Fox & Friends

Fox News Host Says Election Should Be Overturned Even If That’s Illegal

Posted by on November 30, 2020 at 1:00 pm. 2 Comments :

The absurdity of Donald Trump’s resistance to Joe Biden’s decisive victory has long since departed from the realm of sanity. His tedious, factless rants about an alleged “election hoax” (everything he doesn’t like is a hoax) are based on nothing but his delusional psychoses. He has a dysfunctional relationship with reality that is decaying more by the hour.

Donald Trump, Mask, Fox News

It doesn’t help matters that Trump is actively enabled by his Ministry of Propaganda (aka Fox News). And on Monday morning the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends leapt into the election hoax fray with one of their most idiotic arguments in support of Trump’s electoral denialism. Co-host Will Cain weighed in on Trump’s abysmal record of lawsuits contesting the election, for which he currently has a win/loss ratio of 1 in 38. Cain said that…

“I think what’s happening here is we are quickly moving towards a political case being made, meaning the Trump team is talking to state legislators in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and we know today in Arizona as well, attempting to make their case. There may not be enough evidence for a court system, but there should be enough evidence for state legislators to change their electors. Will they find more success there? We’ll soon find out.”

To be clear, Cain is arguing that even though Trump has been completely unable to make a legal case to overturn the election, it should be overturned anyway. This is typical of Trump’s legal strategy that seeks to steal the election by whining incoherently until he gets some weak-kneed jurist or state legislature to bend to his will. And he apparently has already succeeded in getting the bootlickers at Fox News to do so.

The courts have been merciless in their rulings against Trump, including by Republican appointed judges. Most recently a Pennsylvania judge dismissed a Trump lawsuit saying that…

“One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens. That has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence.”

When brought before the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, the appellate judge said that…

“Calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”

The absence of proof, however, is of no concern to Trump or the Fox News flunkies who back him up no matter how ridiculous. They actually believe that they don’t need any legal justification for their attempted coup. So even after failing miserably on the legal front, they march straight ahead in an effort to persuade unethical, partisan politicians to ignore the law and install Trump as President for Life.

The audacity of an unqualified television pundit telling a national audience of easily persuaded simpletons that this mangling of the law is an acceptable path to empowering a wannabe dictator is irresponsible and dangerous. But it’s what Fox News was established to do from its inception. It’s just surprising that they have ended up doing it so obviously – and poorly.

NOTE: News Corpse was notified by Twitter recently that its account would be suspended for repeated violations of their rules. Which is strange because it has never been cited for a single violation in 11 years and they didn’t even identify this alleged violation. They just bounced the account and its 7,000 followers. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from this website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Thanks for your support.

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

LOL: Geraldo Rivera of Fox News Floats Naming COVID-19 Vaccine for Trump

Posted by on November 20, 2020 at 11:12 am. 10 Comments :

Making a play for the 2020 Fox News Flunky Hall of Shame, Geraldo Rivera appeared on Fox and Friends Friday morning to propose what amounts to a bribe in order to get Donald Trump to admit he’s a loser. In a segment wherein Geraldo essentially concedes that Trump lost the election to Joe Biden, he proposes a solution to Trump’s stubborn refusal to accept reality.

Donald Trump Virus

It’s clear to most Americans that Joe Biden is the President-elect of the United States and will take the oath of office on January 20, 2021. But Trump is still disputing that fact and engaging in a delusional campaign to overturn the election results. His campaign consists mainly of lies and conspiracy theories dreamed up by Trump and his pathetic legal team that has lost virtually every case it has brought to court. Not to worry though because, according to Rudy Giuliani, losing is part of his master plan.

Trump’s obsession with opposing a peaceful transition is blatantly anti-democratic and un-America. That’s a position that he’s actually proud of. But the necessity of removing him from office, and allowing the orderly transition to a Biden administration is something that Trump’s sociopathic narcissism prevents him from accepting. Consequently, veteran Fox News Trump-fluffer, Geraldo Rivera, came up with a plan to reward Trump for his childish obstinance:

“I think I had an idea. With the world so divided and everyone telling him he’s gotta give up, time to leave, and time to transition, and all the rest of it, why not name the vaccine for Trump? Make it like, ‘Have you gotten your Trump yet?’ It would be a nice gesture to him, and years from now it would become just a nice generic name. Have you gotten your Trump yet? I got my Trump, I’m fine.’

