The Lies Fox News Told in 2017 That They (Kind of) Admitted or Corrected

Well, it’s that time of year. The time for end-of-year lists and collections of the best/worst whatever that we all endured for the past twelve months. The prospect of compiling such lists for 2017 seemed particularly daunting considering the wealth of material created by our sociopathic president, Donald Trump, and his PR division at Fox News. After all, no one was going to read through a 1,000 best/worst list for the year. And how could it be pared down to ten?

Donald Trump

So News Corpse found a category that would not be too overwhelming. Fox News has told literally thousands of lies this year. But they have only acknowledged or corrected a handful. That’s because they don’t practice the sort of journalistic ethics that a legitimate news enterprise normally would. In fact, their mission is to disinform and deceive. Consequently, they have no use for retractions or apologies. But News Corpse did document the rare occasions when Fox News was forced to at least make a comment about some blatantly false story that they leaked into the mediasphere. What follows are some stories that even Fox couldn’t pretend were true (kind of).

The Seth Rich Story

May 24: There is a conservative mythology that Democratic operative Seth Rich was assassinated by some nefarious lefty cabal because he leaked stolen DNC documents to Wikileaks. However, there’s no evidence of any such activity, and the police have concluded that the crime was a botched robbery. Nevertheless, Fox News, and especially Sean Hannity, repeatedly advanced the ludicrous conspiracy theory.

The Comey Files

July 11: Steve Doocy of Fox and Friends falsely reported that former FBI director James Comey made documents public that were classified as “Top Secret.” But Doocy had to retract that report the following day because it wasn’t true. Donald Trump retweeted the original false story, but never corrected the tweet.

Bogus Baghdadi

July 24: Fox News contributor Gen. Tony Thomas accused the New York Times of allowing a terrorist leader to escape. Then Fox weekend host Pete Hegseth elaborated on the charge that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would’ve been captured if not for the Times. The Times responded with proof that Fox’s story was false, but Fox continued reporting the same lies, as did Trump.

Smearing the Good Lawyers

September 9: Fox’s Greg Gutfeld rattled off some falsehoods that portrayed the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as charlatans and associates of violent nutjobs. He accused them of financial improprieties and failing to perform the legal they work that is their mission. The SPLC responded with a letter proving Gutfeld’s remarks to be false. But Fox ignored the letter and never corrected their libelous story.

The Verdict is In

December 5: Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth erroneously reported that MSNBC failed to cover the not guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial. […] The false reporting by Hegseth was uncorrected for at least twelve hours despite the network being informed of the error.

Please, No Moore

December 10: A Fox News headline falsely asserted that “Roy Moore accuser admits she forged part of yearbook inscription attributed to Alabama Senate candidate.” There was just one little problem with that. The accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, never admitted any such thing.


It’s interesting to note that Fox News made a big deal about a few incorrect reports during the year by ABC News or CNN. These were portrayed as proof that the entirety of the media was fake. Many of Fox’s pundits went so far as to accuse the press of making these mistakes deliberately. And of course, that was Trump’s standard approach as he labeled everything “fake news.” However, Fox went to great lengths to avoid mentioning any of their own falsehoods when discussing this subject. They’re pure as the driven snow. It’s the same way they treat the subject of sexual abuse. Harvey Weinstein and Al Franken are always brought up as examples, but Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly are forgotten figures from some distant past.

To be sure, the list above doesn’t represent the full picture of Fox’s dishonesty. They continue to press flat out lies about the Uranium One deal, which their own “hard news” correspondent, Shepard Smith, utterly debunked. And Fox News is obsessed with tarnishing the reputation of the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller. If you watched nothing but Fox News you would come away believing that Mueller was an unscrupulous Democrat determined to crush Donald Trump with manufactured tales of collusion. Never mind that in reality he is a life-long Republican selected by a Republican Acting Attorney General, who was appointed by Trump.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Next year is almost certainly going to be more of the same. Fox News will defend Trump from any and all criticism, while writing new talking points for him to tweet. Trump will adopt Fox’s rhetoric and disgorge it on Twitter and to friendly reporters. Then Fox will cover what Trump said bringing the circle to a close, ready to recycle in an endless loop of lying. And on that depressing note, News Corpse would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year.

