Sean Hannity

Fire Sean Hannity: Fox News Host Exposed Campaigning for DeSantis, Violating Journalistic Ethics

Posted by on August 29, 2018 at 2:39 pm. 3 Comments :

On Tuesday’s primary for the Republican candidate for governor of Florida, Trump favorite Ron DeSantis came away with the victory and the opportunity to face progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum in November. So the DeSantis campaign officially launched the next day when he appeared on Fox News and charged that African-American Gillum would “monkey up” the state.

Fox News, Sean Hannity, White House

That’s a pretty horrendous start to what will surely be a campaign marked by the sort of racism and invective that a Trump minion like DeSantis embraces. It will be a campaign that relies on State TV (aka Fox News) for support and free advertising. In fact, DeSantis has already received more than $9,000 000 worth of airtime from Fox.

However, that isn’t the only boost that DeSantis has enjoyed from Fox News. The top rated host on the network, Sean Hannity, has been plugging his candidacy, and maligning his opponent, for weeks. But something that DeSantis said in his victory speech stood out as peculiar and warrants more scrutiny (video below):

“We had some great surrogates. You know (Rep.) Matt Gaetz was out on the road with us raising a little hell now and then. We had people like Sean Hannity come down, and Mark Levin, which was just phenomenal.”

So thanks to this revelation by DeSantis, we now know that Hannity went down to Florida to assist the campaign of a Republican candidate for governor. At any other news network that would be considered a breach of their standards of professional conduct and cause for termination. Surprisingly, that appeared to be just such a breach at Fox News in 2016 when Hannity appeared in a campaign video for then-candidate Donald Trump. Fox noted at the time that this was improper and Hannity was sternly advised not to do it again. Sure, that’s about wrist-slappy a punishment that there could be, but it was a punishment.

There is no excuse for a “news” network host colluding with partisan candidates for public office. And this being a second offense, it ought to draw a more severe penalty. Anyone else at any other network would likely be fired. And if Fox News needs any additional incentive to invoke that sanction, they could just look at Hannity’s recent past. Earlier this year he was revealed to be a client of Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney who just pleaded guilty to eight felonies. But Hannity kept that a secret even when interviewing Cohen on his show.

What’s more, Hannity serves in the odd position of being Trump’s “shadow chief-of-staff” and reports say that he talks to the President on an almost nightly basis. But even when these reports surface, Hannity refuses to disclose the nature and extent of their relationship. That alone should be regarded as a blatant conflict of interest and a fireable offense.

FOR THE RECORD: Hannity has gone back and forth about whether he is a journalist. At times he insists he is. Other times he denies it. Here are examples of both.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for Fox News to behave honorably. After all, they are the network that gave Trump more airtime than any other network. And it was Hannity who gave Trump more airtime than any other program on Fox News. So Hannity is actually carrying out the mission of Fox News by advancing the people and propaganda that he is directed to from the executive suites – and the White House. Note that Bill Shine, former Fox News president and Hannity’s old boss, is now a top Trump White House aide. That’s how State TV works.

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

Fox News Has a New Mantra in Defense of Trump: Mueller is A Greater Threat Than Putin

Posted by on August 11, 2018 at 10:47 am. 1 Comments :

The top priority of State TV (aka Fox News) for the past year – and the one unfolding – is to make sure that Donald Trump is safely sheltered from any and all criticism and the devastating effects of unsanitized truth. The more that the American people learn about what Trump is doing, and has done, the more political peril he and his accomplices are in.

Donald Trump Fox News

Fox News has, so far, been diligent in carrying out their mission to protect the President. They are his rapid response team when negative news is reported, and that’s almost all of it. They are the attack squad to neutralize critics and truth tellers. And they are even the “brain” trust that incubates Trump’s agenda and public pronouncements.

In the service of that calling, Fox News is now test marketing a new tactic aimed at undermining the rule of law and denigrating the people charged with enforcing it. It is a strategy familiar to totalitarian dictators who strive to hoard control over every institution of an otherwise free society. It surfaced recently when Fox’s Jeanine Pirro asked an eagerly agreeable guest whether special counsel Robert Mueller is “a greater threat than [Vladimir] Putin to this country.”