“I wish we could honor him in that way because he is definitely the prime architect of this Operation Warp Speed and, but for him, we’d still be waiting into the grim winter for these amazing, miraculous medical breakthroughs.”

HOLY CRAP! First of all, America does not negotiate with terrorists. Trump shouldn’t require this sort of infantile incentive to obey the law and two and half centuries of American tradition. He needs to step aside simply because he lost and has no other choice. His defiance is causing real harm by inciting outrage among his cult followers, some of whom are advocating civil war.

What’s more, Trump doesn’t deserve any reward for the development of a vaccine for a viral pandemic that he exacerbated due to his ignorance, incompetence, and deliberate malfeasance. If Trump is concerned about what he will be remembered for, he can rest on his responsibility for the deaths of more than 250,000 Americans, and more than a million sickened, many with disabilities that are permanent.

It’s ironic that Geraldo would propose this sort of solution to lure Trump out of the White House like diseased skunk that came in through a hole in the screen door. After all, Trump loves to plaster his name on things that he had nothing to do with.

However, naming a vaccine for Trump would only be appropriate if it recognized his role in killing so many of the people he was obligated but failed to protect. His name should be synonymous with the pain and grief he caused. So we could call it the Trump Virus Vaccine. Then people could ask “Did you get Trump?” And those who weren’t idiots could reply, “No. I got vaccinated.” Then all we would need is a vaccine to prevent infections for the disease that causes the mental dysfunction evident in people like Geraldo, his Fox News cohorts, and the lost souls who fall for Trump’s bullpucky.

NOTE: News Corpse was notified by Twitter recently that its account would be suspended for repeated violations of their rules. Which is strange because it has never been cited for a single violation in 11 years and they didn’t even identify this alleged violation. They just bounced the account and its 7,000 followers. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from this website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Thanks for your support.

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

Deflated and Defeated: Trump’s Final Pre-Election Interview on Fox News

Posted by on November 3, 2020 at 12:16 pm. 0 Comments :

During a year burdened with the deadly coronavirus pandemic, a historic recession, civil unrest, and the most divisive political environment in generations, election day may have seemed like it would never arrive. But, lo and behold, here we are. And now it’s just a matter of time before the nation learns whether it will go forward in a positive direction with the sane and decent leadership of Joe Biden, or if Donald Trump will somehow stumble back into the White House for another four years of turmoil, ignorance, and hostility.

Donald Trump, Mask, Fox News

In advance of the day’s voting, Trump spent some time with his bootlicking mood boosters at Fox News for a phone-in “interview.” And the “Curvy Couch” potatoes at Fox and Friends performed their Trump-fluffing duties just as they have for the past four (plus) years. The only real difference between this appearance and those Trump has done previously was Trump himself.

The normally hyped up “president” was uncharacteristically reserved this morning. In fact, he sounded exhausted and depressed. It’s almost as if he knew that his prospects for winning were as remote as my prospects for dunking on Lebron James.

Trump’s speech patterns were slow and halting. He appeared to have trouble forming coherent thoughts. The pauses between words signaled an inability express himself without sinking into pessimism and depression. For example, early in the segment Trump was asked by co-host Steve Doocy a simple, softball question regarding speculation that he would try to declare victory long before the results were in:

Doocy: At what point will you declare victory?
Trump: When there’s victory, if there’s victory. I think we’ll have victory. You know, the polls are suppression polls. I think we’ll have victory. But only when there’s victory. There’s no reason to play games. And I think we’ll have victory. I look at it as being a very solid chance of winning. I don’t know what the chances are. I don’t know how they rate the chances. But I think we have a very solid chance of winning.

In that brief exchange Trump repeated himself incessantly, especially the word “victory” (six times) as if he was trying to convince himself. And he says that his chances are good, even while saying that he doesn’t know what the chances are or how they are arrived at. For the record, FiveThirtyEight puts his chances at ten percent, and the Economist puts them at only three percent.

Following that, Trump was asked another gimme by co-host Ainsley Earhardt:

Earhardt: What has it been like? Have you loved the job? Has it been worth it? Because you’ve been under so much attack.
Trump: Well, it’s been mean. You’ve dealt with horrible people like “shifty” Schiff and “crazy” Nancy, and “cryin” Chuck Schumer. You deal with some horrible people.