Delusional Donald Trump Declares That the Media Will ‘Have to Let Me Win’ in Lie-Riddled Interview

More than anything else, Donald Trump loves to congratulate himself as being the best at whatever he happens to be obsessing about at any given point in time. In his cartoon brain he has always done the most, rated the highest, known better, and achieved more than any recognized expert or experienced professional. For the most part his flaming ego is utterly out of control, but when it comes to slandering the media and opposing the free press, you just have to agree with him. He’s better at that than anybody.

Donald Trump

Channeling historical totalitarian dictators, Trump called the media the enemy of the American people.” And he spends more time insulting journalists than he does golfing. On Saturday he posted another frantic tweet expressing his rage at a mediasphere that he can’t control:

A usual, that’s just plain ludicrous. He obviously loves to tweet and does it obsessively. And he is primarily the one who refers to the media as “fake.” It would be interesting if he ever provided an example of the “non-existent sources” he whines about. But he won’t because he can’t.

However, he recently took a few questions from a New York Times reporter who approached him at Mar-A-Lago. The resulting interview was an embarrassment of incoherence and self-exaltation. And true to form, Trump managed to unleash a steady stream of lies that spilled out at the rate of nearly one false claim per minute. But perhaps the most painfully stupid remarks were regarding his relationship with the media. He said that:

“Another reason that I’m going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes. Without me, The New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times. So they basically have to let me win. And eventually, probably six months before the election, they’ll be loving me because they’re saying, ‘Please, please, don’t lose Donald Trump.’ O.K?”

To be sure, Trump has been good for ratings. The American people are aghast at what has assumed leadership in their country and they want to keep a close eye on it. That’s why viewership of MSNBC increased seventy-seven percent in 2017, far more than any other cable news network. However, no president is going to make or break the media. It’s an institution that has existed in America from the day it was born. It’s the only profession explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. It has had ups and downs, and will continue to do so in the future. But Trump’s presidency is no more newsworthy than the election of the first African-American president eight years ago.

The fact that Trump sees the role of the media only in terms of ratings demonstrates his shallow grasp of both politics and the press. He thinks everything hinges on the same metrics that his old reality TV game show did. And he sees himself as the star of an entertainment program that cannot survive without him. Of course any TV executive could tell him that when his show is cancelled, the network will carry on with new stars. And America will do likewise when he is impeached, resigns, or otherwise fails, and a new president assumes the role.

Trump’s example of the New York Times is ironically appropriate. He repeats robotically his catch phrase of the newspaper as “failing,” but in fact it has never thrived more than it does today with record digital subscriptions. What’s more, Trump’s logic (if you can call it that) which claims that the media will suddenly adore him six months before the next election doesn’t address why they didn’t fall in love with him prior to the last election.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Finally, Trump thinks that it’s within the power of the press to “let” him win. Surely the media can be influential to a significant degree, but if they had that kind of unchallenged control he wouldn’t be president today. And for him to suggest that the press would be forced to let him win in order to preserve their ratings shows how little he understands audience dynamics. Nothing would be more of a boost to television ratings than a good impeachment with plenty of drama stemming from treasonous Russian collusion, financial corruption, sex scandals, and the manufactured civil war threats from Trump’s PR division at Fox News. The networks would eat that (and him) up. So this is just another subject that Trump can’t understand because his acute narcissism clouds his already underwhelming intellect. Sad.

Rachel Maddow Dominates an Increasingly Hysterical Sean Hannity as 2017 Winds Down

This has not been a particularly good year for Fox News. After the disaster of 2016 that saw their founder and CEO, Roger Ailes, fired for multiple instances of sexual harassment and abuse, 2017 was supposed to be a year of rebuilding. However, their problems escalated as their biggest star, Bill O’Reilly, was also terminated for the same deviant reasons. Several other Fox News hosts and executives were likewise jettisoned, and they faced lawsuits for both gender and racial discrimination.

Rachel Maddow

That left Sean Hannity as the default face of Fox News. He was moved up to the 9:00 pm slot and expected to carry the primetime schedule with newcomers Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. He would also be airing head-to-head against MSNBC phenom, Rachel Maddow. Surely the most embarrassing outcome for Fox News would be for Hannity to lose to a left-wing lesbian on a liberal network. But as the year comes to a close, that’s precisely what happened.