It’s an odd question for the obvious reasons. Putin is a ruthless dictator who has invaded neighboring countries, murdered his political adversaries, and waged a cyber war against the United States. While on the other hand, Mueller is a war hero, a lifelong public servant, and a man who has earned unqualified respect from across the political spectrum (at least until he took his current job). But the question is also a curious one coming from people who have lately been praising Putin as a strong leader who, according to Trump, would be a dandy friend to the U.S. and no threat whatsoever.

Nevertheless, the allegation has been making the rounds at Fox News. The latest eruption of this slander came from Fox News host Mark Levin during an interview on Sean Hannity’s program. And he wasn’t shy about making a pointedly defamatory charge with no basis to support it:

“Robert Mueller is a greater threat to this republic and the Constitution than anything Vladimir Putin did during the campaign. And I’m no fan of Vladimir Putin. He’s threatening to take down a President of the United States.”

So Levin’s theory is that Mueller is worse than Putin because he’s trying to remove a president that Putin installed. But he wasn’t through. As he continued he enumerated the reasons he thought Mueller’s investigation was improper. But he actually supplied a pretty good opening to explain all the reasons that mueller’s probe is proper and necessary. He launches into it saying “Now let’s walk through this quickly:”

“The President is not a witness to any crime. How do we know that? Because we don’t know what crime they’re even talking about. So he doesn’t need to be questioned as a witness.”

In fact, the President is both a witness and a participant in several potential crimes including conspiracy with a foreign government to interfere with an election, campaign finance law violations, and obstruction of justice. Just because Levin can’t identify Trump’s criminal exposure, doesn’t mean there isn’t any. And the need to question him about is apparent to any first-year law student.

“The President did not commit a crime. What crime did he commit? So he’s not a target, he doesn’t need to be questioned about that.”

Once again, the assertion that Trump did not commit a crime comes from Levin’s imagination. Currently Trump is considered to be a “subject” of the investigation, and that status can be changed to “target” at any time. So he does need to be questioned about that.

“According to the Department of Justice, a president can’t be indicted. A president cannot be questioned by a subordinate, like Mr. Mueller, about his prerogatives as president, that is, about the firing of a subordinate like Mr. Comey. So what questions, exactly, does Mr. Mueller have?”

Actually, the Justice Department’s guidance as to whether a president can be indicted is an administrative rule, not a law. It can be changed with the stroke of a pen. And there is no prohibition of a special counsel questioning a president. Levin is just making that one up. While Comey, as FBI Directer, can be terminated by the President, if it is proven to have been done in order to obstruct justice it is actionable as a crime.

These points by Levin all seem to be aimed at making excuses for why Trump should decline to be interviewed by Mueller. Of course the more salient reasons would be because he can’t help himself from lying (which even his own attorneys and some members of his administration have insinuated), and he is at heart a coward. Levin goes on to rant incoherently about Trump being a “white hat” hero and Mueller being an evil usurper of some undefined and unauthorized power. And Hannity agrees, describing the legally mandated operations of the Justice Department (which is being run by Trump appointees) as akin to the former Soviet Union.

It’s a rather peculiar spectacle to watch Fox News and the Republican leadership rail on Mueller, a man most of them praised as the perfect choice for special counsel when it was announced. But it’s nauseating to see a man with real integrity, principle, and courage, being trashed as a traitor to the country he served faithfully for his entire adult life. Especially when held up in comparison to the greedy, racist, sexual predator who is currently exploiting his occupancy of the White House to sell out the nation to its enemies. For the record, this is who Levin, Hannity, Fox News, and the GOP are castigating as a corrupt defiler of democracy:

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

Goebbels Would Be Proud: Trump’s Legal Team to Guest Host Sean Hannity’s Radio Show

Posted by on August 10, 2018 at 11:28 am. 1 Comments :

For Donald Trump’s congregation of cult disciples, seeing his chief defenders on television everyday may not be enough to pacify them. They need to have a near constant flow of Trump-splaining to ease their diseased consciences and strengthen their confidence that their Dear Leader is actually innocent of the crimes he is so obviously guilty of.