So Trump’s response to whether he considered it “worth it” to be president was to complain about the “horrible” people he had to deal with. Of course, those people are the elected representatives of the people who Trump was so disrespectful to with his infantile nicknames. But more to the point, he couldn’t articulate any reason why he might have “loved” serving the people of the United States as their president. It’s been obvious for the past four years that he has indeed hated the job. He’s done nothing but whine about having to deal with the media, our allies, and members of Congress. In fact, he elaborated in his answer to complain that dealing with the U.S. is more difficult than dealing with China, Russia, or North Korea. That’s what he calls patriotism?

Finally, Trump couldn’t resist taking a shot at Fox News right in the faces of his hosts:

Trump is whining that Fox News hasn’t been sufficiently adoring of him. But to him anything less than 110% unflinching worship is inadequate. His examples of Fox’s betrayal are mainly that the network has aired a few speeches by Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Trump says that “there are other networks for that,” affirming his view that Fox News is his personal Ministry of Propaganda.

To hear Trump in this interview one can’t come away without the feeling that he’s given up. He’s recognized that he will not be reelected and that now he has to turn his attention to the legal jeopardy that will face him as a civilian. His demeanor is dripping with despair for the bleak future that awaits him. And for the majority of the American people, it can’t come fast enough.

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

Trump Parrots Illegal Advice By Fox News to Change Your Vote

Posted by on October 27, 2020 at 1:10 pm. 2 Comments :

There is now only one week left until election day. Not that election day has the significance it once had considering all of the opportunities to vote early or by mail. But it does still represent the end of the 2020 campaign season. And given the dreadful position that Donald Trump finds himself in, he is grasping desperately for ways to keep from suffering a historic landslide defeat.

Donald Trump, Mask, Fox News

As usual, Trump is relying on his shadow cabinet of Fox News sycophants for advice. Never mind that Trump is simultaneously bashing Fox for not being 110% adoring at all times, he still knows that he has nowhere else to go for the drooling devotion that Fox regularly provides. And on Tuesday morning he got a healthy dose of it from the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends (video below):

Co-host Ainsley Earhardt: According to Google Trends data, some people are thinking of changing their vote and they’re asking if they are able to do that. This is what’s trending right now: “Can I change my vote,” and “Hunter Biden.” Do you think that after we’ve learned the news of Hunter Biden, the alleged reports about him, people now want to change their Biden vote to Donald Trump vote?
Co-host Steve Doocy: Well, here’s the thing Ainsley. Every state has different rules. Minnesota, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, all have specific laws where you can change your mind after you vote. If you vote, apparently, in person at an early voting place, you don’t get a do-over. But if you submit an absentee ballot, or one of those mail-in ballots, apparently you can go ahead and change it.
Earhardt: Or you can also go to the poll and vote in person and that’s the one that would count.

This is only partly true. If you voted in person already, you cannot change your vote. If you voted by mail, there are certain circumstance where you can request another ballot or vote in person. However, voting in person after casting a mail-in vote is only permitted in five states. One of them is New York. In the other 45 states you will be potentially committing felony voter fraud if you attempt to vote twice (which Trump has previously encouraged people to do).

So if voters in New York wish to take the advice of Fox News, they can do so. But what’s the point? First of all, how many Biden voters in New York are going to switch their votes to Trump because of a phony scandal about Hunter Biden that even the GOP chairwoman couldn’t defend in an appearance on Fox? And it wouldn’t have any impact whatsoever on the outcome of the election in the solid blue state of New York.

Nevertheless, Fox’s number one viewer was watching and couldn’t resist commenting on the possibility that Biden supporters are suddenly clamoring to switch their votes to Trump:

Trump’s assumption that a trending topic on Twitter regarding changing votes refers to switching to him is ludicrous. That’s particularly true with regard to his assertion that the switch is coming after a debate that most people say Biden won. And the Hunter Biden story has utterly failed to get any traction. Consequently, by urging people to change their votes now, Trump is probably only persuading Trump voters to switch, producing more votes for Joe Biden.

What’s more, Trump didn’t make any distinction about states where this is legal and those where it isn’t. He didn’t even link to the Fox News clip that did alert people to the differences in different state laws. That could result in people putting themselves in legal jeopardy. Not that Trump cares. If the nation’s coronavirus SuperSpreader-in-Chief doesn’t care about putting people’s lives in jeopardy, he surely doesn’t care about this.