In the first half of December, Maddow outright beat Hannity nine out of eleven days in the coveted 25-54 year old advertiser demographic. On four of those days she also won in total audience. Her demo margin of victory was an impressive average of 656,000 viewers, more than 50,000 above Hannity’s average. And Maddow helped to carry her colleagues to wins over Fox News. Lawrence O’Donnell took five of eleven nights, and Brian Williams took six of the eleven. [Note: The second half of December is not included in this analysis because most of these programs had guest hosts].

What’s more, Maddow has been steadily pummeling Hannity throughout the year. The annual figures for these programs put Maddow in close contention with Fox’s long-running leaders. In total audience, Maddow grew an astonishing seventy-seven percent. In the 25-54 demo she was the number two program (after Hannity) following a seventy-four percent growth surge. And among younger viewers (18-49) Maddow was number one.

Along with those achievements in ratings, Maddow also won two News and Documentary Emmys this year, something Fox News has never done. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Fox News is not regarded as an especially reliable source for news. They exist only to pump disinformation into the muddled heads of Republican partisans and Donald Trump cultists. Their coverage of any issue is predictably focused on advancing right-wing politics and defending Trump for whatever outrageous thing he did or said that day.

And Hannity is the worst of the lot. He openly colludes with Trump, who he reportedly speaks with almost every day. He has appeared in campaign ads for the President. There is simply no more brazenly brown-nosed Trump-fluffer than Sean Hannity. Not even Trump’s TV babysitters on Fox and Friends. And as his fortunes decline, Hannity gets ever more extreme. He is outdoing Alex Jones’ Infowars for crackpot conspiracy theories. This year he has spent hours on pure nuttery like Pizzagate, the Seth Rich murder, Hillary Clinton’s email (still?), and most recently, his fetish for smearing special counsel Robert Mueller. Hannity has led the charge to slander Mueller as a corrupt, dishonest, charlatan determined to stage a coup against Trump. Never mind that Mueller is a decorated Marine veteran with a long and distinguished career in law enforcement. And a life-long Republican to boot.

2018 may bring even greater rewards for Maddow and her MSNBC colleagues. She has the intelligence and the insight to make some very dry subjects both interesting and educational. And there is clearly an audience for smart, honest news analysis. The country yearns for programming that is more light than heat. And that’s what Maddow specializes in. She never books hostile adversaries simply to provoke on-air fights the way Fox and CNN do. Her mission is to inform, not infuriate. And when truth is on one side of the debate, lies are never presented just to have a perception of balance. That’s the Maddow model, and the rest of cable’s newscasters should seek to emulate it. It’s obviously a winning strategy, with the added benefit of having journalistic integrity.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump Wishes for Some of ‘That Good Old Global Warming’ that Will Kill Millions

After nearly a year, no one is particularly surprised when Donald Trump demonstrates just how stupid he is, but it is sometimes jarring to see how proud he is of it. And on Thursday night Trump provided a perfect example of both his painfully weak grasp of common knowledge, along with a massive dose of callous insensitivity toward the needless suffering of others.

Donald Trump Climate

This example came in the form of a thoughtless tweet that served no purpose other than to belittle sincere advocates for the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Trump tweeted:

By wishing for “a little bit of that good old Global Warming,” Trump is in effect wishing that millions of people suffer and die. He clearly doesn’t have even the slightest understanding of Climate Change, and thinks it’s cute to pray for more of it.

Let’s be clear, the record cold temperatures that are blanketing much of the Northeast and Midwest are, in fact, the result of Climate Change. Higher temperatures in arctic regions and oceans push frigid weather patterns farther south than they ordinarily go. And that’s why people from Maine to Minnesota will be shivering and many will be in mortal peril.

Trump and his science-denying ilk still don’t understand that aberrant weather patterns are a product of Climate Change (which is why scientists don’t call it global warming). He doesn’t know the difference between climate and weather. He can’t connect the incidence of extreme temperatures and natural disasters like hurricanes to the climate disruptions caused by human industry and behavior. And even when there are episodes of cold temperatures in one particular locality, in other places it is uncommonly warm. Southern California is in the eighties. Australia is experiencing record highs. So chills in New York don’t negate the fact that the planet’s climate is rising. 2016 was the hottest year ever. 2017 is set to be one of the three hottest years on record.