Fox News Sean Hannity

Stepping up to provide the Deplorables with their dose of “Trump is a victim of the Deep State” propaganda is, not surprisingly, Sean Hannity of Fox News. Although he already hosts Trump’s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, on his Fox program so frequently you might have assumed they were members of the cast, he is now going a step further:

That’s right, Donald Trump’s actual attorneys will be taking over the Sean Hannity Trump-Fluffing Radio Extravaganza for the day, presumably while Hannity off at Mar-a-Lago polishing Trump’s – let’s say ring. This is an unheard of capitulation to a political leader who is under investigation by his own Justice Department for alleged conspiracy with Russia to interfere with an election, obstruction of justice, and other assorted financial corruption charges.

For the legal team of an embattled president to appear on a program like this nearly every day is bad enough. In fact, just a few days ago Hannity interviewed Giuliani in one of the most ludicrous displays of sycophancy ever broadcast on TV. But to be handed the entire program to spew their lie-riddled defense of a treasonous president blows up any facade of legal propriety or ethics.

By making Giuliani and Sekulow the guest hosts of his program, Hannity is demonstrating, once again, that he is utterly unfit to host a program on any TV network with the word “news” in its name. If Fox News were a legitimate news enterprise they would cancel Hannity immediately. Lucky for them, they have never been able to claim believably that they are legitimate by any stretch of the imagination.

The radio stations that broadcast this flagrant attempt to poison the jury pool need to know that they are complicit in an act of pure state-sponsored propaganda. It’s the sort of thing that Goebbels would have taken great pride in producing. It requires the audacity of a totalitarian dictator who has no fear that anyone will challenge his omnipotent authority. And, sadly, it is not an unexpected occurrence by one of this administration’s most loyal bootlickers.

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

Trump-Fluffing Fox News Shill Sean Hannity Weaves Bizarre Anti-Mueller Tales with Rudy Giuliani

Posted by on August 9, 2018 at 9:12 am. 4 Comments :

On Wednesday Donald Trump accomplished a previously unheard of achievement. He tweeted twelve times without once mentioning anything about the “hoax” probe by special counsel Robert Mueller. Instead he was focused on how many election he won on Tuesday (yes, he thinks he was the winner), despite it being a night of primaries. That’s okay though, because he still has Sean Hannity to man the “witch hunt” front.

Rudy Giuliani

On Wednesday’s episode of the Mighty Trump Ninja Defenders Hour (video below), Hannity slow-danced with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani to the haunting refrains of the score to The Desperate Hours. The two jumped right into the segment with wild-eyed exclamations of corruption on the part of the Justice Department and condemnations of international super-villain, Hillary Clinton. The first words out of Giuliani’s mouth were:

“What do we need to know that this is a totally illegitimate investigation based on a dossier that was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats? Probably the biggest illegality so far. The biggest collusion so far. Completely made up. That led to nothing except several fraudulent FISA wires. And now we have Mueller who doesn’t seem to care that he’s sitting on top of a totally illegitimate investigation.”

Literally everything in that fantastical assessment was untrue with the possible exception of “and now we have Mueller.” If anything, these flagrant lies will end likely blow up in Trump’s face. The dossier was not the foundation of the investigation. Clinton didn’t pay for it. It wasn’t illegal or collusive. It surely wasn’t made up. Many parts of it have been confirmed, and nothing in it has been proved false. The FISA “wires” (presumably he meant warrants) were all issued by separate judges appointed by Ronald Reagan. And the allegedly illegitimate investigation has already produced dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas.

Hannity, naturally, concurred with Giuliani, saying that the dossier was “designed to misinform the American people…to influence the election” Which is curious considering that it was never meant to be seen by the American people. It was only after Buzzfeed got ahold of a copy and published it in January of 2017, after the election, that its contents were known to the public. Hannity, earlier in the program, gave his own assessment of the Mueller probe in a deranged diatribe that packed every wingnut cliche into one frantic run-on sentence:

“Like there’s truth in that phony, unverified, uncorroborated, debunked dossier that the Clinton campaign used to smear then-candidate Donald Trump, the same Russian lies that were used before the election as the foundation for the Mueller witch hunt and the op-research used to mislead the FISA court on four – not one – but four seperate occasions so the government literally can spy on an opposition party candidate and a Trump campaign associate.”