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

Trump Can’t Stop Whining About Imaginary Bias By Debate Moderator

Posted by on October 20, 2020 at 11:49 am. 6 Comments :

Perhaps the most prominent of the myriad character flaws of Donald Trump isn’t his pathological lying, his infantile name-calling, his glaring ignorance, or his raging hostility. Perhaps it’s the relentless whining and victimhood that gushes from him whenever he is faced with even a mild challenge. It’s a pitiful display of the cowardice that permeates his personality, or lack thereof. No wonder Trump has bragged about being “the most fabulous whiner.”

Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Debate Stage

This “feature” of Trump’s emotional frailty has been evident recently in his reaction to the upcoming and final presidential debate with Joe Biden. Note that the first of the scheduled debates resulted in Trump harassing both Biden and the the moderator, Chris Wallace, with repeated interruptions. That led to the Commission on Presidential Debates implementing a new rule wherein the mic of the opposing candidate will be muted during designated two minute periods at the beginning of each topical segment. The second debate was canceled altogether because Trump was afraid to participate remotely.

In advance of the final debate before the election, Trump is ramping up his griping about how unfair everyone and everything is to him. He has been complaining for several days that the debate, like the election itself, is “rigged” against him. And on Tuesday morning he took that complaint to Fox News so he could get some sympathy from the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends.

During the discussion, co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump about the new rule for muting the mic. Trump replied by calling the Commission “ridiculous” and then segued to accusing them of purposely muting his mic in the 2016 debates with Hillary Clinton (which never happened). He said they are “not good people” and that “a lot of funny things go on with them.” Then he shifted to maligning the moderator of Thursday’s debate, Kristen Welker of NBC News, in a rambling word salad with an overflowing jug of whine:

“I just went through Savannah Guthrie. I knew what I was getting into and it worked out fine. But she was out of line. She was totally out of line. And so was Chris Wallace. I know you’ll defend him, but so was Chris Wallace. He was terrible. It was like two on one, and that was just fine with me. But at least they should admit that it was two on one.” […]

“Kristen Welker is terrible, I mean she is totally partisan. Her father and mother are big supporters of Joe Biden for a long time. They’re supporters of the Democrat Party. And she deleted her entire account. […] “Kristen Welker is far worse than [CSPAN’S Steve] Scully, but I do it anyway, I do it anyway, But this is the way it is. It’s so set up.”

For the so-called “Leader of the Free World,” Trump sure behaves like a petulant toddler who doesn’t get his way. And needless to say, he is lying about Welker. She is a straight-down-the-middle journalist who doesn’t exhibit any political bias in her reporting. The party affiliations of her parents, even if true, are irrelevant. And she did not delete her Twitter account.

Trump made no effort whatsoever to support his contention that Welker “can’t be neutral at all.” What’s more, He falsely asserted that the Commission changed plans to make foreign policy the sole topic of the debate. That notion was birthed entirely in his warped imagination. The Commission’s only reference to debate topics came in their announcement on October 16, of the topics that were chosen by the moderator.

For the record, the topics are fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security, and leadership. If those topics bother Trump it’s only because he knows he can’t discuss them with anything approaching coherence. Nevertheless, he sought to disparage Biden’s debating skills by telling his Fox friends that…

“There is a chain of thought, that there are a lot of people that say let him talk, because he loses his train, he loses his train, he loses his mind, frankly.”

If Trump actually manages to muster up the discipline to let Biden talk without interrupting (doubtful), he will be sorely disappointed as Biden demonstrates far a superior grasp of the issues and a relatable empathy for the American people. In fact, Trump’s strategy would work much better for Biden. Just let Trump talk. The more people hear him, the more they despise him. Every time Trump opens his mouth Biden’s lead in the polls gets bigger. So please proceed, Donnie.

UPDATE: Trump is proceeding with his manic media maligning. He reportedly stomped out of an interview for 60 Minutes with Leslie Stahl, and is now berating her as biased.

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

Trump has Already Abandoned His Campaign and the Presidency

Posted by on October 13, 2020 at 1:01 pm. 6 Comments :

As election day draws nearer, the beads of flop sweat on Donald Trump’s wrinkled brow are turning into a tsunami of orange cosmetics running down his face and turkey neck. There is the unmistakable stench of defeat emanating from him as his tweets and public commentaries grow ever more unhinged from sanity. Not that they were ever particularly well connected.