Trump’s flagrant ignorance is compounded by his brazen lying. Who knows what he’s talking about with regard to the United States spending “trillions of dollars” to protect against climate change. Efforts to mitigate climate disasters were being put into place internationally until Trump petulantly withdrew from the Paris Accords. But the cost never approached trillions. Fortunately, many states, cities and private companies repudiated the President and still intend to implement the initiatives outlined in Paris.

Finally, Trump tagged on a stony and insincere tip to “bundle up.” Really? That’s all he could muster for one of the coldest periods on record. Doesn’t he realize that people die under these circumstances? It was apparently too much trouble to post information on finding shelters for the homeless. Or to help those affected to stay warm in poorly insulated apartments and homes. Or to offer advice on how to prevent pipes from freezing or where to get help if someone is suffering from hypothermia. Just bundle up and mock science by wishing for the problem to get worse.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News: ‘You Don’t Have to Like Donald Trump’ – America: We Already Know That, and We Don’t

The arguments by Donald Trump’s defenders are becoming more strained and ludicrous with every passing day. At the beginning they were happy to exalt him as an outsider who would “drain the swamp” and use his business skills to “Make America Great Again.” But as the nation got to know Trump better, these transparently phony marketing gimmicks made less and less sense.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump has been a leading member of The Swamp since its inception. As president he’s proven that by his appointments of The Swamp’s most ardent advocates to critical government positions where they have proceeded to fleece the country and enrich themselves. As for Trump’s business skills, most people now know that they consist primarily of scams and bankruptcies.

All of this makes it more difficult to lavish praise on a character that is so lacking in character. The Trump shill army has stopped pretending that he isn’t a serial sexual predator, and now dismiss the issue as having been decided by the election. They avoid any discussion of his financial corruption and self-dealing by staking claim to the current economy, which is still operating under the policies of Barack Obama. And now, even the simple assertion that they just have a personal affinity for the Tweeter-in-Chief is a bridge too far to cross. On Fox News’ Outnumbered, the normally fawning co-hosts all agreed that Trump is just plain not likable (video below):

Lisa Boothe: His Likability – he wasn’t well-liked, if you look at the polls in 2016, that didn’t matter.

Kennedy: The bottom line is a much better metric with most voters than whether or not you want to got to a cocktail party with Donald Trump.

Katie Pavlich: It’s going to be difficult for Democrats to argue against everyday people who are seeing their lives getting better. And the argument that $1,000-2,000 isn’t benefiting you really isn’t going to fly. I think it’s actually very offensive to people who think that is a significant amount of money, because it is. When it comes to how Democrats approach this, and President Trump’s approval numbers, you don’t have to like the President. It’s a likability thing. His approval rating isn’t necessarily based on his policies. His approval is based on not his policies, but his personality. You don’t have to like Donald Trump to like what he’s doing.

So it’s unanimous. Nobody likes Donald Trump. However, the suggestion that Americans still like what he’s doing is a total fabrication by the Fox News Trump=fluffers. The GOP tax scam that was just passed was literally one of the most unpopular bills in decades. Voters know that it rewards Trump and his wealthy pals at the expense of everyone else. And that same negative sentiment sticks to nearly everything Trump touches. The Gallup poll of issues puts Trump firmly underwater on every issue in the survey:

Approve Disapprove
Economy 45 51
Foreign Affairs 33 61
North Korea 35 60
Healthcare 31 64
Taxes 37 55
Immigration 39 60
Terrorism 46 53
Russia 30 66
Environment 32 63
Federal Budget 36 57
Relations w/News Media 34 64
Trade 45 51

Contrary to the glassy-eyed idolatry of Fox News pundits, Trump obviously has failed to connect with voters on any of the important issues that they care about. And now Fox News agrees that even his personality is repugnant. What does that leave for anyone to admire about Trump? His remedial oratory? His gross ignorance? His racism, misogyny, and xenophobia? His infantile behavior? Let’s face it, the only thing that anyone is going to like about Trump is how he looks in an orange jumpsuit as he’s being escorted out of the White House.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump Loses to Obama Again: Gallup’s ‘Most Admired Man’ is Gonna Give Trump an Aneurysm

The single most compelling motivation for everything Donald Trump has done as president has been his relentless mission to undo everything Barack Obama did. It’s what drives his fetish to kill ObamaCare. It’s why he has issued a frantic flurry of executive orders mainly reversing those Obama issued. It’s why he still can’t stop talking about, and disparaging, the former president after nearly a year in office.