And … breathe. Once again, a loco-spiel that’s entirely devoid of facts. Then they spoke for a while about how Trump ought not to sit for an interview with Mueller because he can’t be trusted not to lie or accidently confess. What they continue to forget is that a perjury trap can be defeated by simply telling the truth. Giuliani mocked the notion of Trump being interviewed by saying “What? Do you think we’re fools?” Let’s just leave that one alone, and move on to the best part of the segment where Hannity makes a startling revelation:

Hannity: My sources are telling me that when the American people get to the bottom of all of this, it will shock the heart, the soul, and the mind of any fair-minded American.
Giuliani: I think it’s gonna lead to some very strict, very big reforms, just like Watergate.

So Hannity has a source with inside knowledge of the private thoughts of – all of the America people? Wow, that’s a pretty good source. And thanks to Hannity we now know just how we will all feel when we get to the bottom of all of this. Feel better now? And Giuliani’s response was equally as mind-boggling. By predicting that there will be Watergate-like reforms, he’s essentially conceding that the President committed Watergate-like crimes. No wonder he doesn’t want Trump to be interviewed by Mueller.

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

Fox News Must Fire Sean Hannity for Refusing to Disclose His Relationship with Donald Trump

Posted by on August 1, 2018 at 10:39 am. 3 Comments :

Anyone who has been paying attention is well aware that the most devoted promoters of Donald Trump are on State TV (aka Fox News). And the biggest Trump fluffer on Fox News is Sean Hannity. He has been relentless in his shameless support for the President with a nightly program that is an hour long prostration to Trump interspersed with vicious and dishonest attacks on his critics.

Fox News, Sean Hannity, White House

However, Hannity apparently doesn’t think it’s enough. He was interviewed by Forbes Magazine Tuesday and further exposed the depth of his sycophancy to Dear Leader. The interview began by addressing Hannity’s all too obvious infatuation with Trump. The first question referenced well documented reports that Hannity and Trump speak on a nearly daily basis with Hannity being the last call that Trump receives each night before bed time:

“I ask him about the regular reports that he has daily conversations with the president of the United States — even, it has been suggested, that he is often the last person Donald Trump talks to at night.

“‘I don’t have a nightly call with anybody,’ Hannity tells me. ‘I read these things about me that are total bullshit. Quote it. It’s just not true.’

“So how much access to the president does Hannity have? That’s one of the few questions he won’t answer. ‘I really kind of enjoy that nobody knows, and I’m just going to leave it that way,’ he says. ‘But I can tell you this: Nobody has ever gotten my relationship with Donald Trump right, ever'”

It’s bad enough that insiders attest to the romantic loyalty of their relationship. It’s something that even outsiders recognize without those reports. After all, Hannity has literally appeared in Trump advertisements. And Trump returns the favor by promoting Hannity on Twitter and granting him “interviews” that are more accurately described as infomercials. Trump even hired Hannity’s ex-producer, and former president of Fox News, Bill Shine, as his Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications at Hannity’s urging. Shine, you may recall, was fired by Fox News for misconduct related to the sexual harassment and abuse by Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and others.

But the most troubling part of the Forbes interview is Hannity’s callous disregard for ethics. His explicit refusal, even delight, with regard to keeping his affairs with Trump secret would be intolerable at any legitimate news network (which lets Fox off the hook). By boasting that he won’t reveal how closely he is tied to Trump he’s making every interaction between them cause for suspicion of collusion and propaganda. It’s unprecedented in journalism or even the sort of political advocacy that Hannity engages in. Why is he afraid to tell the truth about his relationship with Trump? Well, we know why.

Also in the Forbes interview were a couple of morsels that deserve some attention:

“At MSNBC, Rachel Maddow was capitalizing on the Trump presidency, building some of the highest ratings in her network’s history. ‘We lost 75% of our prime time,’ Hannity said of that time. ‘And we’re still No. 1.'”

