’s attack by claiming Iran has “never been forced to pay for” U.S. casualties in Iraq that were “directly linked to Iran” and suggested “that maybe the payback begins.”Kilmeade added, “I don't think that's being a war hawk. I think it's defending America.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030994)]

The Fiveco-host and Marine veteran Johnny “Joey” Jones: “For the pacifists out there, sometimes military action is the prevention of war.” Fox News, The Five, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030997)]

MacCallum: “It gets tougher and tougher to imagine what the argument among the Iranian people is for keeping this regime at this point.” Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031001)]

MacCallum asked the Stanford Director of Iranian Studies Abbas Milani if this was “the moment” for “regime change” in Iran.“This is clearly the moment,” Milani responded. “I can't imagine a more opportune moment in the last 46 years.” Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030999)]

Watters dismissed the idea that Trump needed congressional approval to attack Iran: “Why would you have Congress vote on a secret air strike? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It's a secret strike. You don't let the whole world know you're about to do it by calling a vote.” Fox News, The Five, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030996)]

OnFox & Friends, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said Americans “have a right to be concerned” about potential Iranian sleeper cells because “Joe Biden had a wide-open border policy for four years.” Host Brian Kilmeade added: “More stats on the border and why people are concerned about the people that have crossed. In 2021, 48 came across. Then 197, then 462. And then the last year of Joe Biden, 797. So, that's the IED in human beings that the Biden administration left behind.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031003)]

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner: “The Trump administration is preparing for possible enemy sleeper cell attacks inside the U.S. after Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran. One part of that concern, we now know 1,504 Iranian illegals who were detained at our southern border during the Biden administration were released — more than half of them released into the U.S.”Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031000)]

Fox host Emily Compagno: Iranian sleeper cells are “waiting simply for the moment of inspiration from Iran.”McEnany added: “Biden’s first year, 48 Iranian nationals found at the southern border. It goes up to 197, and then 462. And by his last year, 797. You think as you’re sitting in the beach chair of Delaware, you’d notice an alarming trend of Iranian nationals crossing the border. These are special interest aliens, meaning they should be subject to extra scrutiny. It appears they got none.” Fox News, Outnumbered, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030988)]

OnThe Will Cain Show, Stratfor chief security officer Fred Burton argued that the threat of Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S. was “certainly concerning” because “the Iranians can create passports and they can identity documents,” which is “part of the game when it comes to how they go about infiltrating personnel to carry out operations.” Fox News, The Will Cain Show, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030992)]

Jones claimed that “Border Patrol nabbed over 1,500 Iranians crossing illegally since 2021, with nearly half released into U.S. cities.”Co-host Jesse Watters went on to blame Biden for a potential terrorist attack: “Imagine you have a country which is in the axis of evil, and guys are coming over and he's catching and releasing them into the country. These are sleepy Joe's sleeper cells.” Fox News, The Five, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030998)]

After Trump announced Israel and Iran had agreed on a ceasefire, Fox News continued to praise Trump’s foreign policy strategy

Fox contributor Mary Katharine Ham praised Trump as “a consequential figure” and said the attack on Iran was “a courageous decision.” Ham concluded, “It was a small window of opportunity to make a really big difference with a really precise strike, and I think it’s impressive.” Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030987)]

Ingraham declared that Trump “deserves six Nobel Peace Prizes, including for what he did with the Abraham Accords. All the other work he has done toward peace when so many were urging toward protracted military conflict.” Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030990)]

Watters: “The Trump administration appears to have pulled off an incredible operation. … American deterrence is back.” Watters claimed that Trump’s attack in Iran “sends a powerful message to China, Russia, and the cartels, and gives Trump even more power over trade negotiations. Other countries see that Trump is willing to go to the extreme for what he believes.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030991)]

Jesse Watters Primetimeguest and Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia: “Maybe it’s time to carve \Theodore] Roosevelt off [Mount] Rushmore and make a big granite hat, because this is one of the most impressive things we’ve seen in 50 years.”[Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030993)]

Talk radio host Buck Sexton claimed that fears of “another Iraq, another Afghanistan” are “greatly overblown,” but “it is perhaps an opening here for the Iranian people to take a look at this kleptocracy and theocracy that has been unfortunately oppressing them for as long as they have and say, ‘This could be an opportunity.’” Sexton continued, “It is up to them if they choose to do something about it, and Trump is just encouraging them with a helpful slogan.” Watters responded, “MIGA \Make Iran Great Again], I guess, is the acronym.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031002)]

Hannity: “In just 12 days, President Trump, in coordination with Israel and our Arab partners, he has totally reshaped the future of the Middle East and the world. The naysayers and the isolationists were dead wrong. World War III is not happening, instead President Trump, he stood up to the worst bully, terrorist nation in the entire world and the planet, and now peace is possible tonight.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031004)]

Hannity denied that Trump acted unconstitutionally by bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities: “The War Powers Act argument is long dead and gone.”He also pointed to Fox News legal analyst Greg Jarrett’s claim that “Trump’s actions were totally legal.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031007)]

OnHannity, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) declared, “President Trump will win the Nobel Peace Prize, no doubt.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031006)]

Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows said that Democrats “need to get on board and recommend President Trump for a Nobel. Because if this is not worthy, nothing is.”Fox News, Hannity, [6/23/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4031005)]

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth criticized Fox’s Jennifer Griffin for reporting on intelligence assessment that Iran’s nuclear program was not destroyed

Days after Trump approved strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, CNN and The New York Times reported that the strikes set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, according to a report by the Defense Intelligence Agency.Trump repeatedly condemned the report, attacked the journalists who covered it, and doubled down on claiming the strikes were successful. The Associated Press, [6/25/25 (https://apnews.com/article/trump-strike-iran-media-criticism-cnn-new-york-times-ea103c36bf197901da30750d35a47c45)]

During a June 26 press conference, former Fox News host turned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly berated Fox chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin after she asked whether all of the enriched uranium at Fordo was destroyed.“Jennifer, you‘ve been about the worst,” Hegseth said. “The one who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says.” The Independent, [6/26/25 (https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-jennifer-griffin-fox-iran-coverage-b2777600.html)]

WhenFox & Friendsbrought Griffin on to discuss the presser, none of her colleagues acknowledged Hegseth’s attack or offered her support. Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/26/25 (https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3lsj6y7kyxk2x)]

Fox senior political analyst Brit Hume eventually came to Griffin’s defense onAmerica’s Newsroom, calling Hegseth’s attack “unfair.” Hume: “I'd like to say a word if I may, Dana, about Jennifer Griffin, who was attacked by the defense secretary today. An attack she certainly in my view did not deserve. Her professionalism, her knowledge, and her experience at the Pentagon is unmatched, and I have had and still have the greatest regard for her. The attack on her was unfair.” Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [6/26/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-brit-hume-says-pete-hegseths-attacks-jennifer-griffin-was-unfair)]

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MMA

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06/27/25 1:37 PM EDT

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:{:{06/26/25}:

June 26, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

JESSE WATTERS: You know, everyone's feeling this huge swelling of patriotism and then CNN comes along and sullies it. Now, CNN says, "We didn't do anything wrong," but CNN spent 48 hours with guests at the top of every single hour saying, "The mission failed," saying, "The bombs didn't work," says, "The Iranians still have a nuclear program." What kind of effect does that have? You're basically taking classified information and using it to undermine the commander-in-chief and cast doubt on the effectiveness of the American military capabilities, and putting the commander-in-chief at a disadvantage when he's trying to maintain a ceasefire. It's treasonous. That's the t-word, Jessica.

And Kash and Bongino are going to be looking at these congressmen now, because I have a suspect list. I feel like I know who this person was, and you could easily find them, there's a limited amount of people that had access to this intelligence. You go and see who got access to it and then you narrow it down and then you get a warrant for their phone. So they better lawyer up, because someone's going to go to prison for a very long time.

MMA

In response to Zohran Mamdani’s primary win, Laura Loomer pushes the idea that “Muslim Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers would start coordinating attacks on non-Jews to carry out jihad” (https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer/response-zohran-mamdanis-primary-win-laura-loomer-pushes-idea-muslim-uber-lyft-and)}:

:{:{06/26/25}:

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### Fox’s Brit Hume says Pete Hegseth’s attacks on Jennifer Griffin "was unfair” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-brit-hume-says-pete-hegseths-attacks-jennifer-griffin-was-unfair)

06/26/25 11:07 AM EDT

### Half of the top 10 online shows spread misinformation or false narratives about Hurricane Helene in 2024 (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/half-top-10-online-shows-spread-misinformation-or-false-narratives-about-hurricane)

06/26/25 10:49 AM EDT

### How Fox News is hiding the GOP’s brutal Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-news-hiding-gops-brutal-medicaid-cuts)

06/26/25 9:28 AM EDT

### Newsmax host on the Senate parliamentarian: “Some say that she's a partisan actor” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-senate-parliamentarian-some-say-shes-partisan-actor)

06/26/25 9:24 AM EDT

### Jesse Watters calls the early US intelligence report on Donald Trump's bombing of Iran “enemy propaganda” (https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/jesse-watters-calls-early-us-intelligence-report-donald-trumps-bombing-iran-enemy)

06/25/25 6:03 PM EDT

### Right-wing media figures make false claims about Medicaid cuts in the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-figures-make-false-claims-about-medicaid-cuts-gops-one-big-beautiful)

06/25/25 5:03 PM EDT

### Fox News no longer cares about energy sector job losses (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-no-longer-cares-about-energy-sector-job-losses)

06/25/25 3:41 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro warns of “a deep state inside the Trump administration” (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/ben-shapiro-warns-deep-state-inside-trump-administration)

06/25/25 2:58 PM EDT

### Matt Walsh reacts to Democratic primary for mayor in NYC: “We've rolled out the red carpet for foreign nationals who are gonna destroy us from within” (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/matt-walsh-reacts-democratic-primary-mayor-nyc-less-25-years-after-911-new-york-has-been)

06/25/25 2:35 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk says it “doesn't feel right” for London and New York City to have Muslim mayors (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-says-it-doesnt-feel-right-london-and-new-york-city-have-muslim-mayors)

06/25/25 12:45 PM EDT

### Speaker Mike Johnson’s Medicaid lie to Fox & Friends’ audience unraveled. The hosts don’t care. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/speaker-mike-johnsons-medicaid-lie-fox-friends-audience-unraveled-hosts-dont-care)

06/25/25 11:53 AM EDT

### Newsmax host: “Radical Muslim fanatics brought down the Twin Towers in September, 24 years ago. And now New York City might make a Muslim their mayor 24 years later.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-radical-muslim-fanatics-brought-down-twin-towers-september-24-years-ago-and)

06/25/25

---

see fox bs //

mma

Right-wing media push Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill as estimates find over 11,000 could die annually from loss of Medicaid

When all aspects of the bill are considered, one study estimated it could lead to 51,000 excess deaths per year

Written by John Knefel (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/john-knefel)

Published 06/24/25

Two analyses of the House of Representatives’ version of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” found that its deep Medicaid cuts — which right-wing media figures have supported (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-lay-foundations-republican-cuts-medicaid) for months — would result in more than 11,000 preventable deaths annually. When all aspects of the legislation are included, according to one of the analyses, the bill could cause an estimated 51,000 preventable deaths per year.

Right-wing media figures, however, have repeatedly claimed that people who “deserve” to be on Medicaid won’t be affected by the bill. Instead, they falsely argue that Medicaid will be strengthened for “the people that actually need it,” as Fox News’ Sean Hannity put it recently.

It remains to be seen exactly how much congressional Republicans will end up slashing Medicaid, as the House legislation passed (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-republicans-set-pre-dawn-votes-get-trump-tax-bill-over-finish-line-2025-05-22/) on May 22 and the Senate is currently finalizing its own version.

The House version of the bill finances massive tax benefits (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/12/upshot/gop-megabill-distribution-poor-rich.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share) for the extremely wealthy with its steep (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/21/house-republicans-propose-disincentives-for-states-to-expand-medicaid-00364471) Medicaid cuts, which include the harshest (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/upshot/medicaid-republicans-work-requirement.html) Medicaid work requirements Congress has ever put forward.

The bill would also limit states’ ability to access federal funding by freezing (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/upshot/medicaid-cuts-republicans-senate.html) what’s known as provider taxes, and punish (https://www.nilc.org/articles/house-budget-bill-attacks-health-care-nutrition-for-immigrants-children-and-everyone/) states that use their own money to offer health insurance to immigrants.

The Senate’s proposed (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/us/politics/senate-bill-medicaid-cuts.html) Medicaid cuts are even deeper than those in the House bill.

Researchers estimate Medicaid cuts in GOP bill could result in over 11,000 deaths annually

The two studies that examined the House’s legislation came to similar conclusions, though one focused primarily on the bill’s Medicaid provisions while the other took a look at the legislation as a whole.

The more recent study, from the Annals of Internal Medicine (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-00716), was published June 17 and examined the House GOP’s proposed Medicaid cuts.

“Enactment of the House bill advanced in May would increase the number of uninsured persons by 7.6 million and the number of deaths by 16 642 annually, according to a mid-range estimate,” the authors write.

The authors stress that even this estimate could be an undercount, as their figures “exclude harms from lowering provider payments and shrinking benefits, as well as possible repercussions from states increasing taxes or shifting expenditures from other needs to make up for shortfalls in federal Medicaid funding.”

They also acknowledge that they and the Congressional Budget Office — which offers analysis of federal spending — made an “assumption that many of those losing Medicaid coverage would find alternative coverage,” which “may be overly optimistic.”

Conservative pundits have frequently pushed the false narrative that the Republican legislation won’t harm people who “deserve” health insurance

Previously, analysis from KFF found that the proposed bill would decimate hospitals (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-threatens-rural-hospitals-fox-news-personalities-have) that provide care to large numbers of Medicaid recipients, especially in rural areas, which would likely compound the harms of the legislation.

The other research into the Big Beautiful Bill’s effects, published June 3, was conducted by experts at the Yale School of Public Health (https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/proposed-federal-budget-could-lead-to-over-51000-preventable-deaths-researchers-warn-in-letter-to-senate-leaders/), and was commissioned by two Senate committees working on their chambers’ version of the bill.

The Yale experts estimated that 7.7 million people would lose insurance as a result of the House bill, which would “result in an estimated 11,300 additional deaths annually due to lost access to Medicaid or ACA Marketplace coverage.”

The stark number increases dramatically when other aspects of the bill are included. The proposed legislation would end support for Medicare Savings Programs (https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-changes-in-house-reconciliation-bill-would-increase-costs-for-1-3-million-low-income-medicare-beneficiaries/) — cost sharing programs that allow Medicaid to pay Medicare premiums — leading to an estimated 1.38 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries losing their coverage. The authors write that the bill “would increase mortality by 18,200 per year due to reduced access to subsidized prescriptions.”

The House version also repeals nursing home staffing standards — which could lead to an estimated 13,000 deaths annually — and fails to extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit, which the authors write “is expected to push another 5 million Americans into uninsurance, resulting in 8,811 more deaths each year.”

In all, the authors estimate that the Big Beautiful Bill could result in more than 51,000 preventable deaths every year.

Right-wing media insists those who “deserve” coverage won’t be affected by the bill

These credible estimates are virtually absent from right-wing media coverage of the bill. To the contrary, conservative pundits have supported (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-solidify-around-able-bodied-myth-senate-gop-weighs-medicaid-cuts) many of the most draconian aspects of the Big Beautiful Bill, including its burdensome and unnecessary work requirements — one of the key mechanisms in the legislation to kick people off of Medicaid.

Conservative pundits have also frequently pushed the false narrative that the Republican legislation won’t harm people who “deserve” health insurance, whether that’s Medicaid or private plans purchased through the ACA.