Donald Trump

So it can be safely assumed that Trump isn’t going to take this news very well. According to Gallup’s annual poll, Barack Obama is once again the man that is “Most Admired” by the American people. It’s his tenth consecutive win. For a narcissist like Trump this would be painful no matter who beat him. But to be beaten by his arch nemesis Obama has to be devastating.

It’s notable that on Wednesday morning after the release of the survey Trump has gone silent on Twitter. As of this writing it has been twenty-two hours since his last tweet. It isn’t possible to make a direct link to the Gallup poll as a cause of this uncharacteristic hush, but neither is it inconceivable that he’s sulking and muttering to himself about how unfair life is rather than tweeting. He could be plotting some revenge to show Obama who’s boss. Or he might have had a small stroke and is gurgling soap bubbles in his gold-plated bathtub.

To make matters worse, this is the first time that a first-year president has not been named “Most Admired.” Other sitting presidents have missed out on the honor, but later in their terms after they had a chance to make sufficient numbers of people hate them. Trump didn’t need that extra time to fail. He came out of the gate with the worst approval ratings of any president since polling began.

And the pain for Trump doesn’t end there. In addition to being beaten by his predecessor, he also must face the news that his past (and surprisingly still) opponent, Hillary Clinton was named “Most Admired Woman” for the 22nd time (16th consecutively). She barely edged out Michelle Obama. Melania scored a single percentage point down in eighth place. Not that Trump cares about that. He’s only interested in his own performance and his desperate prayers for the failure of his foes.

So Trump has now lost to Obama twice. Once at the end of the year that saw him lose the popular vote to Clinton, and once after his first year in office. This is a man whose ego is so fragile that he forces his cabinet secretaries to recite humiliating love letters to him in official meetings. He resorts to paying tribute to himself on Twitter and during press avails to make sure that someone says something nice about him. And he whines incessantly about not being shown the adoration that he’s convinced he deserves.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Now Gallup has provided further documentation of how despised he is by the nation. And subsequently his Twitter voice has disappeared. Somebody better check on him to make sure he hasn’t done something rash. Like paint a mustache on the official Obama portrait, or launch a nuclear missile at “Rocket Man” in North Korea, or some other typically infantile behavior that we’ve all come to expect from him.

On the other hand, Trump may not even know about this poll since it doesn’t appear to have been reported on Fox News and still isn’t on the Fox News website. Since that seems to be his only source for news, this item may not have made it through to the Oval Office. Nevertheless, Trump must have some awareness of the deep dislike Americans have for him. And he must know deep inside that 2018 isn’t going to get any better.

Trump’s ALL-CAPS Post-Christmas Rant Reveals How Frightened He Is of His Bleak Future

The day after Donald Trump made it safe for Americans to say “Merry Christmas” again, he went straight back into the political fray. Well, he actually went straight back to one of his golf courses. But he did find the time to post a message on Twitter that expressed his innermost thoughts on the news of the day. Well, the news according to Fox News.

Donald Trump

Trump’s latest Twitter tirade was pretty much a rehash of the same nonsense that he has been disgorging for months. He has frequently yelped about the investigations being conducted to ascertain his involvement with Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. But he is clearly adding a huge helping of the horror that is overwhelming him as the investigations circle ever closer around him and his associates. Perhaps as a sort of relief valve he tweeted:

WOW, indeed. The first notable part of this presidential outburst is that Trump is, once again, identifying his source as his favorite Fox News program, Fox and Friends. So despite his access to the world’s best intelligence apparatus, Trump still relies on the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of a morning cable “news” show, that Fox doesn’t even classify as news. And to make matters worse, Trump was apparently so flustered with fear that he linked to a fake Fox and Friends Twitter account (note the “L” rather than an “I” in Friends).

As for the rest of the tweet, it was feast of falsehoods that are easily disproved. The so-called Steele Dossier to which Trump refers is decidedly not bogus. While the entirety of it has not yet been affirmed, much of what has been researched has been solidly verified. CNN reported in October that:

“While the most salacious allegations in the dossier haven’t been verified, its broad assertion that Russia waged a campaign to interfere in the election is now accepted as fact by the US intelligence community. CNN also reported earlier this year that US investigators have corroborated some aspects of the dossier, specifically that some of the communications among foreign nationals mentioned in the memos did actually take place.”