Indeed, Fox News has cratered with the exodus of a substantial block of their viewers. So even though Hannity finds solace in still being the top rated cable news program (a big fish in a small swamp), it doesn’t undo the fact that Americans are turning off Fox News in droves. And then there’s this:

“Does it weigh on him to be accused of using his platform to prop up President Trump, spread conspiracy theories and blur the line between news and rabid partisanship? ‘The amount of time I spend caring about it is zero. I don’t care,’ Hannity says.”

That’s not surprising. Why would Hannity care that he’s a propaganda tool for the administration? Or that he’s disseminating lies and crackpot conspiracies that hurt innocent people? Or that he’s breaching journalistic ethics? He’s actually doing all of that deliberately. Those are pretty much the entire purpose for his existence. And for the existence of Fox News, for that matter. Which is precisely why Fox will not fire Hannity, no matter how much it is required by principle and morality.

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

Fox News is Owned By Trump? According to Kremlin Correspondent Following Putin Interview

Posted by on July 17, 2018 at 11:14 am. NO Comments :

It’s only Tuesday and already Donald Trump has sold out the United States to Russia, our perennial enemy and the country whose military intelligence corrupted our democratic process during the 2016 presidential election. And by all accounts is still doing it. Trump’s betrayal at the joint press conference with Vladimir Putin could not have been more obvious and dangerous.

Donald Trump Fox News

The President of the United States actually said that he trusts Putin more than he trusts his own intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The reaction to this traitorous behavior was swift and nearly unanimous. Even many of the reliable Fox News shills veered from their customary Trump-fluffing to condemn the President for throwing America under the bus.

The exceptions to that were just who you might predict. Trump ran with his tail between his legs to be consoled by Sean Hannity at Fox News immediately after the disastrous press conference. And eager bootlickers like Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro came to Trump’s defense with nearly incomprehensible rationalizations for his glassy-eyed infatuation with Putin. And Putin himself chose Fox News as the network he would give his first post-summit interview to.

Which makes the following report from a Kremlin pool correspondent all the more understandable. Dmitry Smirnov is a journalist with the Special Corps of Komsomolskaya Pravda. He was covering the Putin-Trump summit in Helsinki, Finland, and had this to say after Putin’s interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News (translated from the Russian in the tweet):

“Another gift to Trump: In Helsinki Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the American channel Fox News, owned by the US president.”

Owned by the US president? Not technically. However it is easy to understand how someone could have made that mistake. Fox News has been accurately described as America’s version of State TV. They feverishly defend Trump and shield him from any and all criticism. They tenaciously struggle to validate his glaringly evident lies. And they work furiously to smear his opponents and to advance crackpot conspiracy theories in order to misdirect the public’s attention from Trump’s abject failures.

But Trump doesn’t own Fox News. Rupert Murdoch does. Which is a distinction with very little difference. Murdoch is an unrelenting supporter of Trump throughout his media empire. He permits his “reporters” to post stories that are wholly lacking in facts, but abound in one-sided, extremist opinions. He even lets them act as Trump surrogates and mouthpieces at political events. That’s something that no reputable news organization would tolerate.

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

So the Russian correspondent was not far off base with his tweet. Perhaps the only thing that he got wrong was the direction of the ownership reference. It may be less accurate to say that Trump owns Fox News than to say that Fox News owns Trump. Either way, it’s an incestuous and unethical relationship that tarnishes them both – and hurts the media and the country.

Sean Hannity Defends Trump’s Treason Summit Even While His Fox News Colleagues Bail

Posted by on July 16, 2018 at 8:00 pm. 6 Comments :

Monday morning Donald Trump held hands with his bestie, Vladimir Putin, for the duration of a surreal press conference wherein he repeatedly took Russia’s side on every issue (here are some must see excerpts). It was a festival of betrayal the likes of which have never been seen.

Donald Trump Sean Hannity

The reaction to this internationally televised farce was nearly unanimous disgust and, for most Americans, anger and embarrassment. Trump refused to condemn Russia for interfering with our election. He dismissed his own intelligence agencies in favor of Putin’s promises. He kept bringing up debunked conspiracy theories about Democratic computer servers and Hillary Clinton’s emails.

