The blatant partisan biases of Fox News have been well documented for many years. And yet the network continues to pretend that they have some measure of journalistic integrity. They claim that their “news” and “opinion” sides are clearly delineated and that viewers are smart enough to tell the difference. But that’s wrong on two counts. First, there is no real separation of what they call news and the opinions that permeate nearly every report they air. And second, they think their viewers are smart?
On Thursday morning a segment on Fox and Friends featured an interview of Donald Trump by the network’s Chief National Correspondent, Ed Henry. Theoretically a correspondent with Henry’s title should be one of Fox’s alleged journalists. Nevermind that he’s a regular co-host of the ultra-opinionated Fox and Friends Morning Trump-Fluffing Show. This interview was jam-packed with Trumpian falsehoods and propaganda on subjects ranging from the Federal Reserve to gun reform.
However, one subject was highlighted by Henry when he bantered with his “Curvy Couch” potato colleagues back in the studio. Henry was interviewing Trump near Otay Mesa, California, where the President was visiting a section of the border wall that he claims to be building. And in his summation of their talk, Henry put his own spin what he encountered (video below):
“We’ve had Democrats on the show saying that the President is not telling the truth. That’s what they claim when he says and boasts that there’s new wall being built. I’m here to say the President is right and they are wrong. And that’s not an opinion. That’s my reporting with my own two eyes. I was there. There is in fact miles and miles of new wall being built and it’s working.”
Well then, that settles it. If Henry was there and saw a brand new wall with his own two eyes, it must be a box of wholesome fact morsels wrapped in golden ribbons of truthiness. Except for the fact that Henry was shamelessly lying. He was actually standing at the site where there was already an 18 foot wall that had been there for years. He even mentioned it himself in a long-winded response to questions from Mediaite.
What’s more, a photo taken in April of 2013 shows a wall already in place at the Otay Mesa site. And the Washington Post reported that the construction at the site where Trump and Henry talked was actually just “a 24-mile section of replacement barrier.”
In addition, Henry didn’t explore the length of the wall he was observing so he couldn’t possibly know if there were “miles and miles” of it. And as for it working, he merely cited some data that migration had slowed during the past few months. But it always slows during the summer due to the excessive heat that makes traveling on foot difficult and dangerous.
So Henry’s indignant insistence that Trump’s Democratic critics were wrong was pure, partisan bullcrap. And his reliance on his own two eyes suggests that his “vision” is seriously impaired by his blind allegiance to Trump. But this also puts the lie to the claim by Fox News that they differentiate between news and opinion. In fact, they don’t seem to have any news content at all. It’s a 24/7 right-wing opinion factory that is about as committed to truthtelling as Trump or his bootlicking lackey, Corey Lewandowski, who admitted to Congress that he has no obligation to be honest. That describes pretty much everyone in the Trump regime from top to bottom. And make no mistake, Fox News is a fully subscribed member of the Trump regime.
Here is how the Trump campaign promoted the Fox News propaganda piece by Ed Henry:
Wow! Report from Fox News confirms Democrats are WRONG:
"I was there…there is, in fact, miles and miles of new wall being built. And it’s working." pic.twitter.com/OFAYs1R1R4
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 19, 2019
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.