Fox News host Sean Hannity dismissed the Yale study’s conclusions, repeating that the cuts to Medicaid were “nonexistent.” He added that his reading of the bill was that “the only thing that would be cut are those people that don't belong on the rolls that have given fraudulent information that will be weeded out of services they never deserved in the first place.” Fox News, Hannity, [6/5/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030758)]

On his radio show, Hannity said the bill’s so-called Medicaid reforms would only target “able-bodied” people running “scams,” who “are sources of legitimate savings without reducing benefits to the people that actually need it.” Premiere Radio Network, The Sean Hannity Show, [6/6/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030810)]

The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles claimed that the bill “is not taking health care funding away from the people who deserve it,” but rather, “it’s taking Medicaid funding away from the 1.4 million illegals who are on Medicaid.” Knowles added, “It's taking Medicaid funding away from people who are abusing the system, who are not legally entitled to it, people who refuse to work, people who don't meet even basic requirements to avail themselves of health care and welfare.” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 6/4/25]

On Hannity, former House speaker and current Fox contributor Newt Gingrich argued that the proposed Medicaid cuts will not “take anybody deserving of help off the Medicaid rolls,” but will impact “illegal immigrants … people who refuse to work and … people who are crooks.” He went on, saying, “Why the Democratic party would want to be the party of illegal immigrants, crooks, and people who refuse to work is beyond me.” [Fox News, Hannity, 6/3/25]

Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum said that Medicaid “expanded greatly over Covid — people got used to a lot of these benefits and they don’t want to give them up,” but that cuts are necessary so “that people who deserve these benefits can get them.” Her guest, Fox Business host Charles Payne, previously said, “Those who can work and are getting these benefits, they should work.” Fox News, The Story With Martha MacCallum, [5/20/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030966)]

On hisWar Roompodcast, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said that “we don’t want to cut Medicaid to the folks that need it” adding that “25% of MAGA is on Medicaid … but it’s got to be very restrictive.” He continued: “Two and a half million illegal aliens have all to go,” and suggested that work requirements should be for “80 hours a week,” rather than 80 hours a month, as the House bill mandates. Real America’s Voice, War Room, \5/19/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030976); Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, [6/12/25 (https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/house-republican-bill-would-impose-a-one-size-fits-all-medicaid-work-mandate-on)]

On Fox News, former congressional adviser Emily Domenech said, “When it comes to Medicaid, we’re looking at opportunities to cut back on the waste, fraud, and abuse that make the programs cost too much and take away from the people who really deserve them.” Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [5/16/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030968)]

---

mma

How Fox News is hiding the GOP’s brutal Medicaid cuts

Network mentions of “Biden” are outpacing “Medicaid” 10-to-1

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/tyler-monroe)

Published 06/26/25

Fox News has mentioned Medicaid, the vital federal health insurance program that President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to slash, significantly less often than CNN or MSNBC have, and one-tenth as frequently as it has referenced former President Joe Biden and his family, according to a Media Matters review of the first five months of the Trump administration.

Media Matters identified 1,390 mentions of the word “Medicaid” on Fox’s original programming from January 20 through June 21, based on searches of the Kinetiq database of closed-captioning transcripts. By contrast, using the same method, we found that the network mentioned “Biden” 13,289 times during that period.

Notably, Jesse Watters’ prime-time show mentioned “Biden” 1,096 times compared to only 20 mentions of “Medicaid,” a ratio of 55-to-1. The broadcast referenced “Biden” more times than any other show on the network — including those that air for two or three hours each weekday — and “Medicaid” less often than any other weekday show with the exception of Gutfeld!, which is nominally a comedy program, and Fox News @ Night.

Fox hides the GOP's Medicaid cuts from viewers

House Republicans over those months conceived, drafted, debated, and passed (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/all-actions) the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a single piece of legislation intended to enact the party’s traditional agenda of lower social spending for the poor and lower taxes for the rich. The bill would drive nearly 8 million people off the Medicaid rolls over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office found (https://apnews.com/article/cbo-deficits-tax-cuts-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-64d7de49aef62ba07b7f6f45c1ca73d1).

Senate Republicans are writing their own version of the legislation — and are seeking even steeper (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/broadcast-nightly-news-ignores-senates-proposed-cuts-medicaid) Medicaid cuts. Such cuts could devastate the financial viability (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-threatens-rural-hospitals-fox-news-personalities-have) of rural hospitals, forcing them to close their doors, and along with other health cuts in the House bill would result in more than 11,000 medically preventable deaths annually, analyses show (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-push-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-estimates-find-over-11000-could-die).

The contents of the GOP tax bill — and in particular its cuts (https://www.axios.com/2025/04/29/medicaid-cuts-poll-republicans-trump) to Medicaid (https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/17/nx-s1-5435312/medicaid-cuts-big-beautiful-bill-trump-kff-poll) — are horrifically unpopular (https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/politics/big-beautiful-bill-polling-analysis) among those who are aware of them. But many are not (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/17/budget-bill-poll/), and Fox is doing what it can to keep it that way as Congress tries to ram through the legislation in time to meet Trump’s July 4 timeline (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/12/white-house-megabill-deadline-july-4-rachael-bade-00402214) for signing it. While Fox personalities have at times defended (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-solidify-around-able-bodied-myth-senate-gop-weighs-medicaid-cuts) or downplayed (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/cbo-contradicts-fox-pundits-finding-gop-budget-requires-medicaid-cuts-fund-tax-cuts) the bill’s proposed Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/speaker-mike-johnsons-medicaid-lie-fox-friends-audience-unraveled-hosts-dont-care), our data shows that the network is largely trying to avoid discussing them altogether.

By contrast, we found that CNN mentioned “Medicaid” 2,825 times and MSNBC mentioned it 4,445 times during the same period. While the ratio of Biden to Medicaid mentions was 10-to-1 on Fox, it was 10–to–4 for CNN (with 6,688 raw mentions of “Biden”) and 10–to–8 for MSNBC (5,283). This is not to say that Medicaid coverage on CNN or MSNBC has been sufficient, but to demonstrate the extent to which it is absent on Fox.

Fox mentioned “trans” and “deficit” at the same rate

Indeed, Fox mentioned Medicaid only slightly more frequently than it mentioned the word “trans,” referenced 1,048 times over the period of the study. The network’s right-wing personalities frequently (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-aired-more-400-weekday-segments-mentioning-trans-athletes-over-just-four-months) single out trans people for hate and cheer Republican efforts (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-are-celebrating-trumps-ban-trans-service-members-military) to marginalize them (https://www.mediamatters.org/education/right-wing-media-free-speech-classroom-reserved-anti-trans-teachers).

The OBBB’s Medicaid provisions aren’t the only aspect of the legislation that Fox doesn’t want to talk about. The CBO found that the House bill’s tax cuts for the rich are so large that it would increase federal deficits by $2.4 trillion over 10 years even after accounting for the cuts it makes to the social safety net. But our review found that Fox is mentioning “deficit” even less frequently than “Medicaid,” with only 1,051 references. That means Fox has mentioned “deficit” about once for every 13 times it mentioned “Biden.”

A larger version of this chart is available here. (https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2025/06/25/%5BCHART%5D-Fox-News-is-hiding-the-GOP%E2%80%99s-brutal-Medicaid-cuts-3000.png?itok=zhUP6gt_)

Methodology...

:{:{---}:

mma

### Fox’s Brit Hume says Pete Hegseth’s attacks on Jennifer Griffin "was unfair” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-brit-hume-says-pete-hegseths-attacks-jennifer-griffin-was-unfair)

06/26/25 11:07 AM EDT

### Half of the top 10 online shows spread misinformation or false narratives about Hurricane Helene in 2024 (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/half-top-10-online-shows-spread-misinformation-or-false-narratives-about-hurricane)

06/26/25

How Fox News is hiding the GOP’s brutal Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-news-hiding-gops-brutal-medicaid-cuts)

06/26/25

### Newsmax host on the Senate parliamentarian: “Some say that she's a partisan actor” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-senate-parliamentarian-some-say-shes-partisan-actor)

06/26/25 9:24 AM EDT

### Jesse Watters calls the early US intelligence report on Donald Trump's bombing of Iran “enemy propaganda” (https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/jesse-watters-calls-early-us-intelligence-report-donald-trumps-bombing-iran-enemy)

06/25/25 6:03 PM EDT

### Right-wing media figures make false claims about Medicaid cuts in the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-figures-make-false-claims-about-medicaid-cuts-gops-one-big-beautiful)

06/25/25 5:03 PM EDT

### Fox News no longer cares about energy sector job losses (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-no-longer-cares-about-energy-sector-job-losses)

06/25/25 3:41 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro warns of “a deep state inside the Trump administration” (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/ben-shapiro-warns-deep-state-inside-trump-administration)

06/25/25 2:58 PM EDT

### Matt Walsh reacts to Democratic primary for mayor in NYC: “We've rolled out the red carpet for foreign nationals who are gonna destroy us from within” (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/matt-walsh-reacts-democratic-primary-mayor-nyc-less-25-years-after-911-new-york-has-been)

06/25/25 2:35 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk says it “doesn't feel right” for London and New York City to have Muslim mayors (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-says-it-doesnt-feel-right-london-and-new-york-city-have-muslim-mayors)

06/25/25 12:45 PM EDT

### Speaker Mike Johnson’s Medicaid lie to Fox & Friends’ audience unraveled. The hosts don’t care. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/speaker-mike-johnsons-medicaid-lie-fox-friends-audience-unraveled-hosts-dont-care)

06/25/25 11:53 AM EDT

### Newsmax host: “Radical Muslim fanatics brought down the Twin Towers in September, 24 years ago. And now New York City might make a Muslim their mayor 24 years later.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-radical-muslim-fanatics-brought-down-twin-towers-september-24-years-ago-and)

06/25/25 10:16 AM EDT

### Sean Hannity and Clay Travis melt down over Zohran Mamdani while reporting updates on NYC mayoral primary (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/sean-hannity-and-clay-travis-melt-down-over-zohran-mamdani-while-reporting-updates-nyc)

06/24/25 10:44 PM EDT

### Laura Ingraham says “heads should roll” if Donald Trump was wrong about Iranian bombing damage assessment (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-says-heads-should-roll-if-donald-trump-was-wrong-about-iranian-bombing)

06/24/25 8:05 PM EDT

### Fox News has effusively praised Trump's strikes on Iran (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-has-effusively-praised-trumps-strikes-iran)

06/24/25 5:09 PM EDT

### Fox News’ Will Cain makes his case for Donald Trump to be added to Mount Rushmore (https://www.mediamatters.org/will-cain/fox-news-will-cain-makes-his-case-donald-trump-be-added-mount-rushmore)

06/24/25 4:39 PM EDT

### Right-wing media push Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill as estimates find over 11,000 could die annually from loss of Medicaid (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-push-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-estimates-find-over-11000-could-die)

06/24/25 4:00 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk on Trump's mass deportations: “10 million is gonna be a big number in four years, which is basically gonna launch a soft civil war in the major cities” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-trumps-mass-deportations-10-million-gonna-be-big-number-four-years-which)

06/24/25 2:26 PM EDT

### Riley Gaines says Maine or California need “to be made an example of” for allowing trans athletes to compete (https://www.mediamatters.org/riley-gaines/riley-gaines-says-maine-or-california-need-be-made-example-allowing-trans-athletes)

06/24/25 1:57 PM EDT

### Fox host calls for Israel to conduct more “assassinations” in Iran (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-host-calls-israel-conduct-more-assassinations-iran)

06/24/25

MMA June 19, 2025, edition of MSNBC's Deadline: White House

ALICIA MENENDEZ (ANCHOR): As Donald Trump flirts with the greater American involvement in the conflict, it's caused deep division in the MAGA movement, upsetting some of his most influential America first figures, the likes of Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, who was spotted today outside the White House. Bannon has warned against any American involvement in the conflict. Joining the conversation, president of Media Matters for America, Angelo Carusone, Claire McCaskill, is still with us. Angelo, describe this division between the two factions of MAGA here.

ANGELO CARUSONE (PRESIDENT, MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA): Yeah, I think it's so big that it then — it even expands out to the larger sort of right wing media echo chamber because, as you noted, Fox is pretty heavily in the, you go to war with Iran camp. They've been pushing this for a very long time. This they see as an opportunity, and they know know that they have Trump's ear. I mean, even though the last election, there's much to be made about the podcast and the inner, you know, these online shows that Trump deployed and used, that's not his go-to day to day. The lens through which he sees the world, even still as president, is cable news, and Fox News is the main vehicle for that. That's why when he was criticizing Carlson, he said, look, tell him to get a TV network, and then maybe people will listen to what he has to say because that's still the mindset. And so Fox is all in on this, and they are reflective of a part of the MAGA base.

MENENDEZ: But why? Why, Angelo? Why are they all in on this?

CARUSONE: I mean, look. Part of it is straight bigotry. I mean, they really — they have really spun this narrative, we shouldn't forget about that, that Islam is a fundamental problem, that we are in a battle for good and evil. And even though has been a little bit sidelined in terms of his day-to-day involvement in this particular decision, let's not forget that Pete Hegseth, who is very reflective of the Fox News worldview, was somebody that described the great conflict, not as one between the United States and China or other great powers, but as between Christianity and Islam, and that we had to go out there and do everything we can, including using our military, to put that back in check.

So they see this larger geopolitical world through that framework, and that is something that they've been pushing for a very long time aside from just having — that is also part of their their foreign policy. They don't believe that you should democratize other countries. They're just — they're warmongers.

They believe in might makes right. And even though they are repeating Trump's line of peace through strength, they actually don't mean peace through strength. They mean, strength first and then, you know, have peace because you have nothing left after that. I mean, that's honestly what they're actually saying, and it's core to the Fox News base. It also plays really well on TV. Like, we shouldn't lose the sight of that.

Rupert Murdoch cut his teeth in the tabloids, and one of the big things that he always did was find the most horrible, horrific things that he could tell stories about crimes, violent things, and exaggerate them, but also lay them into a demographic fight. That's part of how he came to be. He sees news through that storytelling perspective. And then you have people like Carlson and Bannon who have their own world view, and a lot of it is hyper nationalist, and we shouldn't be celebrating that in that even though they are taking a position here that seems more reasonable, it's coming from a really scary place. It is coming from either straight up bigotry, you know, antisemitism, or a real deep intense nationalism, that is — even if they get to a destination there that seems peaceful, it's because they want to turn their energy internally on what they see as domestic enemy.

That's the part that doesn't get sort of carried through here is that they see the real threat not as foreign entities, not as these foreign entanglements, but as you and me, as members of the media and as advocates and people that are participating in civic spaces. That's who they see as the real target right now as enemy number one. So we shouldn't lose sight of why they're advocating for peace, but the net effect of all of this, though, and this I think Claire McCaskill really illustrated this well in the first segment is that this is the confusion. This is why Trump is on the sidelines.

If Bannon and Tucker were either quiet or were in uniform with this idea that he should be bombing Iran, it would have happened already. And because part of how he sees the world is through these stories, he's trying to see how this particular chronicle plays out a little bit. You know, who wins in this narrative for hearts and minds for audience share. And that's a big part of this, is seeing how the story plays out, because he honestly isn't sure there's something grounding him. And now it's just what's going to end up capturing the imagination of his base, of his audience, and where is he going to get the best ratings for himself.

---

MMA

Fox let chief Trump propagandist Hannity lead special coverage of the US strikes on Iran

Hannity said the attack “will go down in history as one of the greatest military victories”

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published 06/23/25

Fox News turned to Sean Hannity, the Donald Trump political operative who hosts a weekday prime-time show, to help the president sell his new war with Iran, airing two hours of special coverage after Trump’s Saturday night announcement that the U.S. military had struck three Iranian nuclear strikes. The wildly unethical choice emphasized Fox’s role as a Trumpist outlet whose primary mission is propagandizing its audience to support the president’s actions.

Bret Baier, Fox’s chief political anchor, broke the news (https://x.com/MattGertz/status/1936575328476184834) on the network’s airwaves at 7:52 p.m. ET, minutes after Trump posted (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114724035571020048) about what he deemed the “very successful attack.” Baier and his guests provided overly credulous coverage that nonetheless resembled a normal news broadcast. But just under an hour into that coverage, an on-screen bug revealed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030946) that Hannity would be taking over the network’s coverage live beginning at 9.

Fox executives, knowing that Trump intended (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114724124909451419) to speak at the White House at 10 p.m., made the conscious decision to ensure that for the hour before and after those remarks, the network’s coverage would be guided by Hannity, not its “news side” team.