It was a pitiful sight that marked Trump as the deceitful dotard that he has become known to the world as. And he received the reception that he deserved from most rational observers. Which, of course, leaves out Sean Hannity. On his radio show Monday morning he unleashed an extended rant defending Trump and denigrating his critics. That included some of Hannity’s Fox News colleagues. Hannity said in part:

“These Republicans have been so pathetically weak. They have been so feckless. They have been so visionless.”

And it only got worse from there. Let’s review just who Hannity is referring to, and what they said that rattled Hannity so:

  • Abby Huntsman: No negotiation is worth throwing your own people and country under the bus.
  • Stuart Varney: It was not a very forceful presentation from President Trump with Putin standing right next to him. Not forceful at all.
  • Neil Cavuto: Trump’s performance was disgusting. I’m sorry. This is the only way I feel. It’s not a right or left thing to me. This is wrong. A U.S. president on foreign soil talking to our biggest enemy…is essentially letting the guy get away with this.
  • Trish Regan: This was clearly not his best performance… He should have defended us! He should have defended his own intelligence community.
  • General Jack Keane: What happened today is stunning and disappointing.
  • Brit Hume: Because Trump is unable to see past himself, he sees the Russia meddling investigation as only about him and the collusion claim, and thus calls it a witch hunt.
  • Shepard Smith: Shameful, disgraceful, treasonous. Three of the descriptions of what Trump did today in Helsinki.
  • John Roberts: There is a growing consensus tonight across this land that the President threw the United States under the bus.

And those are just the folks from Fox News. Republican politicians like John McCain, Jeff Flake, and Lindsey Graham weighed in as well. Even the Worm of – I mean the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, distanced himself from the Trump train wreck. It’s no wonder that Trump chose Hannity for his post-summit interview, which was so lame it doesn’t even warrant a review. But it was probably just the sort of tongue bath that would restore Trump’s orange glow.

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

The Sunday Morning Trump (Not So) Funnies: Donald Trump’s Senile Dementia Kicked in Bigly

Posted by on July 15, 2018 at 12:35 pm. 4 Comments :

This weekend Donald Trump massively accelerated the level of nonsense that has been the hallmark of his presidency. Among the cognitive lapses he displayed while embarrassing America in Europe were his defensive response to the indictment of twelve Russians for interfering with the 2016 presidential election, and his anti-First Amendment rebuke of the the “fake news” network CNN in favor of the “real” network, Fox News. But he was just getting started.

Donald Trump

There were several instances of acute mental confusion that Trump exhibited this weekend. But let’s begin with the most disturbing one, even though it may not be the most substantive. In an interview with British Trump-fluffer Piers Morgan, the President was asked “What is the incentive for America to do a great deal with the United Kingdom?” And this was Trump’s – – – answer?

“We would make a great deal with the United Kingdom because they have product that we like. I mean they have a lot of great product. They make phenomenal things, you know, and you have different names — you can say ‘England’, you can say ‘UK’, you can say ‘United Kingdom’ so many different — you know you have, you have so many different names – Great Britain. I always say: ‘Which one do you prefer? Great Britain?’ You understand what I’m saying?”

No. Nobody understands a single thing that you’re saying. But that’s only because you aren’t saying anything that is remotely intelligible. But other than that, it’s perfectly clear.

From there we go on to an interview Trump gave to CBS anchor Jeff Glor. Trump made several bits of “news” in this brief dialog. Like when he said that his father was born in the EU (Germany). Except that his father was born in New York. Trump will literally lie about anything. There are no limits to the outright absurdity of his frightening foolishness. For example:

GLOR: “What’s your goal from the Putin meeting?”
TRUMP: “I’ll let you know after the meeting.”

Well, that’s comforting. It shows how seriously Trump is taking this summit with the dictator of the nation that is occupying Crimea, helping Iran in Syria, and that attacked America’s democracy. And then there’s this:

GLOR: “The Russians who were indicted. Would you ask Putin to send them here?”
TRUMP: “Well I might. I hadn’t thought of that. But again — this was during the Obama administration.”