Additionally, Trump’s eagerness to blame Hillary Clinton for all his problems is not only misplaced, it’s a purposeful attempt to malign his arch nemesis and shift attention from himself. He never bothers to mention that the dossier originated with the Washington Free Beacon, a right-wing news website. And Trump’s assertion that it was used “as the basis for going after the Trump Campaign” is just wholly made up.

The inspiration for Trump’s Boxing Day bluster was, as is often the case, something he saw on Fox and Friends. The segment featured Buck Sexton, a conservative radio talk show show and former CIA analyst (with a comic book name that makes it hard to take him seriously). Sexton and Fox co-host Pete Hegseth covered some of the exact subjects as Trump’s tweet (video below):

Sexton: What we really want to know is was the dossier, as you all are quite aware, was a Clinton funded opposition research document, the basis for weaponizing the intelligence community against a political campaign as it was happening. People are talking about the Russian collusion as the greatest scandal – this would be the greatest scandal certainly of my lifetime.
Hegseth: And the Washington Times reporting that the FBI admitting that it can’t verify that dossier claims of Russia. Which would further the potential problem with that.

For the record, the FBI never said they “can’t verify” the dossier’s claims. They said that they “haven’t verified” some of the claims. Which is completely different. But Fox did manage to back up their BS with the ultra-right “Moonie” Washington Times. It’s all part of the conservative media machine’s effort to discredit and delegitimize special counsel Robert Mueller and any other independent investigation of Trump’s corruption and treason. That war on the truth is also being waged by Trump’s pals in the Kremlin. Newsweek reports that Russia “is using social media to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, a former CIA official and a former Republican congressman said Monday night.” And with that the quartet is complete: Russia, Trump, the GOP, and Fox News are all working together to sabotage Mueller and his investigation.

They must realize that the facts are against them and that their only hope is destroy the reputation of career law enforcement professionals who are doing their jobs. Think about this: if Trump, et al believed for a second that Mueller’s investigation would exonerate him, would he seek to tarnish the reputation of the man who could prove his innocence?

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Wishing You All a ‘Blue Xmas’ as Warrior Trump Leads the Charge Against Religious Freedom

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The season of battling a fake war on Christmas that has been raging for six weeks out of every year since Fox News decided it was a thing. And this year there is a new Guardian of Virtue who has arisen to make it safe for the persecuted Christians of America to stumble out of their basement sanctuaries.

Donald Trump Christmas

Donald Trump promised during his campaign that “If I become president, we’re all going to be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.” It’s that heartwarming 1930’s German-style totalitarianism that makes him think he can decide what we are ALL going to say. And it’s all the more meaningful coming from a greedy, lustful, gluttonous, wrath-filled, narcissist who insists that he has never had to seek God’s forgiveness because he’s never done anything to necessitate it. Now, making good on that campaign promise, Trumpy Clause has announced that:

And you know it’s true because he used five exclamation points. Although it may be a bit unseemly to lie so brazenly while drenching oneself in pride as the leader of an imaginary assault, all in the name of a religious principle founded on charity and peace. And perhaps the hostilities themselves are an absurd and exploitative political hoax considering that most Americans are more than satisfied saying “Happy Holidays.”

But absurdity and exploitation, and even rank idiocy, never stopped political demagogues before, and they surely won’t stop this one. We’ll just have to tolerate it a little longer and hope that the new year brings real victory for the majority of Americans who are disgusted and embarrassed by the cretin occupying the White House.

Most of the nation will spend this day with their families enjoying the traditions that we have always honored. But what really makes America great is that we similarly honor those among us with different traditions and beliefs. It’s our diversity that has always been the source of our strength, and will continue to be in the future.

So in the spirit of the season, News Corpse would like to continue its holiday tradition by presenting a musical gift for the forsaken and forlorn. This is for all of those who are not huddled around a dead tree today, buried in colorfully wrapped packages. It’s for the cynics who won’t accept the notion that the birth of an alleged savior is an excuse to exchange material goods or fruitcakes that nobody likes. It is for outcasts and rebels and nonbelievers who are puzzled by the greed and commercialism that permeates the season. And yes, it’s for those who still believe that peace and goodwill are morally superior to profit and oppression. Here is Miles Davis and Bob Dorough performing the heartwarming traditional Christmas ballad Blue Xmas:

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump’s Terrible Christmas: Pitiful ‘Fake News’ Tweet Is a Cry for Attention and Approval

It’s finally the Eve of a holiday that America was prohibited from celebrating until the election of Donald Trump – at least in his cartoon brain. And instead of reflecting on the joyous themes of the occasion, the President is pontificating on Twitter about how underappreciated he is by the media that despises.

