Times are changing fast at Fox News now that a court has affirmed that they are staffed by shameless liars. On Tuesday the right-wing propaganda network agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for a whopping 3/4 of a billion dollars. And on Thursday they fired their ultra-bombastic, Trump-fluffing, weekend ranter, Dan Bongino.
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According to Bongino, his termination by Fox News had nothing to do with the defamation lawsuit settlement. He says that it was merely an inability for the two sides to come to an agreement on his contract renewal. However, given his past performance, and the damage done to Fox’s already reprehensible reputation, it’s difficult to completely separate the two events.
RELATED: The Fox News 3/4 Billion Dollar Dominion Defamation Settlement is Also a Judgment Against Trump
Bongino has been a staunch defender of Trump throughout the former reality TV game show host’s occupation of the White House and beyond. Trump could do no wrong in Bongino’s eyes, whether it was his two impeachments, his sexual harassment, his deadly COVID mismanagement, his disastrous economic policies, or his theft and hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Bongino stayed by Trump’s side. So now it is, in Bongino’s words, “a sad day,” as he reveals that last week’s program was his final one for Fox News. Forbes Reports that…
“Fox News has ended its relationship with Dan Bongino […] Bongino said on his podcast Thursday…’It’s tough. It’s tough to say that. You know, I’ve been there doing hits and working there for ten years…so the show ending was tough. And I want you to know it’s not some big conspiracy. I promise you. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension.”
The timing, however, is curious. While Bongino wasn’t among the named defendants in the lawsuits against Fox News (such as Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo), he was a frequent source of flagrantly false commentaries, including several asserting that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged and stolen” from Trump.
In one case he hosted an interview of Trump wherein Trump delivered his tedious complaints about election fraud. Subsequently, the clip that Fox later posted online had cut out those remarks. When told about the editing, Bongino was outraged and pledged to get to the bottom of it. He never did.
SEE THIS: SCAREDY FOX: Why Did Fox News Censor Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ Rant? Pending Lawsuits?
Being canceled by Fox News was surely “tough” for Bongino, Especially since his other pursuits are also collapsing. He was a principle owner of the conservative, crackpots-only Twitter clone, Parler. But just last week It’s new owner announced that they are shutting it down. Variety reports that…
“Parler, the self-described “uncancelable free-speech social platform” that catered to right-wing users — which was nearly acquired by Kanye West last year — has been shut down by its new owner.
“’No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more,’ Arlington, Va.-based digital media company Starboard said in announcing Friday that it had acquired Parler.”
Bongino will likely find a new home on some other wingnut media outlet. Perhaps Newsmax or One American News (OAN). In the meantime he still has his podcast, and a considerable flock of sheeple following him online.
As for Fox News, they will probably fill his timeslot with an even more radically right-wing shouter. The real question is: Who will be shoved out the door next? Maria Bartiromo’s future is likely hanging by a thread. And Fox president, Suzanne Scott, could not be sleeping well in the wake of the Dominion settlement.
Whatever changes Fox makes will probably be stretched out over time so as to make them appear to be unrelated to the Dominion matter. But it is typical of Rupert Murdoch to make others pay for his failures. So expect more contract “disputes” to be announced in the coming weeks and months.
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