“Fox and Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade tried to preemptively shield his show from ex-President Donald Trump’s wrath in an extremely dignified display on Thursday morning.
Interesting…Murdoch newspapers are putting out editorials turning against Trump, and now Fox & Friends talks about a CNN poll that shows he’s losing steam with Republican voters. Kilmeade’s panic over Trump going after them is also instructive, odds are there are discussions at Fox about how to pull away from Trump and Kilmeade is a true believer fighting against it. Or, he’s just terrified that Trump might say something mean about him and get his minions to go after him. Kilmeade sure isn’t showing and bravery or journalistic integrity sucking up to Trump like this, but that’s not a surprise.
I think it might be at least as much a sop for the audience as it is for Trump. There was that great Jay Rosen thread on Twitter before the J6 hearings began in which he made the argument that by not broadcasting them, Fox was actually protecting its audience, looking out for its welfare. This little bit here might be very much along those same lines.
On a different but kindred topic WAPO has an interesting article today that kinda speaks to how tfg plays these kind of things… I’ve used up all my gift articles for the month, maybe someone else can gift the entire article?
Trump’s response to the Pulitzer announcement highlighted the perils of acceding to his baseless demands: “If the Pulitzer Prize has become a blatant acknowledgement of false, liberal political propaganda, then the Pulitzer Board should just say so,” he stated.That’s the Trump trap — one in which any honest decision draws his condemnation.
At a media event this month on misinformation and the future of journalism, former Post reporter Wesley Lowery said, “We spend so much time in our industry trying to appease lunatics instead of just telling the truth, which is our job.” The Pulitzers’ decision to review the 2018 prizes in the national category amounts to lunatic-appeasement of the high-maintenance sort:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”.
When “The Donald” comes at you challenge him publicly to a debate then run him down, publicly, when the Loser refuses.