Hannity spent the last decade shattering every possible ethical norm (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/guide-sean-hannitys-role-trumps-chief-white-house-propagandist) on Trump’s behalf: He has appeared in and even scripted his campaign ads, spoken at a campaign rally, and advised presidential decisions on staffing, communications, and policy — all while regularly interviewing Trump himself on his Fox show. He has also advocated (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-continues-longstanding-push-war-against-iran) for a U.S. military strike on Iranian nuclear sites for more than a decade.

Hannity predictably used the opportunity on Saturday to shower Trump with praise and host a parade of shills who touted the president’s decision to bomb Iran.

“I just spoke to the president of the United States,” Hannity said at the top of his broadcast. “I have some new information and breaking details to share about tonight's, what is [an] historic air campaign. Now tonight, Iran's nuclear ambitions, they are officially dead. It appears the United States just completely obliterated Iran's top secret Fordo nuclear facility.” Hannity added that two other Iranian nuclear sites had been “wiped out.”

“This is a huge development tonight, and I believe the world is a much safer place,” he concluded.

Video

Citation

From Fox News's June 21, 2025, special coverage

“Maybe it's a little early to go there, but this will go down in history as one of the greatest military victories — taking out the No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” Hannity later added (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030949). “They've been responsible for hundreds of thousands of missiles between themselves and their proxies being fired into Israel. They have threatened to wipe Israel and the U.S. off the map, and that threat has been removed tonight.”

“There is no doubt we are watching history tonight,” Hannity said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030951) after Trump’s address. “There's no doubt that — I agree with the president — this is one of the most skilled, important, imperative peacekeeping, peace-through-strength-keeping operations in the last 40 years, and certainly the reign of terror in Iran, whether they know it or not, is coming to a quick end.”

Hannity turned to Mark Levin, the hawkish Fox weekend host who reportedly counseled (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumps-fox-news-obsession-driving-us-toward-war-iran#::text=Carlson%20and%20Levin%20go%20to%20war) Trump to back Israel’s strikes on Iran over lunch at the White House earlier this month, during both hours of coverage.

Levin praised Trump as “a historic figure” and screamed at Fox’s audience that they could now “go to bed peacefully tonight” because Trump had stopped “these Islamo-Nazis [who] were building nuclear weapons to attack us with ballistic missiles.”

“This mission was never going to fail under this commander in chief,” he ranted. “This is historic, he is historic, the United States military is historic,” Levin continued, comparing the strikes to those of “Reagan and Thatcher defeating the Soviet Union.”

Video

Citation

From Fox News' June 21, 2025, special coverage

“It's about time we rally around this president, rally around our United States military, \and] accept the fact that this is a high point in American history and world history,” he later [added (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030962), claiming Trump “protected the entire Earth from these barbarians” and “prevented World War III.”

Fox viewers also heard from Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030949) (“I commend President Trump for his resolute and strong action”), Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030951) (“peace through strength is what President Trump has been talking about from Day 1”), Fox contributor Katie Pavlich (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030954) (“God bless President Trump, God bless the U.S. military, and God bless the Israelis for paving the way so the mission could be as successful as it was tonight”), and Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson (“the world heard the president speak tonight and that’s what leadership looks like, that’s what commander in chief looks like”).

Hannity returned (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030957) to Levin for the “last word” of the night. Levin took some credit for the strikes, praised Trump for going through with them, and engaged in score-settling with unnamed figures who had opposed them.

“To be perfectly honest about this, there were a handful of us who encouraged this night, who said that we needed to take military action to bring about this result. It is not so much that we had to convince President Trump — he knew what to do, he instinctively knows what to do, he is a brilliant, brilliant man,” Levin said. “But there are other people. I was laughing because they are now believers, and they are now talking about what a fantastic night this is.”

In the hours since Hannity signed off, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine effectively contradicted Trump’s Saturday night statement (https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-speech-transcript-text-ff4b286992309ec1337e04260247bb1e?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) that Iran’s nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated,” saying (https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4222543/secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-gen/) it was still too soon to fully assess the damage; U.S. officials acknowledged (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/us/politics/iran-uranium-stockpile-whereabouts.html) that Iran had may have moved its supply of enriched uranium to an unknown location before the attack; Trump floated (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114729009239087163) a goal of “regime change”; and The New York Times detailed (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/us/politics/trump-iran-decision-strikes.html) how “the president was closely monitoring Fox News, which was airing wall-to-wall praise of Israel’s military operation and featuring guests urging Mr. Trump to get more involved,” in the days leading up to the strike.

If Trump tuned in to his favorite network on Saturday night, he heard a host who functions as his chief propagandist showering him with praise for following through. That’s apparently exactly what the Fox executives wanted. And that bodes ill for how the network will handle a war against Iran based on obvious lies (https://www.wired.com/story/donald-trump-sean-hannity-disinformation-iran-bombing/) and featuring rapidly shifting aims.

### Trump’s Fox News obsession is driving the U.S. toward war with Iran (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumps-fox-news-obsession-driving-us-toward-war-iran)

06/18/25 2:03 PM EDT

### A guide to Sean Hannity’s role as Trump’s chief White House propagandist (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/guide-sean-hannitys-role-trumps-chief-white-house-propagandist)

01/22/25 12:56 PM EST

### How Fox powered Trump’s first term — and what that means for his second (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/how-fox-powered-trumps-first-term-and-what-means-his-second)

11/19/2

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MMA

### Charlie Kirk on Trump and Iran: “It is very conceivable that if he bombs those two cities, that is not a new war” (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/charlie-kirk-trump-and-iran-it-very-conceivable-if-he-bombs-those-two-cities-not)

06/18/25 1:11 PM EDT

### Fox host cheers on the arrest of NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander: “I love that ICE cracked down on him” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/fox-host-cheers-arrest-nyc-mayoral-candidate-brad-lander-i-love-ice-cracked-down-him)

06/18/25

Fox News’ Ben Domenech tells Ilhan Omar to buy a one-way ticket to Somalia (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-ben-domenech-tells-ilhan-omar-buy-one-way-ticket-somalia)

06/17/25

### Greg Gutfeld calls NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a social justice suicide bomber (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greg-gutfeld-calls-nyc-mayoral-candidate-zohran-mamdani-social-justice-suicide-bomber)

06/17/25 6:45 PM EDT

### Daily Wire's Matt Walsh on Trump's deportation policies: “The Trump administration is ... extremely tuned in to what the base is saying. I know that for a fact.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/daily-wires-matt-walsh-trumps-deportation-policies-trump-administration-extremely-tuned)

06/17/25 2:50 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk calls the SALT deduction “a penalty for well-run red states” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-calls-salt-deduction-penalty-well-run-red-states)

06/17/25 1:48 PM EDT

### How broadcast TV news covered environmental justice in 2024 (https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/how-broadcast-tv-news-covered-environmental-justice-2024)

06/17/25 11:19 AM EDT

### Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill threatens rural hospitals. Fox News personalities have falsely claimed immigrants are “bankrupting” them. (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-threatens-rural-hospitals-fox-news-personalities-have)

06/17/25 11:03 AM EDT

### TikTok’s search engine algorithm promotes anti-abortion propaganda (https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/tiktoks-search-engine-algorithm-promotes-anti-abortion-propaganda)

06/17/25 10:47 AM EDT

### Fox host Lawrence Jones: “If we ever even got into a conflict with Iran, it would be over within two days, if that” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-host-lawrence-jones-if-we-ever-even-got-conflict-iran-it-would-be-over-within-two-days)

06/17/25 9:31 AM EDT

### On Fox News, Charlie Kirk praises Trump's “remigration” policy, a form of ethnic cleansing (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-charlie-kirk-praises-trumps-remigration-policy-form-ethnic-cleansing)

06/16/25 10:18 PM EDT

### Sean Hannity calls “No Kings” protesters “radical left-wing lunatics” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-calls-no-kings-protesters-radical-left-wing-lunatics)

06/16/25 5:36 PM EDT

### Joe Rogan calls for a path to citizenship for undocumented migrants (https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/joe-rogan-calls-path-citizenship-migrants-targeted-ice-during-workplace-raids)

06/16/25 4:43 PM EDT

### With minimum wage bill, news organizations help Republican Sen. Josh Hawley rebrand as a working class ally (https://www.mediamatters.org/nbc/minimum-wage-bill-news-organizations-help-republican-sen-josh-hawley-rebrand-working-class-ally)

06/16/25 2:32 PM EDT

### Tucker Carlson harshly criticizes GOP's “One Big Beautiful Bill” (https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/tucker-carlson-harshly-criticizes-gops-one-big-beautiful-bill)

06/16/25 2:22 PM EDT

### Right-wing disinformation machine spins up a false profile of Minnesota shooting suspect (https://www.mediamatters.org/infowars/right-wing-disinformation-machine-spins-false-profile-minnesota-shooting-suspect)

06/16/25 12:50 PM EDT

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MMA

### Prompted on Patrick Bet-David's podcast about targeting gang members for deportation, Michael Knowles replies you “have to go after the gardener” (https://www.mediamatters.org/michael-knowles/prompted-patrick-bet-davids-podcast-about-targeting-gang-members-deportation)

:{:{06/13/25}:

### Fox ramps up Trump’s pressure campaign against the Federal Reserve (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-ramps-trumps-pressure-campaign-against-federal-reserve)

06/13/25 1:21 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk claims he had advanced warning of Israel's attack on Iran: “I knew it was coming” (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/charlie-kirk-claims-he-had-advanced-warning-israels-attack-iran-i-knew-it-was)

:{:{06/13/25}:

Fox parroted DHS claim Padilla “lunged toward” Noem. Video debunks it. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-parroted-dhs-claim-padilla-lunged-toward-noem-video-debunks-it)}:

06/13/25

After the Department of Homeland Security tried to justify Sen. Alex Padilla’s (D-CA) violent removal from a press conference by falsely claiming that he had “lunged toward” Secretary Krisi Noem, Fox News propagandists chimed in, alleging the senator “ran at” and tried to “bum-rush” the secretary. But video from the event shows Padilla standing calmly across the room from Noem, interrupting her event by asking her a question, as agents begin shoving him away.

Padilla was manhandled, forced to the ground, and ultimately handcuffed by federal agents after interrupting a Noem press conference at a Los Angeles (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/12/los-angeles-protests-alex-padilla-kristi-noem) federal building (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/us/politics/senator-alex-padilla-handcuffed.html) on Thursday. “I’m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla, whose subcommittee oversees Noem’s department, said as the agents began forcing him from the room.

Democratic senators (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alex-padilla-kristi-noem-press-conference-los-angeles/) and political commentators (https://www.mediaite.com/politics/uncharted-territory-political-world-shocked-by-footage-of-federal-agents-assaulting-senator/) responded with shock, anger, and revulsion as video of Padilla’s forcible removal circulated. But DHS, rather than apologize, issued a statement (https://x.com/DHSgov/status/1933236707060822447) claiming Padilla “chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem.”

In fact, video from the scene shows Padilla did not “lunge” at Noem, instead standing and speaking in a level tone as he began asking his question and then saying, “I am Sen. Alex Padilla,” as federal agents pushed him out of the room.

Video

Citation

CBS News video (https://x.com/carterevans/status/1933341979100000501)

But Fox’s propagandists ran with DHS’ lies.

“Now Democrat senators are joining the riots,” Fox host Jesse Watters claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030666) on his prime-time show, as on-screen text read, “Senator cuffed after charging Noem.”

“Alex Padilla, the senator from California, got handcuffed inside a federal building this afternoon for lunging at a cabinet secretary,” he continued. “Kristi Noem was in Los Angeles giving a press conference about the riots when the senator barged in and ran at her, yelling and screaming.”

Watters added (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030667) that Padilla was “lunging at” Noem and “screaming hysterically.”

The Five co-host Emily Compagno similarly said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030655) that “Padilla barged his way into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference on the LA riots, only to be forcefully removed and handcuffed while on the floor,” adding, “The DHS called it theater. They said he didn't identify himself. He had no senator pin. He forcefully lunged. Would you describe this as a stunt by the senator?”

Co-host Greg Gutfeld responded (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030656) in part: “Padilla shows why you need order and grown-ups. This is a microcosm. Some guy bursts into a presser shouting, expects to be treated preferentially. He expected his invasion to be allowed. What does that sound like? Their policy with illegal criminals.”

Watters agreed with Gutfeld, claiming (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030657) that Padilla had “bum-rushed a woman” and that he “seemed like a crazy man impersonating a senator.”

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers, throughout the LA community and throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable,” Padilla told (https://x.com/factpostnews/status/1933248019635360186) reporters following his release on Thursday.

To which one could add, if this is how DHS and Fox hosts lie about a senator when there’s video disproving their claims, you can only imagine how they’re lying about everyone else.

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### Media Matters weekly newsletter, June 13 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media-matters-weekly-newsletter/media-matters-weekly-newsletter-june-13)

06/13/25 10:45 AM EDT

### Fox News contributor: Sen. Alex Padilla should be federally charged (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/fox-news-contributor-sen-alex-padilla-should-be-federally-charged)

06/13/25 9:17 AM EDT

### Newsmax host says Sen. Alex Padilla was “barking like a random, unstable guy that just jumped in off the street wearing street clothes” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-says-sen-alex-padilla-was-barking-random-unstable-guy-just-jumped-street)

06/13/25 8:13 AM EDT

### Fox News hosts Jesse Watters and Kayleigh McEnany say Democrats are trying to get arrested so they can copy Trump’s mugshot (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-hosts-jesse-watters-and-kayleigh-mcenany-says-democrats-are-trying-get-arrested)

06/12/25 8:53 PM EDT

### Laura Ingraham says Senator Alex Padilla was performing “a carefully choreographed stunt” at DHS briefing (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-says-senator-alex-padilla-was-performing-carefully-choreographed-stunt-dhs)

06/12/25 7:38 PM EDT

### CNN's Gabe Cohen lays out the “big question marks and concerns” with Trump's “plans to dismantle FEMA and make states handle their own disasters” (https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/cnns-gabe-cohen-lays-out-big-question-marks-and-concerns-trumps-plans-dismantle-fema-and-make)

06/12/25 6:06 PM EDT

### Right-wing media immediately cheer Sen. Alex Padilla being thrown to the ground and handcuffed at Noem press conference (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-immediately-cheer-sen-alex-padilla-being-thrown-ground-and-handcuffed)

06/12/25 5:43 PM EDT

### MSNBC’s Ben Rhodes: Fox News “is no different than the state media that we see in places like Russia” (https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/msnbcs-ben-rhodes-fox-news-no-different-state-media-we-see-places-russia)

06/12/25 5:15 PM EDT

### Daily Wire's Matt Walsh attacks Trump for “outrageous” Truth Social post about immigration enforcement (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/daily-wires-matt-walsh-attacks-trump-outrageous-truth-social-post-about-immigration)

06/12/25 3:24 PM EDT

### Fox News anchor asks if US senator forcibly removed from press conference was “there to protest law and order” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-news-anchor-asks-if-us-senator-forcibly-removed-press-conference-was-there-protest)

06/12/25 3:21 PM EDT

### Right-wing media call for “overwhelming force” and arrests in LA protests (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-call-overwhelming-force-and-arrests-la-protests)

06/12/25 11:03 AM EDT

### Trump’s religious liberty commission is filled with right-wing Christian media figures with histories of extremist rhetoric (https://www.mediamatters.org/salem-media-group/trumps-religious-liberty-commission-filled-right-wing-christian-media-figures)

06/12/25 9:26 AM EDT

### Newsmax guest: “I hope Donald Trump has enough Marines to send to every big city in the world” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-guest-i-hope-donald-trump-has-enough-marines-send-every-big-city-world)

06/12/25 9:06 AM EDT

### Sean Hannity calls military action against Iran “inevitable”: “I don’t believe this will be a long protracted war” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-calls-military-action-against-iran-inevitable-i-dont-believe-will-be-long)

06/11/25

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MMA

Right-wing media call for “overwhelming force” and arrests in LA protests

Written by Chloe Simon (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/chloe-simon) & Reed McMaster (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/reed-mcmaster)

Published 06/12/25

Protests in Los Angeles have been ongoing as Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids continue to target migrant communities. In response, right-wing media have urged the Trump administration and law enforcement to crack down harder on protesters, called for Democratic officials to be arrested, and suggested the protesters were funded by outside groups.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham and others encouraged President Donald Trump to employ the Insurrection Act against protesters while Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said Trump should use “overwhelming force.” Fox host Sean Hannity and War Room host Steve Bannon have called for arrests of Democratic officials, and The Daily Caller blamed a “Pro-Chinese Communist Millionaire” for funding the protests.