Donald Trump Christmas

Being able to say “Merry Christmas” again is one of the victories that Trump repeatedly embraces as a source of personal pride. He fails to mention who was preventing him from saying it before, and most Americans are perfectly happy saying “Happy Holidays.” But he doesn’t seem to be wrapped in seasonal bliss as he persists in attacking the media for not being sufficiently adoring:

The fake polls that Trump is referring to are pretty much every poll. Trump’s approval rating has achieved a milestone that is surely going to spoil his Christmas gala at Mar-A-Lago. He is officially the most disliked president ever. His thirty-five percent approval isn’t even close to the next lowest rating of forty-nine percent (Ronald Reagan). And it must really hurt that he’s nineteen points behind his arch enemies Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Trump’s lame attempt to dismiss this epic rejection is kind of sad. All he can say is his now tedious repetition of “fake news.” But he has to know that isn’t the case. Particularly when Fox News is among those reporting record low numbers for Trump. Even his favorite – and reliably biased – pollster, Rassmussen has him at a dismal forty-four percent, which still puts him at the bottom of the pile.

Trump whines that he is getting “only negative reporting.” In fact, he is getting accurate reporting of his presidency which has only produced negative results. That’s not the media’s fault. And it’s telling that he tags his campaign slogan onto the end of this ego-driven rant as if his polling numbers were synonymous with America’s greatness. Actually, they are. They indicate that most Americans recognize what a failure he is. And that truly is something that makes America great.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Democrats For Trump? Fox News Interviews Convicted Money Launderer Who Supports Trump

In its ever vigilant mission to misrepresent political discourse, Fox News frequently seeks out spokespersons for constituencies that don’t really exist. It’s a significant part of their determination to create more division and partisan rancor. One of Fox’s favorite methods of bending reality to their own prejudices is to latch onto alleged Democrats who will betray their party to back some ill-advised nonsense proposed by Donald Trump.

Fox News

Fox News is particularly good at finding such political turncoats. Some are angry about a pet project that may have been ditched. Others are simply looking for attention. By promising them segments on the cable network to broadcast their personal rage, Fox gets them to publicly oppose their peers. And Fox gets to promote their own biases as told by supposed Democrats or liberals. In some cases the association is tenuous. For instance, Fox continues to identify right-wing zealot Pat Caddell as a Democratic pollster years after he abandon any semblance of Democratic politics.

On Saturday Fox News found another dubious Democrat to advance their promotion of Trump. Andrew Stein was once a New York City Councilman, but way back in the nineties he openly courted Republicans when he briefly ran against David Dinkins for mayor. More recently he pleaded guilty to charges related to his involvement in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. However, as the self-declared president of “Democrats For Trump” (an organization that doesn’t appear to exist) Fox News was thrilled to give him some valuable airtime.

Stein was interviewed by Fox’s Ed Henry on Fox and Friends (video below). He began the segment by accusing Democrats of having “Trump Derangement” for not being able accept that he was elected. When Henry asked Stein what advice he would give to “his fellow Democrats,” Stein offered this:

“Democrats are making a big mistake by just ‘resisting,’ talking about impeachment. It’s nonsense. This President has one of the best records I’ve ever seen. And I’ve been around a long time.”

Stein went on to praise Trump’s tax scam bill, particularly for how it benefits corporations. As if that were ever the focus of Democratic principles. Henry noted that Stein had recently spent half an hour with Trump in the Oval Office, which is undoubtedly how he came to the attention of Fox News. And when asked how Trump might do a better job of reaching out to Democrats, this fake Dem responded that:

“I think he’s done a fantastic job with this tax bill and with cutting regulations.”

Huh? You mean the bill that not one Democrat voted for? The one they weren’t allowed to contribute to or to offer amendments? The one they weren’t even allowed to see until a few hour before the vote? The one that violates every core value that Democrats hold dear by cutting taxes for the wealthy, making everyone else pay for it, and is also another GOP attempt to sabotage ObamaCare? That’s what Stein thinks was a “fantastic job of reaching out”?

There simply are no words.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.