Let’s face it … trying to unravel the acute psychoses of Donald Trump is an exercise in futility. It’s like trying to explain why pigs prefer poetry to pedicures. Seriously, don’t bother. And it’s particularly evident in his long-running love/hate relationship with Fox News, the propaganda machine that put him in the White House.

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For the past year, Trump has lashed out furiously at Fox News for a myriad of perceived offenses. He vilified their pollsters as agents of “suppression.” He castigated their producers for having the gall to book Democrats for predominantly disparaging interviews. He lumped Fox in with “fake” news disseminators like CNN and the New York Times. He whined petulantly any time a Fox shill failed to exhibit unqualified adoration or presented him in a less than worshipful fashion.

Naturally, Trump’s anger was often expressed on his favorite communications platform, Twitter, which he also loves to bash (see his incoherent tirades aimed at “Section 230“). An example of Trump’s fury at Fox was posted last week when he declared that “Fox News is dead”:

Can’t believe how badly @FoxNews is doing in the ratings. They played right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats, & now are floating in limboland. Hiring fired @donnabraziIe, and far worse, allowing endless negative and unedited commercials. @FoxNews is dead. Really Sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2020

The notion that Fox News is somehow aligned with “Radical Left Democrats” is too absurd to even bother responding to. And it is typical of Trump to single out one of the few Black contributors on Fox for criticism. But can anyone figure out what he’s talking about when he complains about “unedited commercials”? However, that specimen of nonsense was just his latest outburst. Here is some of what Trump has been griping about throughout 2020:

• FoxNews daytime is not watchable.
• FoxNews Polls are totally FAKE
• So weird to watch @FoxNews interviewing only failed Dems
• FoxNews is gone!
• FoxNews has become politically correct and no longer the big deal!
• The Lamestream Media, including @FoxNews, which has really checked out
• So hard to watch @FoxNews anymore.
• Fox is lost!!!
• FoxNews is doing nothing to help Republicans, and me, get re-elected
• No respect for the people running @FoxNews.
• What the hell is happening to @FoxNews
• FoxNews is working hard pushing the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats.
• So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews. Only I know!

So only Trump knows what has happened to Fox News? And he’s keeping secret? Despite that hail of hysterics, Trump still managed to lavish Fox News with love when it suited his purpose. In 2020 Trump tweeted about Fox 230 times. That’s about once every day and a half. Of those, 79 were shout-outs to Sean Hannity (20 of which announced his interviews). Another 81 tweets were aimed at Fox and Friends (of which 11 announced his interviews). Mark Levin got 67 flattering tweets. Lou Dobbs got 55. Maria Bartiromo got 39. Laura Ingraham got 27. Jeanine Pirro got 21. And Tucker Carlson trailed the pack with 17.

In addition to those praiseful mentions of Fox News flacks, Trump also lathered Fox’s competitors with compliments. The One America News Network (OANN) got 80 tweets. And Newsmax gathered 27.

You have to wonder what’s in it for Fox News. Why would they tolerate this sort of abuse from an obviously disturbed egomaniac that is headed for an epic flameout? Could it be that just the prospect of a temporary ratings boost would cause Fox to accept being Trump’s whipping boy? Are they so wrapped up in their mission to advance an ultra-conservative agenda that they’ll suffer Trump’s contempt? Does Fox News believe that they will recover from this assault after Trump is demoted to civilian rank?

Fox’s ratings have already taken a considerable hit since election day. Newsmax has been gaining viewers and CNN is regularly beating Fox. In fact, Fox is dangerously close to slipping to third place behind MSNBC. What’s more, Trump has been openly speculating about launching a cable network of his own. Given his track record for business ventures, that would probably just be his next bankruptcy. But it could also cause some further deterioration of Fox’s audience. So the question remains: Why is Fox News behaving like a battered spouse and submitting to this abuse? Are they just as brainwashed by the Cult of Trump as his dimwitted followers? Stay tuned!

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