He hadn’t thought of the most obvious response to a historic indictment of a foreign nation’s criminal cyberwar against the United States? What the hell is he thinking of? Pee-pee tapes? And even after being given the idea, Trump still only says that he “might” bring it up. Then he goes on to blame President Obama for the whole mess. It may have happened DURING the Obama administration, but it was being done FOR (and with?) the Trump campaign. And then there’s this:

TRUMP: “I think the DNC should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defenses and they were able to be hacked. But I heard they were trying to hack the Republicans too, but — and this may be wrong — but they had much stronger defenses.”

So now the DNC is responsible for Putin’s hacking of Democrats on behalf of Donald Trump. Classic “blaming the victim.” And Trump has the audacity to make this allegation even while admitting that “this may be wrong.” What sober-minded world leader would say things publicly that he doesn’t know are true? BTW, according to the Justice Department, the GOP was hacked, so their defenses were no better than the DNC. But Russia was only using hacked info against the Democrats. Whatever they hacked from Republicans is probably being used to blackmail Trump. And then there’s this:

GLOR: “Who is your biggest competitor? Your biggest foe globally right now?”
TRUMP: “Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union but they’re a foe.”

Indeed, we do have a lot of foes. Especially many of our former allies since Trump took office. But the first one he thinks of to mention is the European Union? Certainly not China, or North Korea, or Iran. And as for Russia, last week Trump referred to Putin only as a competitor, saying explicitly that he was “not my enemy.” Trump even went out of his way to congratulate Russia on Twitter Sunday morning. But the EU is a foe? And then there’s this:

TRUMP (On UK protests): “There are many, many protests in my favor.”

Um OK.

Following the Putin/Trump performance review on Monday, Trump is now scheduled for a lavish tongue bathing by Fox News shills Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. Because who else would he turn to? And Vladimir Putin will also be visiting Fox News for an interview with Chris Wallace. So it’s an all-Fox, All Russia, all Trump festival of flagrant propaganda. I can hardly wait.

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

Sean Hannity of Fox News Goes Off on ‘The Apocalyptic Left’ in Defense of Trump Nominee

Posted by on July 10, 2018 at 3:02 pm. 3 Comments :

On Monday night Donald Trump unveiled his second Supreme Court nominee in as many years. He did it in a splashy primetime ceremony that was wholly out of proportion to any actual news value. The fact that TV networks continue to cater to Trump’s insatiable appetite for attention is one of the most troubling failings of the media in the Trump era.

Fox News, Sean Hannity

The unveiling of Judge Brett Kavanaugh went off as expected, so long as you were expecting a rose granting ceremony on the finale of The Bachelor. Trump gave a speech that could have been written by a computer programmed to emulate Republican talking points. And Kavanuagh’s address could have been copied verbatim from “Right-Wing Judicial Nomination Speeches for Dummies.” The whole event was a predictably partisan political sham that wasted everybody’s time.

Well, except for Fox News. The reason that Trump requested this primetime slot was solely to boost his favorite cable news network and, not coincidentally, right during the time period of Sean Hannity’s show. It worked. The ratings for the Trump infomercial spiked for Fox News with 6.6 million glassy-eyed Deplorables glued to their sets.

Following the announcement, Hannity returned to surprise no one with his unreserved praise and adulation for Trump’s selection (video below). But he had more on his mind than the alleged qualifications of Kavanaugh. Hannity actually spent far more time attacking Democratic critics of Kavanaugh than he did applauding him. And he held nothing back in his assault on the liberal demons set on destroying America. He began by asserting that the left’s attacks were “bordering on insanity.” He continued saying that:

“You have the left, the Democrats, and their friends in the media, their echo chamber, always conducting what is a malicious campaign to impugn the character of good people. The track record of good people. Frankly anybody that President Trump would have nominated to the Supreme Court. The language gets downright apocalyptic, and this time is no different.”