Donald Trump

The fuming desperation that is the driving force in the final days of the Trump regime is producing behavior that ranks near the lows of his public life. He’s issuing ludicrous demands to prosecute Barack Obama and Joe Biden for imaginary crimes. He’s making wild, baseless claims about communist Democrats plotting the destruction of America. And he’s continuing to downplay the tragic consequences of the coronavirus that he allowed to spread uncontrollably across the country. And even after being infected himself, he attempts to cast it as a positive development and a sort of messianic sacrifice he took on.

Naturally, Trump’s Ministry of Propaganda (aka Fox News) has backed Trump every step of the way. They have been devotedly fulfilling their mission to defend Dear Leader from all criticisms, while viciously attacking his critics. And joining him on the front lines of this battle are the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends.

On Tuesday morning the F&F crew was on the job. In a segment discussing the lopsided political horserace (video below), co-host Steve Doocy concedes that Biden is significantly outraising Trump. But he skims over that fact to extol the “enthusiasm” of the glassy-eyed disciples who populate Trump’s cult rallies. “You can’t buy that,” says Doocy, despite the fact that that’s exactly what Trump does by staging these ego-paloozas. Of course, Trump shares Doocy’s position on enthusiasm, as expressed in this tweet where he claims that “you win races with enthusiasm.”

Actually, Biden’s accumulated donations of massive amounts of money is a far better indicator of enthusiasm than getting unemployed hicks to show up for a free rally. Doocy then follows up by rattling off the names of cities to which Trump will be taking his Coronavirus Super Spreader Tour this week. Then he goes on to say that Trump’s tour schedule will soon expand into…

“…two or three events a day. And then in the final sprint – in the final week or so – he’s going to do half a dozen events a day. And think about it…if you are in those battleground states, and the President comes and gives one of those great big rallies, you’re gonna wind up with a lot of free media and a lot of excitement. And that is what he thinks got him over the finish line last time.”

What Doocy is describing here is the complete surrender of Donald Trump. It’s a surrender, first of all, from his duties as the alleged “president.” Apparently, he sees his only job now to be starring in pseudo-religious revival shows in airport hangers. Secondly, he’s conceding electoral defeat by abandoning any effort to persuade voters to back his candidacy. He’s focused solely on those who are already committed to the Church of Trump. And that isn’t nearly enough to win a national election.

What’s more, Doocy correctly notes that Trump’s 2016 victory was largely dependent on free media. Every news network irresponsibly and unfairly aired his rallies live and uninterrupted. But what Doocy – and Trump – fail to recognize is that 2020 is not 2016. This time around, the only network that is airing the Trump Show is Fox News. And, once again, the only audience he is reaching are the already converted and lost souls of Trumpism.

So Trump isn’t doing his job as president (which is a big plus for the country). And he isn’t doing his job as a candidate (which removes an annoyance from the airwaves). So what the heck is Trump doing? He’s laying the foundation for his post-presidency career on the road and in the media. But he may be in for a huge letdown.

How many of Trump’s “fans” will actually pay to see his smarmy, ego-logues over and over again? And his hostile, crackpot rants would likely wear out after a couple of episodes on TV. Which would leave Trump with nothing but his worthless name and a newly disinterested benefactor in Moscow. Oh, and a half dozen state prosecutors filing indictments for everything from tax fraud to crimes against the state. However, one thing is certain: With Trump circling the drain financially and legally, America will be great again.

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 Already Speculating About Super Trump Beating COVID-19

Posted by on October 2, 2020 at 11:53 am. 2 Comments :

The news that Donald Trump and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19 came as a surprise Thursday night, but not because it could not have been predicted. Trump’s disregard for practicing the most rudimentary safety guidelines stipulated by his own health experts (Dr. Fauci, CDC, Surgeon General, etc.) provided a reliable foreshadowing of what has now occurred.

Donald Trump, Coronavirus

The nation sends its thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. Never mind that Trump didn’t share that concern for the more than 200,000 Americans who have already died (and seven million plus infected). This is a nation with compassion that exceeds the callousness of its current “leader.” It’s just so sad that so many had to suffer because of Trump’s negligence and vanity to refuse to promote the sort of behavior (social distancing, mask wearing, etc.) that would have saved tens of thousands of lives. Even now, his administration has still not adopted a consistent, coherent strategy for the safe reopening of businesses and schools.

