Trump and Fox: Much More Than Friends

The network, an audience leader, attacks other media outlets to defend the U.S. president.

The opening of Studio F at Fox News on Avenue of the Americas in New York coincided with the presidential election. It cost $30 million. The square that can be seen from its windows was a hotbed of activity that night. Donald Trump supporters flocked there in order to celebrate. It was an island in hostile territory. “The victory of the deplorables,” they shouted when Hillary Clinton accepted defeat.

Last Tuesday – the darkest day of his presidency – was just like any other for Fox News. Michael Cohen’s guilty plea, which implicated the president in an illegal campaign funding campaign, was not news for the network. The same was true when former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted of fraud. Fox devoted its headlines to a student killed by an immigrant who entered this country without legal documentation.

Fox News bet heavily on Trump long before he was nominated, and the network is much more than a friend to the president. It is the most influential political machine in the country, with agitators standing in front of its cameras. Rupert Murdoch created the Fox News Channel two decades ago with the specific intention of giving voice to conservatives and avoiding progressive reporters.

The standard-bearer of the resistance is Sean Hannity. He completely failed to mention that Cohen had implicated Trump, and instead attacked the liberal media. “They hate him,” he explained. Hannity’s program has 3.4 million viewers, along with his three-hour radio program and 3.7 million followers on Twitter. The news team is supported by Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.

Cohen’s statement was sold as being “100 percent political.” “Scandalous,” Ingraham lamented.*

“The liberal media are getting carried away by hysteria,” insisted Hannity, “pure persecution.”*

“Despite the joy coming out of CNN and MSNBC,” said the all-rounder Geraldo Rivera, “I remind you that Paul Manafort was the target of the investigation because he worked for the campaign.”**

This is the strategy Ainsley Earhardt pursued in the interview broadcast on Thursday on “Fox & Friends,” the most highly watched morning program with 1.4 million viewers.*** The host had the opportunity to have the president clarify the situation, but instead she hugged him and asked him about things like a memo he had given to his administration, and allowed him to complain about Cohen’s allegation.

That the cameras chose to look the other way was predictable. Trump and Fox feed each other. Some 60 percent of Republicans identify the channel as the news media they most trust. For 20 percent of Democrats, the most trustworthy station is CNN. And while the majority of voters think the president should be impeached, nine out of 10 Fox News followers approve of his leadership of the country.

According to the Nielsen ratings, the station is a clear leader in audience share with 2.4 million viewers during prime time, 14 percent more than a year ago. It exceeds MSNBC’s 1.6 million viewers, with CNN making up the remaining share. Fans of Fox do not see interference in the election as a serious problem, and 85 percent of respondents believe that the Russia investigation is a witch hunt.

Fox News propaganda is reinforced through local television and Fox Business Network. (watched by more viewers than CNBC and Bloomberg News). On the latter program, Neil Cavuto has created a sense of alarmism. “You don’t prevent a constitutional crisis by threatening a financial one,” he warned, referring to the consequences of a forced Trump exit, adding, “The longest bull market in history just could be history.”

The coverage was accompanied by a poll which indicated that 36 percent of Americans are inclined toward a “socialistic” system, twice as many as in 2010. Cavuto’s words were accompanied by images of riots in Venezuela. “I hope we don’t have to eat the animals in the zoos.”****

*Editor’s note: Although accurately translated, Ingraham’s quoted remark could not be independently verified.

**Editor’s note: Rivera’s original tweet was: “Remember-despite the glee emanating from #CNN & #MSNBC-nothing in the @PaulManafort trial or guilty verdict on the tax charges has to do with @realDonaldTrump Except for the fact that he was targeted because he later worked for the Trump campaign.”

***Editor’s note: According to the Nielsen TV ratings, as of Jan. 30, 2018, “Fox & Friends” was the most-watched cable news program in its time slot.

**** Editor’s note: The actual quote from Cavuto’s program was made by Fox News contributor Jonathan Hoenig, who stated, “Of course, look at Venezuela, they’re eating the zoo animals. My God, I hope it doesn’t come to that.”