Protests erupted after the Trump administration conducted ICE raids in LA and sent in troops

In late May, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller demanded ICE officials begin targeting migrants at places of work, specifically noting stores like Home Depot and 7-Eleven. In an emergency meeting, Miller reportedly berated officials, according to three current and former immigration officials. One told The Washington Examiner, “They’ve been threatened, told they’re watching their emails and texts and Signals. That’s what is horrible about things right now. It’s a fearful environment. Everybody in leadership is afraid. … There’s no morale. Everybody is demoralized.” One official said Miller asked, “Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?” Washington Examiner, [5/30/25 (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3425297/stephen-miller-eviscerated-ice-officials-deportation-numbers/)]

Protests erupted in LA following ICE raids on businesses in the area on Friday, June 6, and have continued after the Trump administration sent in the National Guard and Marines. The protests spread from the garment district, where agents were first spotted searching for migrants, and have been “largely peaceful.” The New York Times, [6/11/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html)]

CNN reports “Trump is building a political case to use American troops not in a foreign conflict, but at home, to bolster his mass deportation sweeps.”CNN described Trump’s strategy as “conjuring a narrative of invasion and insurrection,” adding: “He’s exaggerating disorder in the relatively contained unrest, looting and protests in Los Angeles. And he’s implying that, to keep the country safe, he’s ready to deploy soldiers across the country.” CNN, [6/11/25 (https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/11/politics/trump-military-los-angeles-protests-fort-bragg)]

Right-wing pundits urged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, arrest protesters, or utilize “overwhelming force” to put down protests

Fox News legal analyst Kerri Kupec Urbahn suggested the protests could give Trump a path to invoke the Insurrection Act. She claimed, “What the Trump administration could do, and there’s gonna be a lot of conversation about that publicly and I'm sure it’s happening right now behind the scenes, is invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the United States government to send in military when there is an obstruction happening of federal law enforcement with or without the state's consent. So I think that may be where this is headed if this doesn't quiet down.” Fox News, America’s Newsroom, [6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030606)]

In an op-ed for The Daily Wire, host Matt Walsh wrote, “The only solution, of course, is to treat them like the terrorists they are. Use overwhelming force to put down the riots.” He added: “Charge and convict the rioters and send them to prison for years. … Any illegal foreign invader involved in a riot should be shipped immediately to Guantanamo Bay.” The Daily Wire, [6/9/25 (https://www.dailywire.com/news/la-descends-into-chaos-as-mexican-rioters-wage-war-on-america)]

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk suggested invoking the Insurrection Act. He claimed, “Los Angeles does not feel like a protest, what's happening there. It's an entire city that's declaring open rebellion to American sovereignty and authority.” Rumble, The Charlie Kirk Show, [6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-responding-protests-los-angeles-we-must-be-unafraid-declare-insurrection)]

Fox News host Laura Ingraham argued it would be Trump’s “right” and “obligation” to invoke the Insurrection Act if he feels the U.S. “is being threatened from within.” She said, “Now Democrats are pretending to be outraged about the prospect of Trump invoking the Insurrection Act. Which, of course, is his right. I’d say it's his obligation to do if — and it's his call — if he feels the United States is being threatened from within by violent, seditionary forces.” Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, [6/10/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030609)]

White nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes urged the Trump administration to use the protests “to federalize a National Guard and send it into the cities. Take over law enforcement. And above all else, use it to arrest thousands of people every day to be deported.” He also added, “If we're not doing that, then we're wasting our time here. It's just a big stunt.” Rumble, America First with Nick Fuentes, [6/10/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030614)]

Zach Hoyt, one of Twitch's most popular streamers who goes by “Asmongold,” called for the Trump administration to enact martial law and put protestors in “little camps.” Hoyt stated, “They just need to completely fucking, like, stomp this shit out.” He added, “Bring in the military, bring in the National Guard, fucking martial law, curfews — arrest all these people. Make the little camps where you can hold them in. Do the entire fucking thing.” Twitch, ZackRawrr, \6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030627); The Atlantic, [4/25/25 (https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/04/how-video-games-took-over-politics-asmongold/682592/)]

Some commentators demanded Trump arrest Democratic politicians such as Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass

War Roomhost Steve Bannon called for Bass’ arrest and accused officials of “getting in between ICE and other law enforcement.” He stated, “Right there, LAPD. The mayor is involved in this and having the stand down. She ought to be arrested today. Immediately.” Real Americas' Voice, War Room, [6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-calls-arrest-los-angeles-mayor-karen-bass)]

On his radio show, Fox News host Sean Hannity said Newsom “should be arrested for obstructing U.S. immigration law.” Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, [6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-says-gavin-newsom-should-be-arrested)]

In an interview with “border czar” Tom Homan, Trump ally Laura Loomer asked if he would criminally charge Democratic politicians like Newsom or Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for “obstructionist behavior.” Loomer: “Are you having any discussions with DHS, with the DOJ, or with the Trump administration to possibly bring criminal charges for harboring of illegal aliens by people like Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, or mayor Karen Bass, or people like Nancy Pelosi or Maxine Waters, because this would really fit the bill of what you described as obstructionist behavior. It's incitement, in my opinion. They are inciting violence by fanning the flames of violence against ICE officials and people like yourself. What qualifies as obstructionist behavior, and will we see any Democrat lawmakers or the governor himself be criminally charged?” Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, [6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030613)]

Some right-wing figures also suggested the protesters were paid and funded by China, billionaires, or church groups

Fox & Friendshost Brian Kilmeade alleged that “the opposition” in Los Angeles includes groups “supported by the state, the government, and the Chinese government.” Kilmeade later claimed that “they are getting paid.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [6/10/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030610)]

Bannon: “This thing is organized, it’s another huge thing financed by the Walton family and all these billionaires.” Real America’s Voice, War Room, [6/10/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030615)]

On Bannon’s podcast, conservative personality Ben Bergquam claimed Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services are behind the LA protests. He stated, “As soon as you start going after the organizations that are behind this, whether that's Catholic Charities, or Lutheran Social Services, or any of these organizations. The communist groups in our country that are working intentionally to undermine this nation, the liberation theology pastors in our country, all of this, that's the root of it.” Real America’s Voice, War Room, [6/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030617)]

The Daily Caller published an article headlined “Group Stoking Anti-ICE LA Riots Tied To Pro-Chinese Communist Millionaire.” The piece went on to allege that the “Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) spoke out in support of the mob rioting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend, posted to X to call for more action on Sunday and created signs that protesters were seen carrying. The PSL shares personnel overlap with groups funded by American tech mogul Neville Singham, whom The New York Times described in August 2023 as sitting at the center of a ‘lavishly funded influence campaign’ promoting pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.” The Daily Caller, [6/9/25 (https://dailycaller.com/2025/06/09/group-stoking-anti-ice-la-riots-tied-pro-chinese-communist-millionaire/)]

MMA

### Fox News host denigrates American citizen protestors as “ungrateful children of immigrants” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-host-la-activists-are-really-ungrateful-children-immigrants-who-have-been-turned)

06/11/25 5:07 PM EDT

### Fox News aired more than 400 weekday segments mentioning trans athletes over just four months (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-aired-more-400-weekday-segments-mentioning-trans-athletes-over-just-four-months)

06/11/25 4:25 PM EDT

### Claiming “Western civilization” is under attack, Daily Wire's Matt Walsh says Democrats want to “make America less white” (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/claiming-western-civilization-under-attack-daily-wires-matt-walsh-says-democrats-want)

06/11/25 2:17 PM EDT

### Fox Noticias host Rachel Campos-Duffy questions if deporting nonviolent migrants is “good for Trump” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/host-rachel-campos-duffy-questions-whether-trumps-deportation-nonviolent-migrants-good)

06/11/25 2:15 PM EDT

### Mainstream media ignore Trump’s planned Office of Remigration, a term for ethnic cleansing (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/mainstream-media-ignore-trumps-planned-office-remigration-term-ethnic-cleansing)

06/11/25 2:08 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk: “My whole life, I've heard people complain about traffic on the 405. Mass deportations will help solve that.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/charlie-kirk-my-whole-life-ive-heard-people-complain-about-traffic-405-mass)

06/11/25 1:39 PM EDT

### Steve Bannon: “If the Democratic Party keeps up what they're doing in these big cities, why are they not a terrorist organization?” (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-if-democratic-party-keeps-what-theyre-doing-these-big-cities-why-are-they)

06/11/25 12:17 PM EDT

### Steve Bannon tells his audience to not believe research showing how much immigrants add to the economy (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-tells-his-audience-not-believe-research-showing-how-much-immigrants-add)

06/11/25 11:50 AM EDT

### Fox’s bizarre lies shield viewers from the fact that Trump was wrong about Newsom call (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-bizarre-lies-shield-viewers-fact-trump-was-wrong-about-newsom-call)

06/11/25 11:38 AM EDT

### Sean Hannity uses attack on Paul Pelosi to criticize Nancy Pelosi's comments about Los Angeles protest (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/sean-hannity-uses-attack-paul-pelosi-criticize-nancy-pelosis-comments-about-los-angeles)

06/10/25 9:57 PM EDT

### On MSNBC's Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone explains how the “theater” of mass deportation plays out in conservative media and stifles dissent (https://www.mediamatters.org/angelo-carusone/msnbcs-deadline-white-house-angelo-carusone-explains-how-theater-mass-deportation)

06/10/25 6:35 PM EDT

### Fox’s LA fantasy is setting the stage for an authoritarian federal response (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-la-fantasy-setting-stage-authoritarian-federal-response)

06/10/25 5:18 PM EDT

### White nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes declares “the groypers have won” as the right is now “so explicitly against mass migration” (https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/white-nationalist-streamer-nick-fuentes-declares-groypers-have-won-right-now-so)

06/10/25 3:03 PM EDT

### Daily Wire's Matt Walsh: “The president should use his authority to immediately terminate all migration from the Third World” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/daily-wires-matt-walsh-president-should-use-his-authority-immediately-terminate-all)

06/10/25 2:01 PM EDT

---

AN 6 25

Social media reacted badly to Fox News deceptively editing video to claim Gov. Gavin Newsom lied about a disputed phone call.

Last week, President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) told reporters he had “called” Newsom and suggested he “do a better job” over violent protests of Trump’s immigration policies.

“He’s done a bad job, causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death. If we didn’t send out the National Guard, and last time we gave him a little additional help, you would have — Los Angeles would be burning right now,” Trump claimed.

READ MORE: This scheme is so mind-boggling even Republicans have stopped lying about it (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/this-schtick-is-so-mind-boggling-even-the-gop-has-stopped-lying-about-it/)

Newsom denied ever getting the call, however, and called Trump “a stone-cold liar” for making the claim.

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IFrame Content (https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.701.0_en.html#fid=goog_30938201)

“We talked for almost 20 minutes and he barely—this issue never came up,” Newsom told reporters. “I tried to talk about L.A., he wanted to talk about all these other issues. … He never once brought up the National Guard. He’s a stone-cold liar. He said he did. Stone. Cold. Liar. Never did.”

Newsom called trash on what Trump described as a “Monday” call, but Fox News entertainer Jesse Watters, of Jesse Watters Primetime (https://www.mediaite.com/tag/jesse-watters-primetime/), aided the president by muddying the waters on the exact date of the call. Watters removed Trump’s claim of calling Newsom “aday ago(meaning Monday),” and instead began Trump’s quote with“Called him up to tell him, got to do a better job, he’s doing a bad job …”

Watters then accused Newsom of lying: “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?”

READ MORE:Navy veteran warns Americans that we're getting to the dangerous point of no return (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/trump-danger-2672350423/)

Conservative talk radio show host Doug Kellett railed Fox for the tampering. “FNC goes out of its way to prop up a failing and shameful President,” Kellett posted (https://x.com/iDougradio/status/1932775335013093443) on X.

“How the hell is this legal,” complained (https://bsky.app/search?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fmedia%2Fnews%2Ffox-news-doctors-trump-video-to-falsely-claim-gavin-newsom-lied%2F) another critic on Bluesky.

“I'm sure that @JesseBWatters (https://x.com/JesseBWatters) will be taken off the air for this ... or that the @FCC (https://x.com/FCC) will have something to say about it,” sniped (https://x.com/ScuderiaAsino/status/1932783287237296271) another X user, possibly referencing the strong hand Trump’s FCC is wielding against news organizations that aren’t Fox News.

In March, Trump’s FCC commissioner Brendan Carr announced he was opening an investigation into the Walt Disney Co. and its ABC television network to see whether they are “promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination (https://apnews.com/article/disney-fcc-trump-woke-dei-1aad33c3c2fa9db2143f578037ac4fad).” Trump himself recently sued CBS ’60 Minutes’ for allegedly ‘manipulating’ footage of a Kamala Harris (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house) interview by deleting the former democratic candidate’s “word salads” regarding violence in Gaza.

READ MORE: 'Cry harder': MAGA Republicans brutally mocked after pushing Walmart boycott (https://www.alternet.org/trump-military-parade-2672352297/)

CBS later released (https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/cbs-news-60-minutes-transcripts-sought-by-fcc-1236298192/) full transcripts and video of the Harris interview, showing the company had presented different parts of the interview for two different shows.

Read MediaITE’s full post at this link (https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/fox-news-doctors-trump-video-to-falsely-claim-gavin-newsom-lied/).

---

mma

### Daily Wire's Matt Walsh: “The president should use his authority to immediately terminate all migration from the Third World” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/daily-wires-matt-walsh-president-should-use-his-authority-immediately-terminate-all)

06/10/25 2:01 PM EDT

### Steve Bannon: “All ten million have to go, not just the criminals and the insane asylum” (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-all-ten-million-have-go-not-just-criminals-and-insane-asylum)

:{:{06/10/25}:

### Newsmax host on Democrats: “At what point are they declared to be a terrorist organization?” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-democrats-what-point-are-they-declared-be-terrorist-organization)

06/10/25 9:24 AM EDT

### Laura Ingraham says Democrats are using immigration to “resettle America with new people in order to transform it completely” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-says-democrats-are-using-immigration-resettle-america-new-people-order)

06/09/25 7:55 PM EDT

### Greg Gutfeld uses Larry Nassar case to attack Simone Biles (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greg-gutfeld-uses-larry-nassar-case-attack-simone-biles)

06/09/25 6:28 PM EDT

### Sean Hannity says Gavin Newsom “should be arrested” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-says-gavin-newsom-should-be-arrested)

06/09/25

---

not random now but regular?