Throughout the past eight months, Fox News has been Trump’s accomplice in misinforming the public about the very real risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic. And that role hasn’t changed now that the President is among its victims. On Friday morning the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends engaged in their typical banter, exalting Trump and maligning his critics. And in the course of their daily propaganda production, co-host Brian Kilmeade had this to say:

“Let me take it to another level. People think – and there’s a lot of people out there who say that ‘If I get it I die.’ Seven million people have it, it’s terrible. Now what if the most famous person in the world gets it and in ten days it’s back out? Doesn’t that also send a message that you could say whatever you want in stats and graphs but I give you an example of somebody who’s in that danger age of 74 who is out there, gets it, and beats it? Could that also send a message?”

Fox Business host Stuart Varney initially suggested that people might become more cautious about following safety guidelines and be more resistant to the opening of bars, restaurants, etc. But he quickly shifted course and agreed with Kilmeade that a rapid recovery by Trump would “mitigate concern about the virus.” And they clearly regarded such a relaxation of concern as a good thing.

There is so much wrong with that attitude. First of all, people need to be concerned about a virus that has killed 200,000 Americans and counting. Any “mitigation” of concern is a sure path to more deaths. Secondly, if Trump recovers quickly, that tells us nothing about how the virus would affect anyone else. How many Americans have teams of physicians and first-class hospital facilities catering to their exclusive needs 24/7?

What Kilmeade is suggesting is that the “message” of a rapid recovery by Trump is that it affirms the belief among his cult disciples that Trump is omnipotent; a Superman in the White House who can rescue us from any and all threats. It’s a dangerously tunnel-blind faith in the false divinity of someone who has more in common with a sociopath than a savior.

For several weeks Trump has tried to distract the nation from the tragic consequences of the pandemic that he so badly mismanaged. He’s tried to shift the public discourse to civil unrest, the Supreme Court, phony assertions of election fraud, and whatever other manufactured controversy he recently saw on Fox News. But now the coronavirus is back at the top of the news cycle, and likely will remain there for the remainder of the campaign. And if there is anything positive to take away from this, it’s that it may result in people becoming more committed to safer behavior. And that alone could save thousands of lives.

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

Trump Reveals to Fox News His Plan to Get the Supreme Court to Declare Him President

Posted by on September 21, 2020 at 12:16 pm. 2 Comments :

This year appears to have a rather sadistic bent as it relentlessly piles on melodramas and anxieties. It’s not bad enough that we are suffering through a deadly pandemic that is being dreadfully mismanaged by Donald Trump. We are also having to deal with an economy in recession and civil unrest triggered by systemic racism. And all in an especially contentious election year.

Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

Adding to those national migraines is the tragic passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Not only has America lost an iconic figure who has made innumerable contributions to civil liberties and equal justice, but it thrusts the nation into a bitterly partisan battle to replace her. Republicans are shamelessly contradicting their previous insistence that the president shouldn’t nominate a Justice during an election year. Apparently that principle only applies to Democratic presidents. The GOP is perfectly OK with nominations by an impeached president who still has multiple criminal and civil indictments hanging over his head.

Making matters worse is Trump himself (as usual), who was “interviewed” twice in two days by Fox News. In a sit-down with Fox’s Mark Levin on Sunday night Trump whined that Fox News wasn’t sufficiently worshipful, and that they catered too much to Democrats. Are we sure that Trump even knows what channel he’s watching?

On Monday Trump visited the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends. This is apparently his new regular gig that he leaked last week. It was there that he unleashed some wild speculations and disturbing revelations. When the subject to Ginsburg’s replacement came up, Trump led off with a thoroughly disgraceful allegation maligning the integrity of Ginsburg and her family:

Ainsley Earhardt: Then you have Ruth Bader Ginsburg who told her granddaughter on her death bed, allegedly, that her dying wish was to have the next president choose her successor. How do you think all this plays out?
Trump: I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi. I would be more inclined to the second. Okay, it came out of the wind. It sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff. So that came out of the wind. Let’s see. I mean maybe she did and maybe she didn’t.”

Trump’s assertion is entirely without foundation – or decency. He is of such weak character that he can’t help politicizing this tragedy by invoking the names of his favorite foils in Congress. Rep. Schiff replied on Twitter, telling Trump that “This is low. Even for you.” But how difficult would it be to believe that Ginsburg had such feelings. She said so many times before. Unfortunately, Trump has an insatiable need to drag everything down to his loathsome level, even if it means desecrating the memory of a universally respected and honorable American. Even if it means despicably disparaging Ginsburg’s last wishes as a Democratic hoax.