Coming from someone who is casting Democrats as the harbingers of the apocalypse, it’s hard for a rational person to take Hannity seriously. Likewise, the accusation by someone on Fox News that Democrats are employing an echo chamber is hysterical. But he was just getting started. He went on to play some clips from CNN and MSNBC of people with criticisms of Trump and his potential nominees. The striking thing about these clips is that none of them were remotely apocalyptic or insane. Each one exhibited a rational – and truthful – argument against Trump’s shortlist of Supreme Court candidates. And while Hannity blasted these criticisms in the most hostile terms, he never offered a single substantive rebuttal to any one of them.

Following that intellectually vacant harangue, Hannity reminded his viewers of the confirmation fights that occurred during the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. He felt that it was important to show how committed Democrats were in opposition to such strident and extremist conservatives. Funny thing though, Hannity didn’t bother to show any examples of Republicans viciously maligning – and lying about – the nominees of Democratic presidents.

In short, this televised tantrum was fairly typical of Hannity’s nightly bluster. He was even kind enough to provide a summary of what makes the GOP so offensive and out of touch with most Americans. In an attempt to dismiss liberal critics, Hannity noted that criticisms of Kavanaugh would fit the mold wherein his rulings would “lead to dirty air, dirty water, the rise of racism, sexism, misogynism, etc.” Exactly. Thanks for that succinct rundown of the Republican agenda and what we can reasonably expect from Kavanaugh if he is confirmed.

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

The Metamorphosis: Former GOP House Oversight Chair Fills In for Hannity on Fox News

Posted by on July 6, 2018 at 4:50 pm. 2 Comments :

News Corpse has documented the parade of former Fox News personnel into Donald Trump’s adminsitration. The White House is currently infested with ex-Fox News vermin including National Security Advisor John Bolton, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, HHS Secretary Ben Carson, Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, and chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow. Most recently, at the urging of Sean Hannity, Trump hired former Fox News president Bill Shine, whose experience covering up for liars and sexual predators will come in handy.

Fox News, Jason Chaffetz

However, the door swings both ways. Rejects from the White House have become familiar faces on Fox News. In recent weeks ex-Trump aides landing at Fox include Sebastian Gorka, Anthony Scaramucci, and Sean Spicer. But one of the most prominent new Foxies is the former Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz. He resigned his seat in Congress and almost immediately signed up with Fox News. And his star at Fox is rising. On Thursday night Chaffetz was the guest host on Fox’s number one program, Sean Hannity.

The Chaffetz debut as a host was jarring to watch. He was the most conspicuously partisan member of Congress who presided over endless inquisitions intended to bring down Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. From Benghazi to emails to Planned Parenthood to Fast and Furious, Chaffetz was the leader of the anti-Hillary crusade. It was a purely political assault that produced no evidence of any wrongdoing whatsoever after years of costly hearings and phony investigations.

On Thursday’s episode of Hannity, Chaffetz interviewed his partner in crime, Trey Gowdy. It was Gowdy who took the gavel of the House Oversight Committee when Chaffetz retired. He was also the chair of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. So this “interview” was really just a televised reunion between two of Congress’ fiercest anti-Democratic partisans. They spent five full minutes just bashing Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff.

Then they segued to trying to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Trump’s collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. From there Chaffetz led a discussion about the protester who scaled the Statue of Liberty on Independence Day. One subject that never came up was the surprise resignation of the wholly unethical and corrupt Scott Pruitt from the Environmental Protection Agency. Also not discussed were the thousands of immigrant children who are still not reunited with their parents.

The entire hour was nothing more than an extended session of the House committees they sat on in Congress. It was like watching CSPAN with better graphics and catheter commercials. And of course, only one side of every issue was offered through most of the show. It’s one thing to see Sean Hannity do the same thing every night. But when a former congressman is sitting in the anchor’s chair it just cements the impression that Fox News is not in any way differentiated from the political partisans they hype 24/7.

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

And what makes this even worse is that Chaffetz is probably a temporary pundit on Fox. He is widely expected to run for governor of Utah in 2020. So he’s using this platform to advance his candidacy. Which means that Fox is both paying him a healthy salary, and giving him millions of dollars of free promotion. It’s the merging of media with at least two branches of government, the legislative and the executive. And Trump is working furiously to add the judicial to the mix. That’s what is known in most other countries as a totalitarian dictatorship.