### Sean Hannity says Gavin Newsom “should be arrested” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-says-gavin-newsom-should-be-arrested)

06/09/25 5:02 PM EDT

### OutKick's Dan Dakich says Simone Biles “showed her stupidity” by defending trans inclusion in sports (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/outkicks-dan-dakich-says-simone-biles-showed-her-stupidity-defending-trans-inclusion)

:{:{06/09/25}:

### While calling for the military to be deployed to Los Angeles, Charlie Kirk uses a chart sourced to a white nationalist website (https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/while-calling-military-be-deployed-los-angeles-charlie-kirk-uses-chart-sourced)

06/09/25 2:13 PM EDT

### Theo Von calls AI provision in GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill “really sketchy” (https://www.mediamatters.org/congress/theo-von-calls-ai-provision-gops-one-big-beautiful-bill-really-sketchy)

:{:{06/09/25}:

### Laura Loomer praises Chinese government for recognizing “the threat of Islam” (https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer/laura-loomer-praises-chinese-government-recognizing-threat-islam)

06/09/25 1:58 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk responding to protests in Los Angeles: “We must be unafraid to declare the Insurrection Act of 1807” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-responding-protests-los-angeles-we-must-be-unafraid-declare-insurrection)

:{:{06/09/25}:

### Steve Bannon calls for the arrest of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-calls-arrest-los-angeles-mayor-karen-bass)

:{:{06/09/25}:

### Sean Hannity says spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is “a clear, present danger” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-says-spending-social-security-medicare-and-medicaid-clear-present-danger)

06/06/25 6:18 PM EDT

### Media Matters weekly newsletter, June 6 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media-matters-weekly-newsletter/media-matters-weekly-newsletter-june-6)

06/06/25 10:45 AM EDT

### Fox News has spent years claiming that Inflation Reduction Act policies will make energy more expensive. It was wrong. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-has-spent-years-claiming-inflation-reduction-act-policies-will-make-energy-more)

06/06/25 9:03 AM EDT

### Fox News ignores the projection that nearly 11 million people will lose health insurance from Trump's spending bill (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/fox-news-ignores-projection-nearly-11-million-people-will-lose-health-insurance-trumps)

06/05/25 5:54 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro says that Tucker Carlson “put out a statement that I think is factually incoherent about Mark Levin's position on Iran and Iran itself” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-says-tucker-carlson-put-out-statement-i-think-factually-incoherent-about)

06/05/25 2:33 PM EDT

### CNN’s Bill Weir highlights GOP tension as Trump’s clean energy rollbacks threaten 75,000 red state jobs (https://www.mediamatters.org/cable-news/cnns-bill-weir-highlights-gop-tension-trumps-clean-energy-rollbacks-threaten-75000-red)

06/05/25 1:01 PM EDT

### Fox complains CBO’s tax bill deficit estimate doesn’t include Trump's huge tax hike on Americans (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/fox-complains-cbos-tax-bill-deficit-estimate-doesnt-include-trumps-huge-tax-hike)

06/05/25 12:23 PM EDT

### Steve Bannon: “You can't extend the tax cuts for the wealthy. The math just doesn't work.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-you-cant-extend-tax-cuts-wealthy-math-just-doesnt-work)

06/05/25 11:41 AM EDT

### Newsmax host on GOP cuts to Medicaid: “Pretty much all the 10.9 million are going to be people that should not be on the Medicaid program” (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/newsmax-host-gop-cuts-medicaid-pretty-much-all-109-million-are-going-be-people-should)

:{:{06/05/25}:

### Sean Hannity grossly misrepresents CBO report about Trump's “big beautiful bill.” Even Fox's own website got it right. (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-grossly-misrepresents-cbo-report-about-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-even)

:{:{06/05/25}:

### Sean Hannity calls for mandatory military service for every American (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-calls-mandatory-military-service-every-american)

:{:{06/04/25}:

### Jesse Watters melts down when co-host confronts him over claims that only criminals are being deported (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-melts-down-when-co-host-confronts-him-over-claims-only-criminals-are-being)

:{:{06/04/25}:

### Fox’s Lara Trump credits the president for “miraculous” drop in prices — but prices are actually higher (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-lara-trump-credits-president-miraculous-drop-prices-prices-are-actually-higher)

06/04/25

---

mma random

### Sean Hannity calls for mandatory military service for every American (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-calls-mandatory-military-service-every-american)

06/04/25 7:28 PM EDT

### Jesse Watters melts down when co-host confronts him over claims that only criminals are being deported (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-melts-down-when-co-host-confronts-him-over-claims-only-criminals-are-being)

06/04/25 5:56 PM EDT

### Fox’s Lara Trump credits the president for “miraculous” drop in prices — but prices are actually higher (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-lara-trump-credits-president-miraculous-drop-prices-prices-are-actually-higher)

06/04/25 4:35 PM EDT

### Fox News ignores acting FEMA administrator's controversial remarks that left staff “baffled” (https://www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/fox-news-ignores-acting-fema-administrators-controversial-remarks-left-staff-baffled)

06/04/25 4:05 PM EDT

06/04/25 2:47 PM EDT

### Newt Gingrich calls for Congress and Trump to “abolish” federal judges (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/newt-gingrich-calls-congress-and-trump-abolish-federal-judges)

06/04/25 1:05 PM EDT

### On MSNBC, Imara Jones highlights relationship between anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, violence, and threats to democracy (https://www.mediamatters.org/justice-civil-liberties/msnbc-imara-jones-highlights-relationship-between-anti-lgbtq-rhetoric)

06/04/25 12:56 PM EDT

### On YouTube, Patrick Bet-David attacks Sesame Street for post supporting Pride Month (https://www.mediamatters.org/patrick-bet-david/youtube-patrick-bet-david-attacks-sesame-street-post-supporting-pride-month)

06/04/25 11:29 AM EDT

### Newsmax's Greg Kelly says Harvey Milk's name being removed from a Navy ship is a “correction” (https://www.mediamatters.org/greg-kelly/newsmaxs-greg-kelly-says-harvey-milks-name-being-removed-navy-ship-correction)

06/04/25 10:48 AM EDT

### Right-wing media solidify around “able-bodied” myth as Senate GOP weighs Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-solidify-around-able-bodied-myth-senate-gop-weighs-medicaid-cuts)

06/04/25 9:39 AM EDT

### Laura Ingraham says American universities have “sold their souls to the CCP” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-says-american-universities-have-sold-their-souls-ccp)

06/03/25 8:37 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk guest host says Pride Month is “cultural tyranny” and “we should just get rid of it altogether” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-guest-host-says-pride-month-cultural-tyranny-and-we-should-just-get-rid)

06/03/25 3:01 PM EDT

### MAGA media parrot GOP lie about looming Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/maga-media-parrot-gop-lie-about-looming-medicaid-cuts)

06/03/25 2:15 PM EDT

### Steve Bannon tells Mike Lindell that the South Korean election may be “stolen” and suggests that there are “major discrepancies” (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-tells-mike-lindell-south-korean-election-may-be-stolen-and-suggests-there)

06/03/25 11:12 AM EDT

### Newsmax guest: “The problem with the big beautiful bill is that it doesn't kick enough people off Medicaid” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-guest-problem-big-beautiful-bill-it-doesnt-kick-enough-people-medicaid)

06/03/25 10:19 AM EDT

### Fox News is giving the Trump administration a pass on federal disaster response (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-giving-trump-administration-pass-federal-disaster-response)

06/03/25 9:08 AM EDT

### Even Fox & Friends can't completely deny that the GOP's “Big, Beautiful Bill” is set to blow up the deficit (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/even-fox-friends-cant-completely-deny-gops-big-beautiful-bill-set-blow-deficit)

06/02/25 1:29 PM EDT

### On far-right US podcasts, South Koreans push baseless claims of election fraud (https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/far-right-us-podcasts-south-koreans-push-baseless-claims-election-fraud)

06/02/25 9:18 AM EDT

### On MSNBC's Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone explains how the right-wing media landscape made the idea of mass death acceptable (https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/msnbcs-deadline-white-house-angelo-carusone-explains-how-right-wing-media-landscape-made-idea)

05/30/25 6:23 PM EDT

---

MMA

CBS joined Fox and Newsmax in ignoring Trump's pardon of donor's son 05/29/25 walczak

---

mma

Fox attacks Scott Pelley for accurately describing Trump’s war on the press

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Research contributions from Alicia Sadowski (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/alicia-sadowski)

Published 05/29/25

Fox News and Fox Business hosts are lashing out at CBS News’ Scott Pelley for criticizing President Donald Trump’s attacks on free speech and civil society, even as his network’s parent company reportedly prepares to capitulate to the president’s assault.

“Journalism is under attack,” the 60 Minutes correspondent said (https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article307295616.html) in a May 19 commencement speech at Wake Forest University that went viral over the weekend. “Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack.”

While Pelley did not mention the president or the White House by name, no one missed the implication — including Fox’s stable of pro-Trump zealots.

Fox on Pelley: “Trump-hating former anchorman” who is “full of rage” should be arrested

The mainstream press’s purported Democratic partisanship and untrustworthiness is one of the pillars of Fox’s programming. On Tuesday and Wednesday, it was Pelley’s turn as the networks’ media hate object of choice.

Sean Hannity, the Trump political operative (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/guide-sean-hannitys-role-trumps-chief-white-house-propagandist) who also hosts a prime-time Fox News show, denounced (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030402) Pelley’s address as “full of rage and anti-Trump rhetoric,” adding that the 60 Minutes reporter is not a journalist but a “biased liberal radical talk show host” and “a phony liar.”

Former Trump economic adviser turned Fox Business host Larry Kudlow’s take (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030405) was that Pelley had “the worst bout of Trump derangement syndrome,” while Harris Faulkner claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030403) he was “fighting for relevance.”

On The Five, Greg Gutfeld attempted to defuse (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-host-calls-cbs-scott-pelley-be-arrested-following-commencement-speech-wake-forest) Pelley's comments about authoritarian attacks on the press by pointing out that the CBS newsman hadn’t been arrested after his speech — only for his co-host, former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, to respond that “he should have been.”

And Laura Ingraham not only panned (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030401) Pelley as a “Trump-hating former anchorman” — she used the opportunity to tout (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030400) the Trump administration’s effort to punish his network.

“There's nothing worse than someone who pretends to be persecuted while ignoring real persecution, or pretends to be the keeper of the truths when associated with a network that did everything it could to protect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, even editing an interview with the VP to make her look smarter,” Ingraham said.

“So, it was bad timing for Scott's commencement sanctimony about truth and justice when 60 Minutes’ alleged corruption is being now cited as a potential sticking point in Paramount's $8 billion sale to Skydance Media,” she added. “Whoops. But the press has no one to blame but themselves.”

Pelley is right — but his corporate bosses want to fold to Trump’s attacks

Pelley is correct about the Trump administration’s assault on the free press.

The president has long sought (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lesley-stahl-donald-trump-said-attacking-press-to-discredit-negative-stories/) to discredit critical journalism. He decries reporting (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/why-conservatives-love-trumps-attacks-journalists) he doesn’t like as “fake news” and tries to chill it (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/freedom-press-about-more-access) through a combination of personal lawsuits, threats of criminal investigations, and the weaponization of federal agencies against news outlets and their owners.

Pelley’s show and network, as Ingraham indicated, are among the biggest targets of this strategy. Trump and his allies claimed during the 2024 election that by airing two different portions of Harris’ response to an interview question — one on 60 Minutes and another in a preview of the interview shown on Face the Nation — CBS News had committed, in the president’s words (https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/27457), “the biggest scandal in broadcast history.” Trump called for CBS to lose its broadcast license and subsequently filed a $20 billion lawsuit (https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-amends-cbs-lawsuit-180237341.html) against the network and its parent company, Paramount Global.

The only thing more insane than a legal attack over the editing of interview clips is Fox’s willingness to carry water (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-which-routinely-edits-trump-appearances-spent-over-1-hour-covering-cbs-editing) for the argument. First Amendment attorneys told (https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/01/media/trump-cbs-lawsuit-harris-60-minutes-interview/index.html) CNN that Trump’s suit was “ridiculous junk” and “a frivolous and dangerous attempt by a politician to control the news media.” And in January, then-Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel tossed (https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/fcc-chair-dismisses-tv-station-complaints-weaponize-first-amendment-1236275848/) a similar complaint filed by a right-wing group, arguing that it sought “to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment” and turn the agency into “the president’s speech police.”

But while Rosenworcel warned against turning the FCC into “the president’s speech police,” her Trump-appointed replacement, Brendan Carr, apparently sees that as his mission. He said (https://deadline.com/2024/11/fcc-brendan-carr-60-minutes-cbs-paramount-1236181250/) before taking the post that the complaint was “likely to arise” in the agency’s review of Paramount Global’s planned merger with Skydance Media, swiftly revived (https://deadline.com/2025/01/fcc-complaints-trump-cbs-nbc-abc-1236263995/) the probe afterward, and has slow-walked the merger ever since.

When the Trump administration tried a similar tactic (https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/trump-threatening-use-government-come-down-hard-free-press-believe-him) in his first term, blocking Time Warner’s purchase by AT&T while the president railed against Time Warner subsidiary CNN, AT&T stood firm, fought it out in court, and won. Several law firms who fought back when Trump targeted (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/politics/trump-law-firms-wilmerhale.html) them for retribution in his second term have also found success.

But Paramount and its chair, Shari Redstone, who reportedly “stands to clear billions of dollars on the sale of Paramount,” are apparently setting a different, more craven path (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/trump-trying-throttle-free-press-and-us-moguls-are-going-along-it#paragraph--narrative-item--3469049). Reports have indicated for months that Paramount executives are eager to settle Trump’s lawsuit in hopes that his administration will then approve their deal. In April, 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens stepped down in light of what Pelley suggested was increasing, inappropriate Paramount scrutiny of CBS News reporting. CBS News President Wendy McMahon was forced out (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/business/media/cbs-60-minutes-trump-wendy-mcmahon.html) in May, saying, “It’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”

Paramount’s capitulation appears to be coming to a head. The Wall Street Journal reported (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/paramount-has-offered-15-million-to-settle-cbs-lawsuit-trump-wants-more-861d857e) Wednesday that the company has offered Trump’s lawyers a $15 million settlement, but “Trump’s team wants more than $25 million and is also seeking an apology from CBS News.” The apology, the Journal reported, had been a sticking point for McMahon. Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team reportedly “threatened another lawsuit against CBS related to alleged bias of its news coverage,” while Trump himself responded (https://deadline.com/2025/04/trump-60-minutes-cbs-1236367575/) to a different 60 Minutes broadcast by calling for the network to lose its license and directed Carr to “impose the maximum fines and punishment.”

If Paramount folds in the face of Trump’s extortion, Redstone may get her big merger payday. But the result will only encourage the president to make more attacks on CBS News and other news outlets. His aim is to quell negative reporting by any means necessary (https://www.mediamatters.org/misinformer-year/misinformer-year-anti-media-intimidation), and his appetite for humiliating and delegitimizing the press cannot be sated without news outlets becoming as servile as his Fox propagandists.

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MMA

Sean Hannity has a lot to say about the “stupid flu shot” all of a sudden

Sean Hannity used to tell his audience about getting the flu shot every year and how much it helped him. Now, he’s calling it a “stupid flu shot.”

Written by Helena Hind (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/helena-hind)

Research contributions from Alicia Sadowski (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/alicia-sadowski) & Isabella Corrao (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/isabella-corrao)

Published 05/29/25

Citation

Fox News, 9/16/2020 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030394)

After years of assuring his audience that he regularly gets his yearly flu vaccination, Sean Hannity has suddenly changed his tune, casting doubt on the efficacy of the “stupid flu shot” during the May 28 edition of his radio show.

The MAGA propagandist’s comments come as harmful anti-vaccine policy (https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/27/nx-s1-5413179/covid-vaccine-children-pregnant-rfk-cdc) takes root in the Trump administration, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bucking the normal scientific review process (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/28/trump-rfk-jr-covid-vaccine-cost-pregnancy-kids/83895616007/) and removing the COVID-19 vaccine from the CDC’s recommended immunizations for children and those who are pregnant.

During the May 28 edition of The Sean Hannity Show, guest Dr. Brian Tyson claimed that COVID-19 booster vaccines are “negative effective, just like last year's flu shot.” Hannity jumped in: “Well, people don't understand that. Every year, they will start producing a flu virus. They're guessing what flu is likely to hit. They don't know for sure”

The Fox News host continued: “My understanding is they're wrong 75% of the time, and people, you know, annually go get the stupid flu shot anyway.”

Sean Hannity attacks COVID vaccines and the “stupid flu shot”

May 28, 2025

Audio file

Audio

Citation

From the May 28, 2025, edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): And even the creator, who I know you're familiar with, Dr. Robert Malone, was very outspoken, and he came on this program often. And he said that mRNA technology has not been perfected. He did support emergency authorization vaccinations for people over 65 that had preexisting conditions and comorbidities because they were the ones that were more likely to be -- their lives would be put in jeopardy by the virus. He absolutely was crystal clear. It was not designed for healthy people that were younger, meaning below the age of 65, and it's absolutely not designed for children.

Now, he's the one that created the technology that allowed for the creation of this, and he's saying this. And then he gets excoriated like you got excoriated for trying alternative treatment, which, by the way, studies, since that time have proven that you were right about things like hydroxychloroquine taken early, mitigating circumstances.

How many studies now have come out confirming that? How many studies have come out showing that masks really didn't help? How many studies came out, you know, showing that your protocols actually worked? How many patients' lives did you save, and how many patients did you lose in the process?