Perhaps Trump can’t believe that Ginsburg would make what he curiously concedes is a “beautiful” statement (that “came out of the wind,” whatever that means) because it so far outside anything he is capable of. But he went on to expose his true agenda that reeks of the totalitarian aspirations for which he is well known:

“The bottom line is that we won the election. We have an obligation to do what’s right and act as quickly as possible. We should act quickly because we’re gonna have, probably, election things involved here, you know, because of the fake ballots they’ll be sending out. A terrible situation.”

Oh My! Our infamously inarticulate president is recognizing the threat of “election things” involved here. Never mind that those “things” are manufactured lies about mail-in voting that Trump has been telling for months without ever bothering to provide a scrap of evidence.

More importantly, Trump is confessing that his obsession with confirming a new Supreme Court Justice is rooted in his determination to steal the election. He is anticipating a legal battle for which he wants to make sure that he has a majority on the Court to rule in his favor and, if necessary, declare him the winner. This is the sort of court manipulation that is more common under dictators who pack their courts with subservients and sycophants.

What’s more, this is not an aberration or careless misstatement. Trump made similar remarks on Saturday at his latest cult rally and Super Spreader event in North Carolina. Worried about the prospect of there not being a declared winner on election night, Trump expressed his nefarious desire to put the decision in the hands of a court system that he has packed with allies:

“Now we’re counting on the federal court system to make it so that we can actually have an evening where we know who wins. Not where the votes are going to be counted a week later or two weeks later.”

This is Trump’s way of disenfranchising citizens who vote by mail. If their ballots are postmarked on or before election day, but the ballot processing and counting is not completed until some time after, Trump wants all of those votes to be invalidated. He is literally calling for the suppression of voter’s rights. And since more Democrats vote by mail, it’s easy to see why Trump is pursuing this. It is just the logical progression of his yearning for unchecked tyrannical power. And it must be vigorously challenged if America is to remain a free democratic republic.

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

Trump Shocks Fox News By Leaking Secret Deal for a Weekly Segment.

Posted by on September 15, 2020 at 12:48 pm. 4 Comments :

Throughout the 2020 presidential campaign, Donald Trump has affirmed his cowardly approach to the media. The vast majority of his interviews have been reserved for the Fox News Trump-fluffers that he knows will be gentle with him. He has virtually sealed himself in a Fox News bunker. But despite his tedious and impotent repetition of Stalinist inspired catch phrases like “fake news” and “the media is the enemy of the people,” Trump, as he recently admitted, spends hours watching Fox every day.

Donald Trump, Mask, Fox News

Trump’s reliance on glassy-eyed disciples like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, and Maria Bartiromo, is further evidence of the cult-like nature of his following. And no one can plausibly deny that Fox News isn’t fulfilling its role as Trump’s Ministry of Disinformation. It’s the same sort of mutually beneficial relationship that parasites enjoy with their willing hosts.

On Tuesday morning Trump visited once again with the network’s “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends. The “interview” was typical of the slobbering tongue baths that Trump is accustomed to on the network. The adoring hosts smiled vacantly as Trump accused Joe Biden of using drugs during previous debates and public appearances. They declined to follow up after he asserted that the governor of Nevada is going to rig the ballots in his state. They fawned over his phony “peace” agreement that entirely excluded the Palestinians. They valiantly kept straight faces when Trump blamed wildfires on “exploding trees.”

However, there was a moment of melodrama when Trump seemed to reveal a secret agreement that he made with his Fox News benefactors. It went something like this…

Trump: It’s good to be here. It’s great to be with my friends. I think we’re gonna do this, we’ve agreed to do it once a week in the morning, and I look forward to it. Like the old days.
Steve Doocy: I haven’t heard that. Well, that’s an exclusive.right there.

So Trump just broke the news of a programming agreement between him and Fox. Trump was also fondly recalling his pre-presidential days when he had a weekly segment on Fox and Friends called “Mondays with Trump.” However, now that he resides in the White House, such an arrangement would be wholly inappropriate for both Trump and Fox News. It was so improper that when Trump repeated the news later in the program, Doocy – probably on orders from producers in the control room – shot it down in this awkward exchange:

Trump: We’re going to do it every week. Every Monday, I think they said. And if we can’t do it on a Monday, we’ll do it on a Tuesday like we did today.
Doocy: You may want to do it every week but Fox has not committed to that. We’re going to take it on a case-by-case basis. And Joe Biden, as well, is always welcome to join us for 47 minutes like we just did with the president.