DR. BRIAN TYSON (GUEST): Yeah. I mean, it's -- so you're 100% correct. If you go to the website c19.org, you'll be able to pull up all the different treatments and all of the studies that are listed underneath those. There's over 400 studies on hydroxychloroquine, there's over 300 studies on ivermectin.

What we found was early treatment is the key. It's not about vaccines at this point because these vaccines are not effective. Actually, they're negative effective, just like last year's flu shot. Last year's flu shot had a negative efficacy of 26%, meaning those who got the flu shot were more likely to get the flu. It's the same thing with these COVID vaccine boosters.

HANNITY: Well, people don't understand that. Every year, they will start producing a flu virus. They're guessing what flu is likely to hit. They don't know for sure. And my understanding is that they're wrong 75% of the time, and people, you know, annually go get the stupid flu shot anyway.

TYSON: Yeah. But they made $6 billion off of it last year. And that's the problem. When you continuously approve vaccines without data and without research -- this is where you know the MAHA movement is -- hopefully it's going to make some ground -- you can't continue to produce vaccines without seeing the results. And you have to start holding the pharmaceutical companies accountable.

Once upon a time, Hannity was among those who chose to “go get the stupid flu shot” every year. In April 2020, the Fox host told (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3865481) his radio listeners it was “my choice” to “get a flu shot every year.” Months later, he said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030397) his choice to get his annual shot is “what freedom’s all about."

That November, in an attempt to assure his listeners that the COVID-19 vaccine was safe, he said (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4030395) he has “taken the flu shot for many, many years with no side effects at all whatsoever… it’s helped me."

Hannity also proclaimed his dedication to regular flu immunization to his Fox News audience: “I choose to get the flu shot every year and some of my friends think I’m nuts."

Video

Citation

From the September 16, 2020, edition of Fox News' Hannity

Hannity’s sudden reversal on the “stupid flu shot” is hardly surprising, considering his yearslong assault (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannitys-vaccine-coverage-got-much-worse-after-journalists-foolishly-praised-him) on the COVID-19 vaccine, his network’s dedication to pushing (https://www.mediamatters.org/robert-f-kennedy-rfk-jr/rfk-jr-measles-and-dangerous-legacy-fox-news-covid-19-coverage) anti-vaccine (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-vaccine-coverage-has-gotten-even-worse) narratives, and the Trump administration’s adoption of vaccine skepticism as policy.

Meanwhile, the American Medical Association recommends (https://edhub.ama-assn.org/pages/discussing-influenza-vaccine-with-patients) on its website that “everyone aged six months or older should receive an annual flu shot.” The AMA has more on the flu vaccine and the COVID vaccine here (https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/8-things-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-flu-vaccines). On its YouTube page, the AMA also discussed (https://youtu.be/0voBXZgbgLI) its recommendations (https://youtu.be/mOzb1Wfj67E) for the flu and COVID vaccine in 2024.

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AN 5 25

Trump’s ratings continue to slide (https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-approval-rating-latest-polls-2072624) on most issues. Recent Economist/YouGov polling across the US, completed on May 9-12, shows 51% think the country is on the wrong track, while only 45% have a favourable impression of his job as president (https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabReport_tDmEBHo.pdf). On inflation and prices in the shops, only 35% approve of his handling of this policy.

Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) seems to be scoring particularly badly with young voters. Around 62% of young people (18 to 29s) have an unfavourable opinion of the president, compared with 53% of the over-65s.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to pursue an agenda (https://cpj.org/special-reports/alarm-bells-trumps-first-100-days-ramp-up-fear-for-the-press-democracy/) to close down, or shackle, much of the media it considers not on his side.

Funding for national public service radio NPR and television PBS, as well as the global news service Voice of America, is under threat. Some national news outlets are under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their coverage.

In a speech in March, Trump said broadcasters (https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250314-trump-blasts-foes-and-media-in-speech-at-department-of-injustice) CNN and MSNBC, and some newspapers he didn’t name “literally write 97.6% bad about me”. He added: “It has to stop. It has to be illegal.”

The Trump team clearly see the role of the media as important to establishing and retaining support, and have taken steps to shake up White House coverage – including by changing who can attend the White House press pool (https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-ap-access-white-house-12ef5a496d3da10d0461641b26dd9d47).

About seven in ten members of the American public (https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/03/31/most-americans-say-they-are-tuned-in-to-news-about-the-trump-administration/) say they are following the news for updates on the Trump administration. It is interesting, therefore, to consider the role of the media in influencing Trump’s popularity, and insights can be found in the massive US Cooperative Election Study, conducted during the presidential contest last year.

That survey showed 57% of Americans had watched TV news in the previous 24 hours. Around 81% had used social media (https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/%20research-faculty/research-centers/cooperative-election-study) during the same period, but only 20% had used it to comment on politics.

There is a lot of attention being paid to fake news (https://www.princeton.edu/%7Efujiwara/papers/SocialMediaAndElections.pdf) on the internet, which is helping to cause polarisation in the US. But when it comes to news about politics, TV coverage is still very important for most Americans.

The survey asked respondents about the TV news channels they watched, and Fox News came out on top with 47% of the viewers. ABC came second with 37%, and CBS and CNN tied on 35%. Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/%20trump-says-media-vital-making-america-great-again-vows-work-free-fair-open-press) is Trump’s favorite TV station, with its rightwing populist agenda and regular output of Trump-friendly news.

Relationship between Trump voters and Fox News’s audience in 2024 US presidential election:

Source: Author graph based on Cooperative Election Study 2024, CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The Cooperative Election Study had 60,000 respondents, which provides reasonably sized samples in each of the 50 states. The Trump vote varied quite a lot across states, with only 34% of voters in Maryland supporting him, compared with 72% in Wyoming (https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/2024). The electoral college formally decides the results of presidential elections, and this is based on states – so, looking at voting in this way can be quite revealing.

The connection between watching Fox News and Trump’s vote share can be seen in the chart above. It varies from 21% who watched the channel in Vermont to 60% in West Virginia.

Vermont is represented in Congress by Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist (https://business-school.open.ac.uk/news/socialism-not-dirty-word-bernie-sanders-really-changing-us-democracy) from a radical political tradition, and only 32% voted for Trump there. In contrast, West Virginia is part of the rust belt of impoverished states hit by deindustrialisation and the decline of the coal mining industry, and 71% voted for Trump there.

We can use a regression model (https://www.imsl.com/blog/what-is-regression-model) (which looks at the relationship between variables) to predict support for Trump using key measures that drive the vote share for Trump in each state. The model uses three variables to predict the results with 95% accuracy, which means while not perfect, it gives a very accurate prediction of Trump’s vote.

Not surprisingly, partisanship – that is, the percentage of registered Republicans in each state – is one of the key metrics. In addition, ideology – the percentage of respondents who say they are conservatives – is another.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the third important predictor is viewership of Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/). The relationship between watching the channel and voting for Trump is very strong at the state level. Also, the more time people spend watching the channel, the more likely they are to have voted for Trump.

Impact of key factors on Trump voting in 2024 US election:

(https://images.theconversation.com/files/666984/original/file-20250509-62-dfecac.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip)

Source: Author based on Cooperative Election Study , CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This chart calculates the relationship between watching Fox News and other factors and the strength of a state’s support for Trump in 2024. If a variable is a perfect predictor of Trump voting, it would score 1.0 on the scale. If it is a perfect non-predictor, it would score 0.

So, the most important predictor of being a Trump voter was the presence of conservatives in a state, followed by the percentage of registered Republicans, and the third was watching Fox News. A high score on all three meant greater support for Trump.

To illustrate this, 45% of Texans considered themselves conservatives, 33% were registered Republicans, and 51% watched Fox News. Using these measures, the model predicts that 57% would vote for Trump. In fact, 56% voted for him in that state in 2024. So, while the prediction was not perfect, it was very close.

A similar predictive model can be used to forecast former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s vote shares by state. In her case, we need four variables to predict the results with 95% accuracy – the percentage of registered Democrats, liberals and moderates in a state, and also Fox News viewership.

Not surprisingly in Harris’s case, the relationship between Fox News viewing and voting is strongly negative (correlation = -0.64). When viewership was high, the Harris (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house) vote was low.

Years ago, the “fairness doctrine” (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fairness-Doctrine) used to mandate US broadcasters to fairly reflect different viewpoints on controversial issues in their coverage. Candidates for public office were entitled to equal air time.

But this rule was removed by the FCC in 1987, and has led to an era of some broadcasters becoming far more partisan (https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2025/poynter-50-repeal-fairness-doctrine-rush-limbaugh-conservative-talk-radio/). The FCC decision followed a period of debate and challenges to the fairness doctrine. This led to its abolition under Ronald Reagan, the Republican president who inspired Project 2025 (https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-08-25/project-2025-trump-heritage-foundation-election) – the document that in turn appears to be inspiring the Trump government’s policy agenda.

When the Trump era is over, incumbent Democrats are going to have to repair US institutions that this administration has damaged. If they want to do something about the polarisation of US politics, they may also need to restore the fairness doctrine.

Had it not been removed in the first place, it is possible that Harris would have won the 2024 presidential election, since Fox News would not exist in its present form. Whatever happens next, the US media is likely to play an important role.

Paul Whiteley (https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-whiteley-136273), Professor, Department of Government, *University of Essex (https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-essex-1291)

This article is republished from The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/) under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article (https://theconversation.com/as-trumps-ratings-slide-polling-data-reveals-the-scale-of-fox-newss-influence-on-us-politics-256274).

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Key Trump officials appeared more than 500 times on Fox networks in the first 100 days of his presidency

Fox networks remain a safe space for administration figures

Written by Harrison Ray (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/harrison-ray) & Isabella Sherk (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/isabella-sherk)

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/tyler-monroe) & Media Matters Staff (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/media-matters-staff)

Published 05/01/25

Key Trump administration officials appeared on Fox networks over 500 times in his first 100 days in office. President Donald Trump's “border czar” Thomas Homan led all officials with at least 59 appearances while Fox News' Hannity led all shows with 71 interviews.

Trump officials appeared on Fox networks on 96 of the administration's first 100 days. The number of daily appearances by key officials was highest on both February 3, following Trump's announcement of his first set of tariffs, and March 4, seemingly to prime the Fox audience for his congressional address that evening, with at least 13 appearances on each day.

Key Trump administration officials appeared at least 536 times on Fox networks

Media Matters looked at Fox appearances by key nominated or confirmed Trump officials during the administration’s first 100 days. Trump's “border czar,” Thomas Homan, remains (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/key-trump-officials-appeared-fox-news-least-125-times-first-month-his-presidency) the most prominent administration official on the networks, appearing at least 59 times in total. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (40 appearances), deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller (40), and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin (33) followed. Rounding out the top five most frequent officials who appeared on Fox is former counselor to the president Alina Habba who had 29 appearances before she left the administration when Trump appointed (https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/trump-taps-adviser-alina-habba-for-u-s-attorney-post-in-new-jersey-3c791566) her interim U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey on March 24.

{}:

Top 10 key Trump officials on Fox networks (Clickhere (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029744) for the full list)

Trump himself has also been on Fox News several times since his inauguration, appearing at least 8 times in: 2 multiepisode interviews on Hannity, 1 multiepisode interview on The Ingraham Angle, 1 interview on Special Report with Bret Baier, and 1 interview on Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo.

Fox shows are a trusted choice for Trump administration interviews

Hannity far outpaced all other shows with at least 71 appearances from key Trump officials. Host Sean Hannity interviewed at least 19 unique Trump officials, with Miller (14 appearances), Homan (11), and Leavitt (11) appearing the most. Hannity reliably fawned over guests and the Trump administration, often playing (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029761) clean-up for controversial actions and laying the groundwork (https://www.foxnews.com/video/6372047209112) for guests to attack critics.

Following Hannity were Fox & Friends (52), The Ingraham Angle (48), and Jesse Watters Primetime (34), alongside the network's so-called “news-side” shows The Story with Martha MacCallum (34), America's Newsroom (31), and America Reports (28).

On Fox Business, Kudlow (36 appearances), Mornings With Maria Bartiromo (33), and Varney & Company (28) featured the most appearances by key Trump officials. The administration often turned to Fox Business for economic-related news, with the network providing a friendly environment for officials to defend (https://www.mediamatters.org/larry-kudlow/larry-kudlow-why-shouldnt-president-be-able-impound-behalf-taxpayers) Trump's often "chaotic" (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/business/stock-market-plunge-investment-bank-impact.html) economic policies.

Top 10 shows on Fox networks with most appearances by key Trump officials

Former Fox employees who are now administration officials appeared at least 121 times

Several of the officials featured on the Fox networks were former employees: former contributor Thomas Homan (59 appearances), former contributor Michael Waltz (21), former network host Sean Duffy (17), former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth (14), former contributor Tulsi Gabbard (6), and former contributor Marty Makary (4). (Trump has tapped (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/comprehensive-review-revolving-door-between-fox-and-second-trump-administration) many other former Fox employees to be part of his second administration as well.)

Fox had cabinet officials on at least 283 times

Overall, cabinet members made up more than half of the total appearances by Trump officials across both networks, with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin appearing at least 33 times, the most of any cabinet official. Attorney General Pam Bondi (24 appearances), Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (24), Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (22), and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins (20) followed close behind.

Every confirmed Cabinet member appeared at least twice on Fox.

Fox functions as a safe space for Trump and his officials

Fox hosts and anchors reliably offered a safe space to Trump officials. The Daily Beast said (https://www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-softballs-stephen-miller-235827598.html) Hannity “tossed” Stephen Miller “softball after softball while reassuring him his shouting and over-the-top rhetoric had been perfectly justified.” An interview with JD Vance on Fox & Friends was described as "extremely friendly (https://www.aol.com/news/jd-vance-boasts-enthusiasm-over-142331712.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAj8GPLUVHpCrTX1mEn6ta8UEWEr_51AWrk4UYg6ldltVAcWDCnXyf2RcYwZuipBvCwPgTgs488bk2IcW3UchO_SqESIKQ09Nhdkmezn8P-EVqhbnL65hkvHHPBNfMUOk3ZpomxS_zgaOD1zH02qtfLfCOzj_9qkQr92fzz-UjtI)." The Arizona Republic's Bill Goodykoontz has described Fox interviews of Trump as a "disgrace (https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2025/01/22/sean-hannity-donald-trump-interview/77888042007/)," "sycophantic (https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2025/03/09/trump-fox-news-maria-bartiromo/82132255007/)," and "humiliating (https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2025/02/18/hannity-interview-musk-trump/79075767007/)." And Quinnipiac University professor Mordechai Gordon described (https://ctmirror.org/2025/04/25/trumps-poodles-on-fox-news/) Fox hosts as “the President's poodles,” adding that during an interview with Mike Waltz, Waltz and Ingraham “used this opportunity to trash” a perceived enemy of the administration.

And the hosts always have time to try to get a friend out of trouble. In a Fox & Friends interview with their former colleague Pete Hegseth, now the secretary of defense, host Brian Kilmeade raised baseless conspiracy theories surrounding Hegseth's Signalgate scandal, saying, “Do you think ... there's some type of deep state forces that want to make sure you don't stay there?”

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MMA SORTA RANDOM

### Ben Shapiro: “Many of the organizations that Donald Trump Jr. is connected to are making an enormous amount of money during this period of time when his father is president” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-many-organizations-donald-trump-jr-connected-are-making-enormous-amount)

05/22/25 3:00 PM EDT

### Anti-abortion groups downplay the role of Georgia’s abortion ban in hospital keeping legally brain-dead pregnant woman on life support (https://www.mediamatters.org/live-action/anti-abortion-groups-downplay-role-georgias-abortion-ban-hospital-keeping-legally-brain)

05/22/25 2:50 PM EDT

### Benny Johnson podcast guest claims it's “a total lie” that the GOP legislation cuts Medicaid from millions of Americans (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/benny-johnson-podcast-guest-claims-its-total-lie-gop-legislation-cuts-medicaid-millions)

05/22/25 12:54 PM EDT

### Contrary to right-wing media claims, the GOP's Medicaid cuts are for far more than “able-bodied men” (https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/contrary-right-wing-media-claims-gops-medicaid-cuts-are-far-more-able-bodied-men)

05/22/25

### Megyn Kelly singles out trans people for hate (https://www.mediamatters.org/megyn-kelly/megyn-kelly-singles-out-trans-people-hate)

05/22/25 11:00 AM EDT

### Newsmax host invokes the Civil War while complaining about federal judges ruling against the Trump administration: “It smells like 1861” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-invokes-civil-war-while-complaining-about-federal-judges-ruling-against-trump)

05/22/25 10:02 AM EDT

### Fox contributor Newt Gingrich organizes MAGA attacks against Congressional Budget Office (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-contributor-newt-gingrich-organizes-maga-attacks-against-congressional-budget-office)

05/21/25 5:09 PM EDT

### Fox host Brian Kimeade supports cuts to Medicaid: “People get addicted to the free money” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/fox-host-brian-kimeade-supports-cuts-medicaid-people-get-addicted-free-money)

05/21/25 10:30 AM EDT

### Fox’s Maria Bartiromo whips Republican support for devastating Medicaid cuts (https://www.mediamatters.org/maria-bartiromo/foxs-maria-bartiromo-whips-republican-support-devastating-medicaid-cuts)

05/20/25 5:58 PM EDT

### Jesse Watters on Democrats being arrested: “You guys have no idea how much fun we're having. This is a dream come true.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-democrats-being-arrested-you-guys-have-no-idea-how-much-fun-were-having)

05/20/25 5:54 PM EDT

### Sean Hannity threatens to unleash his radio listeners on members of Congress “getting in the way” of Trump's budget bill (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-threatens-unleash-his-radio-listeners-members-congress-getting-way-trumps)

05/20/25 4:22 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro's advice to the Trump administration: “Fire Peter Navarro into the ocean via catapult” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiros-advice-trump-administration-fire-peter-navarro-ocean-catapult)

05/20/25 2:06 PM EDT

### Benny Johnson: “Social Security is completely fraudulent. It should be privatized. They should destroy that entire program.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/benny-johnson/benny-johnson-social-security-completely-fraudulent-it-should-be-privatized-they)

05/20/25 11:57 AM EDT

### Fox News host: “The vast majority of people who are going to be helped by the tax cuts are the wealthiest” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-host-vast-majority-people-who-are-going-be-helped-tax-cuts-are-wealthiest)

05/19/25 6:35 PM EDT

### Alex Jones says Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are “making fools out of themselves” over Jeffrey Epstein (https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-says-kash-patel-and-dan-bongino-are-making-fools-out-themselves-over-jeffrey)

05/19/25 4:36 PM EDT

### Matt Walsh urges Trump to ignore the Supreme Court's ruling on notice before deportations: “It's illegitimate. It's ridiculous. Trump should ignore it.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/matt-walsh-urges-trump-ignore-supreme-courts-ruling-notice-deportations-its-illegitimate)

05/19/25 3:10 PM EDT

### STUDY: Interacting with these popular right-leaning comedy podcasters can turn your TikTok feed into a swamp of Andrew Tate-style misogyny and conspiracy theories (https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/study-interacting-these-popular-right-leaning-comedy-podcasters-can-turn-your-tiktok-feed)

05/19/25 10:08 AM EDT

### Watch Jessica Tarlov break the news of Moody's downgrading America's credit as Jesse Watters brags about a Trump “masterclass” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/watch-jessica-tarlov-break-news-moodys-downgrading-americas-credit-jesse-watters-brags)

05/16/25 6:04 PM EDT

### Right-wing media mocked and denied LGBTQ suicide rates. Now the Trump administration aims to gut the suicide hotline. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-mocked-and-denied-lgbtq-suicide-rates-now-trump-administration-aims-gut)

05/16/25 5:05 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk: “Maybe we just got to make an example out of Thom Tillis” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-maybe-we-just-got-make-example-out-thom-tillis)

05/16/25

aha not me cult war replaced the cold war, fox big

an 5 25

More than 100 days into his return to the White House, the conclusion is stark: Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is no longer the same president he was during his first term. His familiar nationalist and populist rhetoric (https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1rr6dh8) is now openly paired with an authoritarian turn (https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/nx-s1-5340753/trump-democracy-authoritarianism-competive-survey-political-scientist) – one without precedent in US history. He has adopted a neo-imperial view of the economy (https://theconversation.com/us-v-them-trumps-tariffs-and-his-economic-vision-of-dominance-254096), treating the global order as a zero-sum contest of winners and losers. In this worldview, cooperation gives way to domination: what matters is power and the accumulation of wealth.

Having withstood two impeachment procedures, numerous lawsuits and at least one assassination attempt, Trump now governs with what can appear to be unchecked authority. To his followers, he has become a hero, a martyr – almost a messianic figure (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/18/to-his-supporters-trump-is-a-martyred-messiah-resurrected-after-crucifixion). He no longer sees democracy as a framework to be honoured, but as a tool to legitimize his hold on power. His decisive electoral victory now serves as a mandate (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-mandate-break-law.html) to cast aside institutional limits.

Three key features define his style of governance: a radical centralization of executive power (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/trump-100-days-president-power-law.html) grounded in the theory of the “unitary executive” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_executive_theory); the politicization of the Department of Justice, used as a weapon (https://theconversation.com/how-trump-is-weaponising-the-department-of-justice-and-the-dark-tactic-hes-using-to-get-away-with-it-250760) against rivals; and the manipulation of federal authority to target cultural, media and educational institutions (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/mar/22/trump-administration-authoritarianism). His playbook is chaos (https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/trump-white-house-chaos-everywhere): unsettle opponents, dominate the media narrative and blur the boundaries of democratic norms. Impulsive and reactionary, Trump often governs in response to Fox News segments or trending posts on Truth Social. Instability has become a strategic tool.

But Trump is not a historical anomaly. While his 2016 victory may have seemed unlikely, his re-election reflects a deeper, long-term transformation rooted in the post-Cold War era.

From an external to an internal enemy

The collapse of the USSR – a structuring external enemy – redirected political confrontation toward the designation of an internal enemy (https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/3107/chapter/6662948/Losing-the-Good-LifePost-Cold-War-Malaise-and-the). The culture war has become the dominant ideological battleground, driven by two closely linked forces. On one side, a religious radicalization led by nationalist Christian movements – such as the New Apostolic Reformation (https://theconversation.com/the-courage-tour-is-attempting-to-get-christians-to-vote-for-trump-and-focused-on-defeating-demons-241335) – seeks to roll back social progress and promote the vision of an outright theocracy (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/new-apostolic-reformation-christian-movement-trump/681092/). On the other, growing racial anxiety (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/white-identity-politics/5C330931FF4CF246FCA043AB14F5C626) is fueled by fears of white demographic decline and resistance to civil rights gains.

The commentator Pat Buchanan (https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/donald-trump-pat-buchanan-republican-america-first-nativist-214221/) saw it coming as early as the 1990s. Speaking at the 1992 Republican National Convention (https://youtu.be/y1rQKnTWEDQ), he warned: “There is a cultural war going on for the soul of America… as critical as the Cold War itself.” Too radical for his time, Buchanan championed a white, Christian, conservative US hostile to cosmopolitan elites. Though marginalized then, his ideas laid the groundwork for what would become Trumpism.

Newt Gingrich (https://time.com/5863457/how-newt-gingrich-laid-the-groundwork-for-trumps-republican-party/), who served as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, played a pivotal role in reshaping both the Republican party and US politics (https://history.princeton.edu/about/publications/burning-down-house-newt-gingrich-fall-speaker-and-rise-new-republican-party). A Republican group he chaired famously distributed a pamphlet to Republican candidates titled “Language: A Key Mechanism of Control” (https://uh.edu/%7Eenglin/rephandout.html?ref=forwardky.com), advising them to use uplifting language to describe themselves, and inflammatory terms like “corrupt”, “immoral” and “traitor” to describe their opponents. This aggressive rhetoric redefined political rivals as enemies to be defeated – helping pave the way for a right-wing politics in which winning trumps democratic norms.

At the same time, the rise of a new conservative media ecosystem intensified polarization. The launch of Fox News in 1996, the growth of right-wing talk radio shows like Rush Limbaugh’s (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/us/politics/limbaugh-death.html) and the later explosion of social media gave the US right powerful tools (https://www.mediamatters.org/google/right-dominates-online-media-ecosystem-seeping-sports-comedy-and-other-supposedly) to shape and radicalize public opinion. Today, algorithm-driven information bubbles trap citizens (https://www.vox.com/recode/21534345/polarization-election-social-media-filter-bubble) in alternate realities, where misinformation and outrage drown out reasoned debate. This has deepened polarization (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-Were-Polarized/Ezra-Klein/9781476700366) and fractured society as a whole.

Channeling anger

This ideological and media realignment has unfolded alongside a broader crisis: the unraveling of the post-Cold War neoliberal consensus. Promises of shared prosperity have been replaced by deindustrialization, deepening inequality and widespread resentment. Successive traumas – from 9/11 and the 2008 financial crash to the Covid-19 pandemic – and foreign wars without real victories have eroded public trust in the establishment (https://journals.openedition.org/sociologie/7726).

Trump channels this anger (https://theconversation.com/how-donald-trumps-populist-narrative-led-directly-to-the-assault-on-the-us-capitol-153277). He offers a vision of a restored and idealized America, a rollback of recent social gains, and a reassertion of national identity grounded in religion and race. His populism is not a coherent ideology but an emotional response – born of perceived injustice, humiliation and loss.

Trump is more than a symptom of America’s democratic crisis: he is its most vivid manifestation. He embodies the legacy of the 1990s – a foundational decade of identity grievance, culture wars and media deregulation. Viewed as a political outsider (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15456870.2019.1610763), he has never been judged as a traditional politician, but rather embraced, by some, as the archetypal “self-made man” (https://theconversation.com/a-new-book-reveals-much-of-trumps-success-is-based-on-a-myth-he-is-a-self-made-billionaire-240648) – a successful businessman and reality TV celebrity.

His rhetoric (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/174/monograph/book/76805) – transgressive, provocative and often cruel – gives voice to what had been repressed. The humiliation of opponents becomes part of the performance. For his supporters, it’s exhilarating (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/). It breaks taboos, flouts political correctness and feeds the fantasy of reclaiming a lost America.

And he’s no longer alone. With the vocal support of economic and tech elites like Elon Musk (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/techno-fascism-comes-to-america-elon-musk) – now a central figure in the radicalized right on X – Trumpism has entered a new phase. Together, they’ve outlined a new kind of authoritarian, cultural and digital power, where influence matters more than institutions.

The US re-elected not just a man, but a style, an era and a worldview built on dominance, disruption and disdain for rules. Still, history is unwritten: intoxicated by hubris and undermined by incompetence, Trumpism may yet crash into the wall of reality (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/01/trump-cant-escape-laws-political-gravity/681474/) – with consequences far beyond America’s borders.

Jérôme Viala-Gaudefroy (https://theconversation.com/profiles/jerome-viala-gaudefroy-440831), Spécialiste de la politique américaine, Sciences Po (https://theconversation.com/institutions/sciences-po-2196)

This article is republished from The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/) under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article (https://theconversation.com/culture-wars-political-polarization-and-deepening-inequality-the-roots-of-trumpism-255778).

---

chls payne studenr loan elite BS

lawrence jones mamud kahlil destroy Am mma 5 25

---

Marc Morano

Weekly update ⋅ May 2, 2025

Climate Depot's Morano: Bill Gates Through Harvard Funding 'Radical, Risky' Global ...

Breitbart

Thursday, during an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Jesse Watters Primetime," Climate Depot executive editor Marc Morano warned of "risky" ...

Thursday, during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Climate Depot executive editor Marc Morano warned of “risky” experiments conducted by Harvard University and bankrolled by billionaire Bill Gates in the name of global warming.

Gates likened the efforts to injecting pollution back into the atmosphere.

“Talk to me about this geoengineering,” fill-in host Rachel Campos-Duffy said. “What is it? A lot of people wonder what it is.”

“All it is, is retro 1970s — in the 1970s, they said fossil fuels caused global cooling,” Morano replied. “Now, of course, they say global warming. So, they proposed all kinds of geoengineering back in the 70s. They wanted to put black soot on the Arctic, use nuclear energy to heat up the Arctic in order to melt it, because they thought the ice was growing too much. Fast forward, now they want to block the sun and inject sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to try to block the sun and cool the Earth. It’s not just England doing it. Bill Gates through Harvard University is funding studies and have been pushing this. A lot of the other billionaire class have been pushing this kind of radical, risky experiment, and it makes absolutely no sense.”

He continued, “We spent decades since the first Earth Day, cleaning up our atmosphere, and now they want to inject pollution back in. It truly is, they want to prove a point, I think, in the end, that global warming is man-made and climate change is man-made, and it’s because governments are injecting these chemicals into the sky to alter the Earth. I think they’re ultimately probably not going to go through with it. It’s a scare tactic to say you’re not supporting the Green New Deal or Net Zero. We’re going to have to do this radical, risky experiment on our atmosphere.”

*Follow Jeff Poor on X @jeff_poor (http://x.com/jeff_poor)

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Rachel Campos-Duffy (https://www.breitbart.com/tag/rachel-campos-duffy/)

---

mma daily bs

### Sean Hannity: “There's going to be some pain” because of Trump's tariffs (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-theres-going-be-some-pain-because-trumps-tariffs)

05/01/25 4:55 PM EDT

### Arguing against war with Iran, Charlie Kirk calls Mike Waltz's ouster as national security adviser a “positive development” (https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/arguing-against-war-iran-charlie-kirk-calls-mike-waltzs-ouster-national-security)

05/01/25 2:27 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro says Trump's remark dismissing empty shelves and higher prices is a “tremendous commercial for Democrats” (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/ben-shapiro-says-trumps-remark-dismissing-empty-shelves-and-higher-prices-tremendous)

05/01/25 2:02 PM EDT

### Fox News anchor claims Trump has “great majority support” on immigration and deportations. Fox’s own polling says otherwise. (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-news-anchor-claims-trump-has-great-majority-support-immigration-and-deportations-0)

05/01/25 12:36 PM EDT

### MAGA media follow Trump’s lead in blaming economic contraction on Biden (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/maga-media-follow-trumps-lead-blaming-economic-contraction-biden)

05/01/25 11:18 AM EDT

### Fox host argues due process for Columbia student sets “a dangerous precedent' (https://www.mediamatters.org/lawrence-jones/fox-host-argues-due-process-columbia-student-sets-dangerous-precedent)

05/01/25 10:25 AM EDT

### Key Trump officials appeared more than 500 times on Fox networks in the first 100 days of his presidency (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/key-trump-officials-appeared-more-500-times-fox-networks-first-100-days-his-presidency)

05/01/25 9:02 AM EDT

### Jesse Watters: “Regular folks don't live and die by GDP” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-regular-folks-dont-live-and-die-gdp)

04/30/25 8:48 PM EDT

### In response to interview where Trump suggests an allegedly photoshopped image was real, Fox's Greg Gutfeld lashes out at ABC News' Terry Moran (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/response-interview-where-trump-suggests-allegedly-photoshopped-image-was-real-foxs-greg)

04/30/25 6:37 PM EDT

### Sean Hannity downplays the shrinking economy: “The GDP drop was actually supposed to be much worse” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-downplays-shrinking-economy-gdp-drop-was-actually-supposed-be-much-worse)

04/30/25 5:18 PM EDT

### Far-right media figures are launching their own crypto coins (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/far-right-media-figures-are-launching-their-own-crypto-coins)

04/30/25 4:41 PM EDT

### Fox anchor pleads with Gov. Andy Beshear to give Trump “a grace period” as tariffs rock the economy (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/fox-anchor-pleads-gov-andy-beshear-give-trump-grace-period-tariffs-rock-economy)

04/30/25 4:11 PM EDT

### JB Pritzker called for mass protests. Right-wing media falsely accused him of calling for violence. (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/jb-pritzker-called-mass-protests-right-wing-media-falsely-accused-him-calling-violence)