Note that Trump had already hung up by the time Doocy issued his denial that an agreement had been reached. But Trump was not expressing some vague desire to have a weekly segment. He explicitly said that “we’ve agreed to do it,” and referred to what “they said” about his new regular Fox gig. Of course knowing Trump, that could have been either a lie, a figment of his imagination, or the truth that was supposed to be confidential.

No matter, Trump’s casual acceptance of such a flagrantly unethical deal reveals how comfortable he is with embracing blatant propaganda. It also tells us that he has an hour available to chat with with his Fox friends every week. That’s important because it would significantly cut into his other primary duties: golfing, tweeting, and watching other programs on Fox News.

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

Fox News Spins Ludicrous Comparison of 9/11 to the Coronavirus

Posted by on September 11, 2020 at 2:43 pm. 3 Comments :

It’s the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It was a day that shook the nation, and the world, in a profoundly painful way that woke many up to the reality of our vulnerabilities. And on this solemn day there have been some respectful remembrances and thoughtful condolences for the victims, their families, and for the first responders who sacrificed so much.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Coronavirus

Of course, there have also been some grossly inappropriate attempts to hijack this day for political and/or personal advantage. Donald Trump was notorious for that when he bragged on the day of the tragedy that his building in Manhattan had just become the tallest in the city:

It should come as no surprise that Fox News joined in on the brazen exploitation of horror. On Friday morning the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends aired a segment that drew a preposterous comparison between 9/11 and the coronavirus pandemic. Co-host Brian Kilmeade unleashed this nauseating rant (video below) that had no basis in reality or even sanity. “New York is attacked,” Kilmeade began. “America is under siege.” And he continued…

“But at the same time, New York kept moving. In a very short time the stock market was open. People were still getting into subways. People still went to work. At the same time keeping an ear to the news to find out what’s next as we would mobilize in a matter of months and kill almost every single person that was involved in this. The first generation of Al Qaeda.”

“That’s what’s different now. This, we stopped. And America looked around and go ‘What do we do?’ We knew who the enemy was then. Here we’ve got this invisible virus that the Chinese are responsible for, but it doesn’t look like that’s an attack. “

Kilmeade is earning his reputation for being the stupidest man on Fox News. He apparently doesn’t realize that people were comfortable returning to the subways after 9/11 because they were in no danger of contracting an airplane crash from another passenger. Their coworkers were unlikely to infect them with a collapsing skyscraper.

Kilmeade is likewise unaware that the reason we “stopped” this time is because COVID-19 is a highly transmissible infectious agent for which there is no vaccine or treatment. His attempt to draw parallels between these two events is simply pathetic, but not at all unexpected from Fox News.

In addition to his absurd correlations and xenophobic insults aimed at China, Kilmeade also made some blatantly false statements. While America was attacked, we were not under siege. There was no invading army and no subsequent assault. The stock markets remained closed until September 17, the longest shutdown since 1933, which Kilmeade characterized as “short.” We did retaliate against the Taliban that was harboring Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. However, we did not kill “every single person that was involved.” Al Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden, wasn’t killed until ten years later.

Finally, Kilmeade’s description of Americans looking around wondering what to do utterly fails to explain why that’s so. It’s because we have a president who lied to the people about the peril this virus posed. Trump knew how deadly it was and purposefully withheld that information in order to advance his reelection prospects. He repeatedly downplayed the danger, oversold the development of a vaccine, and mocked those who advised and practiced safety guidelines such as social distancing and facial masks.

Trump also contradicted the experts and disseminated falsehoods about unproven cures such as hydroxychloroquine and injecting bleach. Even worse, he embraced quacks who ranted about “demon sperm” and spread crackpot conspiracy theories that only a fraction of those reported to have died from COVID-19 were actually its victims.

Is there any wonder why some Americans were baffled about what to do? Even now there are those who believe that the coronavirus is (as Trump has said) a hoax. Never mind the nearly 200,000 graves (6,400,000+ infected) and the grieving families and friends of those stricken. The confusion that Kilmeade referenced is almost entirely the fault of Trump. The remainder of the guilt lies with Kilmeade, and his confederates at Fox News, who continue to cover for him.

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