04/30/25 3:44 PM EDT

### Fox News guest on allegedly photoshopped image that Trump suggested was real: “I obviously have not seen the original photo so I'm not in a position to make official statement” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-guest-allegedly-photoshopped-image-trump-suggested-was-real-i-obviously-have-not)

04/30/25 3:26 PM EDT

### Charlie Kirk: “Large dedicated Islamic areas are a threat to America” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-large-dedicated-islamic-areas-are-threat-america)

04/30/25 2:26 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro says “China is perfectly happy” with Trump's trade war (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-says-china-perfectly-happy-trumps-trade-war)

04/30/25 12:49 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro: “Head Start is one of the great fails in federal history” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-head-start-one-great-fails-federal-history)

04/30/25 12:37 PM EDT

### Fox spins economic contraction under Trump: “Some might say that wasn't as big a drop as anticipated” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-spins-economic-contraction-under-trump-some-might-say-wasnt-big-drop-anticipated)

04/30/25 12:28 PM EDT

---

mma

### Ben Shapiro says “China is perfectly happy” with Trump's trade war (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-says-china-perfectly-happy-trumps-trade-war)

04/30/25 12:49 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro: “Head Start is one of the great fails in federal history” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-head-start-one-great-fails-federal-history)

04/30/25 12:37 PM EDT

### Fox spins economic contraction under Trump: “Some might say that wasn't as big a drop as anticipated” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-spins-economic-contraction-under-trump-some-might-say-wasnt-big-drop-anticipated)

04/30/25 12:28 PM EDT

### Newsmax host: “If he talks about 2028, suddenly he's not a lame duck” (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/newsmax-host-if-he-talks-about-2028-suddenly-hes-not-lame-duck)

04/30/25 9:05 AM EDT

### Jesse Watters to his co-host after she notes Oklahoma family mistakenly raided by ICE: “No one even believes your stories anymore” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-his-co-host-after-she-notes-oklahoma-family-mistakenly-raided-ice-no-one)

04/29/25 7:04 PM EDT

### Sean Hannity: “The tariff war started with Canada” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-tariff-war-started-canada)

04/29/25 7:01 PM EDT

### On Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone describes how Project 2025 laid the groundwork for Trump to install right-wing media loyalists into “senior level positions” (https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/deadline-white-house-angelo-carusone-describes-how-project-2025-laid-groundwork-trump-install)

04/29/25 6:17 PM EDT

### Stephen Miller: “Fox News needs to fire its pollster” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/stephen-miller-fox-news-needs-fire-its-pollster)

04/29/25 2:30 PM EDT

### MAGA media followed Trump administration in attacking Amazon for report it would display tariff costs (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/maga-media-followed-trump-administration-attacking-amazon-report-it-would-display)

04/29/25 1:28 PM EDT

### Five ways MAGA media are spinning Trump’s poll collapse (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/five-ways-maga-media-are-spinning-trumps-poll-collapse)

04/29/25 1:23 PM EDT

Five ways MAGA media are spinning Trump’s poll collapse

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published 04/29/25

President Donald Trump’s zealous propagandists have been unable to come to terms with his increasing unpopularity, instead offering a range of pathetic excuses for his cratering poll numbers.

Surveys conducted for The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, and other news organizations in preparation for the 100th day of Trump’s administration show his support in freefall (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/donald-trump-approval-rating-polls.html#presidential-approval-polls). The president’s overall job approval numbers are dropping into the low 40s and even high 30s, levels several (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lowest-100-day-approval-rating-80-years/story?id=121165473) pollsters (https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/27/politics/approval-rating-trump-100-days/index.html) found to be historic lows for presidents at this point in their administration.

Trump is underwater with the public on nearly (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/donald-trump-stands-americans-100-days-his-second-presidency) every (https://apnews.com/article/trump-economy-immigration-trade-100-days-poll-625efe6128d5f2e90e04bcc7f30479eb) issue (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/us/politics/trump-times-siena-poll-highlights.html), with particular warning signs on the economy (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/polls-say-trumps-presidency-100-days-rcna202146#::text=2021%20was%2056%25.-,Economy,-Trump%20said%20it) — ABC’s poll (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lowest-100-day-approval-rating-80-years/story?id=121165473) found a majority said Trump had made the economy worse and nearly three-quarters of Americans say his policies are likely to cause a recession.

But the audience of MAGA media outlets largely consists of Trump’s most loyal supporters — the ones who would be the last to abandon him, if at all.

That gives the right-wing stars at Fox News and similar outlets every incentive to deny the reality that the American public has quickly become disenchanted with Trump’s actions and behavior and come up with alternate explanations for his slide.

The polls are fake

Trump himself responded (https://www.mediamatters.org/cbs/trump-administrations-war-press-heating#paragraph--narrative-item--3471174) to the collapse in support by denouncing what he termed “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.”

“The New York Times has only 37% Trump 2024 voters, and the ABC/Washington Post Poll has only 34% Trump Voters, unheard of numbers unless looking for a negative result, which they are,” he wrote, citing his pollster John McLaughlin in a Monday morning Truth Social post (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114414863742664682). “These people should be investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the FoxNews Pollster while you’re at it.”

Partner Jim McLaughlin reiterated the point (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029695) in a Monday night appearance on Newsmax.

“These are propaganda polls,” he said. “That's what they are. They're trying to lie to the American people. They're trying to sway public opinion.”

Host Rob Finnerty responded by suggesting it was a “coordinated takedown” of the president with “all five of these ridiculous polls coming out in the same day as the media continue to cheerlead against Trump.”

Pollster Matt Towery offered (https://www.foxnews.com/video/6372043909112) a similar analysis that night on Fox’s The Ingraham Angle.

“Now, last time I checked, Donald Trump got almost 50% of the vote,” Towery said. “So how in the world can that poll be correct? There’s no possible way.”

“He’s not in free fall,” Towery added. “He’s had a little bit of slippage because he’s doing a lot. He’s breaking a lot of eggs to make an omelet, but he is not dropping in any significant way. I can guarantee you, and I’m just not paying any attention to this nonsense.”

The polls are a “psyop”

Steve Bannon turned to (https://rumble.com/v6soqb9-mark-mitchell-trump-approval-drop-is-a-psyop..html?e9s=src_v1_ucp) Rasmussen Reports pollster Mark Mitchell to explain Trump’s polls on Monday.

“All day, Mitchell, they’re going to be bombarding us on the hundredth day that Trump is the most unpopular president in 100 years,” Bannon prompted him.

Mitchell responded by claiming that “there is a psychological operation going on.” According to him, numerous recent polls showing Trump’s polling swoon “all look the same” and large numbers of Google searches for “Trump approval” are “how I know it's a psyop. People are getting these stories shoved down their throats.”

The polls are only bad for now because Trump’s “agenda is not built for 100 days”

On Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade rejected the premise (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029696) of looking at Trump’s poll numbers at this point in his administration.

“When you look at the hundred days of Trump, the problem with the hundred days and looking at the polls, this format and his agenda is not built for 100 days,” he said on Monday’s show. “He's redoing the base. He is framing out the house. A lot of it was rotted, and now he is replacing it. There’s not a lot of glory in framing out a house.”

Kilmeade added that Trump “is rebuilding and he has got a plan,” urging viewers to look ahead to potential trade deals and passage of Trump’s tax agenda.

Actually, the polls are “not bad”

Fox contributor Ari Fleischer highlighted (https://www.foxnews.com/video/6372043909112) Trump’s continued support from his political base and downplayed his low job approval numbers from the overall public.

“The base will not crack,” he told Ingraham on Monday. “The base is solid for Donald Trump, and they understand that he's got a lot of high hurdles because he's put high hurdles in front of himself because he's taking on consequential big issues that have been neglected for so long.”

Fleischer went on to claim that “the average of all the polls … shows that Trump has a 45% job approval. That is not bad. In our modern polarized era, a 45% job approval is middling, but it is not the stuff of doom, gloom, negativity, or decline. It's just the way modern politics is.”

It’s impossible to not see this administration is a “huge success”

Asked Tuesday about Trump’s “soft numbers” on Fox’s America’s Newsroom, Fox Business host and Trumpist shill Maria Bartiromo responded (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029697), “There's no other way to look at this first 100 days other than a huge success.”

The majority of Americans who disagree in Fox’s own poll are apparently just delusional.

### Fox anchor Dana Perino: Small-business owners have real concerns about losing their businesses due to tariff impacts (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/fox-anchor-dana-perino-small-business-owners-have-real-concerns-about-losing-their)

04/29/25 10:13 AM EDT

### Newsmax's Greg Kelly: “That 22nd Amendment about not being able to run for a third term just might be unconstitutional” (https://www.mediamatters.org/greg-kelly/newsmaxs-greg-kelly-22nd-amendment-about-not-being-able-run-third-term-just-might-be)

04/29/25 9:27 AM EDT

### Fox News’ many justifications for extending Trump’s tax cut for the wealthy (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-many-justifications-extending-trumps-tax-cut-wealthy)

04/29/25 9:19 AM EDT

### Hannity: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “all but threatened half the country with violence” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/hannity-illinois-gov-jb-pritzker-all-threatened-half-country-violence)

04/28/25 10:33 PM EDT

### Sean Hannity defends cutting federal funding of cancer research: “That's where the private sector comes in” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-defends-cutting-federal-funding-cancer-research-thats-where-private)

04/28/25 7:10 PM EDT

### Alex Jones: “I think it's way more dangerous Trump saying we're looking to deporting citizens to El Salvador. Now, that's unconstitutional, and that is really bad.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-i-think-its-way-more-dangerous-trump-saying-were-looking-deporting-citizens)

04/28/25 2:26 PM EDT

### Ben Shapiro defends the Trump administration after a judge noted a two-year-old US citizen may have been removed from the country with “no meaningful process” (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-defends-trump-administration-after-judge-noted-two-year-old-us-citizen-may)

04/28/25 1:25 PM EDT

### The Trump administration's war on the press is heating up (https://www.mediamatters.org/cbs/trump-administrations-war-press-heating)

04/28/25 1:22 PM EDT

### Daily Wire host: “Civil rights are just leftism in blackface” (https://www.mediamatters.org/daily-wire/daily-wire-host-civil-rights-are-just-leftism-blackface)

04/28/25 8:46 AM EDT

### Sean Hannity on Kilmar Abrego Garcia: “It is so obvious to me that this guy deserves what he got” (https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-kilmar-abrego-garcia-it-so-obvious-me-guy-deserves-what-he-got)

04/25/25

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mma

WSJ pundits demolish right-wing talking points defending Hegseth: “It all comes back again to this basic point that something's wrong at the top levels” (https://www.mediamatters.org/wall-street-journal/wsj-pundits-demolish-right-wing-talking-points-defending-hegseth-it-all-comes)}:

04/24/25

fox stars pass on defending Hegseth amid Pentagon “chaos”

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

:{:{Published 04/25/25}:

Fox News’ biggest stars have stopped defending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid the weeklong firestorm over their former colleague’s dysfunctional management of the Pentagon and his potentially illegal handling of classified information.

Three months after Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 Senate tie to install (https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-defense-secretary-trump-cabinet-confirmation-12491935023692bce0a04d149663e784) the historically underqualified Hegseth at the Pentagon, journalists (https://www.npr.org/2025/04/23/nx-s1-5372612/former-defense-department-official-pentagon-turmoil-hegseth-signal-chats) routinely (https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseth-pentagon-fired-aides-cfa9e0d5) describe (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/us/politics/hegseth-chaos-pentagon.html) a department (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/pete-hegseth-leaks-investigation-00302506) in “chaos.” (https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/24/pete-hegseth-pentagon-signalgate-trump/) Five top Hegseth aides have left (https://x.com/JackDetsch/status/1915505578366869838) the department since last Friday amid reports of “vicious rivalries,” (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/pentagon-infighting-hegseth-fired-officials-00302709) and a “leadership vacuum.” (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/24/hegseth-pentagon-leadership-vacuum-00308620) Reporters further revealed that Hegseth had shared details (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/hegseth-yemen-attack-second-signal-chat.html) about U.S. strikes in Yemen in a second unsecured Signal chat, potentially endangering U.S. service members, and had the app installed (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/23/hegseth-signal-pentagon-computer/) on his Pentagon computer.

Hegseth responded to his growing list of scandals with a combative Tuesday appearance (https://www.mediamatters.org/brian-kilmeade/fox-host-embattled-defense-sec-pete-hegseth-do-you-think-theres-some-type-deep-state) on Fox & Friends, whose hosts defended (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-host-brian-kilmeade-pete-hegseth-sharing-sensitive-military-information-his-family) his conduct.

But other Fox hosts have been silent, even after rallying to support Hegseth when his nomination came under fire (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-used-fox-vet-his-defense-secretary-it-isnt-going-well-now-network-fighting-back) and again following the first revelation (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-propagandists-scramble-explain-former-colleagues-texting-war-plans-reporter) of his use of Signal to share attack plans.

Fox’s evening lineup of The Ingraham Angle, Jesse Watters Primetime, Hannity, and Gutfeld!have ignored Hegseth’s struggles this week (a passing remark (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029643) from guest Jimmy Failla to host Laura Ingraham was the only mention of the story on any of those shows).The Five, the Fox panel show which features Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Jeanine Pirro, and Dana Perino, also has not covered the subject.

Even Will Cain, who spent years sharing the couch with Hegseth as co-hosts of Fox & Friends’ weekend edition, hasn’t mentioned his former colleague’s name on his afternoon show this week. (He did not comment (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029644) on Fox correspondent Kevin Corke’s report about the Signal story during Monday’s program.)

As Fox’s stars take a pass, full-throated defenses of Hegseth’s leadership are coming from the likes of MAGA stalwarts like Charlie Kirk (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-warrior-culture-ascendant-which-exactly-why-knives-are-out-pete-hegseth), Benny Johnson (https://www.mediamatters.org/benny-johnson/benny-johnson-trump-administration-leakers-it-would-be-nice-see-one-these-people-go), and Laura Loomer (https://www.mediamatters.org/laura-loomer/far-right-conspiracy-theorist-laura-loomer-calls-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth), while their corporate cousins at The Wall Street Journal editorial board savage his handling (https://www.mediamatters.org/wall-street-journal/wsj-pundits-demolish-right-wing-talking-points-defending-hegseth-it-all-comes) of the Pentagon.

Two explanations seem plausible for why Fox’s biggest stars have gone silent as their former colleague comes under fire:

They’ve decided that the best way to help Hegseth is to keep pretending (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-newest-defense-signal-mess-detailed-information-about-imminent-military-strikes-no) the Signal story is over, hide other damning reports about his leadership from their viewers, and hope the firestorm dies out.

They think Hegseth’s performance is so bad and the stakes of his failure at the Defense Department are so high that they are unwilling to keep sticking their necks out for him.

Either way, this disaster was the predictable result (https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/pete-hegseth-debacle-was-inevitable) of President Donald Trump putting a former Fox weekend host with little relevant experience in charge of the Pentagon. The secretary of defense oversees a massive budget and bureaucracy and has the authority under certain circumstances to launch nuclear weapons (https://capitalistnotes.substack.com/p/why-senate-republicans-should-reject) and end human civilization. The risks of handing the position over to someone because of their takes on TV are almost incalculably high.

Hegseth is currently struggling to manage the Pentagon when its biggest problem (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/another-key-pillar-maga-defense-signalgate-crumbling) is a costly, ineffective, and apparently unending bombing campaign in Yemen. How will he respond if India and Pakistan start trading fire (https://apnews.com/article/india-pakistan-kashmir-nuclear-china-876745960ee6cab6f21cb56cac04e13f)?

### Fox stars pass on defending Hegseth amid Pentagon “chaos” (https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/fox-stars-pass-defending-hegseth-amid-pentagon-chaos)

04/25/25

### Trump used Fox to vet his defense secretary. It isn’t going well — but now the network is fighting back. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-used-fox-vet-his-defense-secretary-it-isnt-going-well-now-network-fighting-back)

:{:{12/04/24}:

### Fox propagandists scramble to explain former colleagues texting war plans to a reporter (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-propagandists-scramble-explain-former-colleagues-texting-war-plans-reporter)

:{:{03/25/25}:

### The Pete Hegseth debacle was inevitable (https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/pete-hegseth-debacle-was-inevitable)

04/23/2

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