June 13, 2023

An Appalling Moment, Even by Fox News’ Standards

With its coverage of Trump’s post-arrest speech, Rupert Murdoch’s network sunk to a shocking new low.

Andrew Harnik/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

In his first speech following his arrest on Tuesday, Donald Trump hit on a series of talking points. Hunter Biden and Burisma. Hillary Clinton’s emails. Bill Clinton’s sock drawer.

But for people who watched the speech on Fox News—MSNBC and CNN refused to air it—one moment stood out. The network showed a split-screen shot of Trump alongside President Joe Biden, who happened to be shaking his fist during an emphatic speech at the White House. The chyron read: WANNABE DICTATOR SPEAKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HAVING HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ARRESTED.

The moment was egregious on many levels, and not just because Biden is, despite Fox’s best efforts, a democratically elected leader whose powers are limited by the legislative and judicial branches. There is no evidence that Biden had anything to do with Trump’s arrest. Federal prosecutors brought evidence to a grand jury, which determined that there was enough evidence to support charges against Trump—standard procedure for federal cases. For a network with “News” in its title to broadcast an outright lie is appalling. But even more concerning is the hint of the type of tactics right-wing media are likely to deploy as the presidential race continues. Why dive into the complexities of a complicated indictment when you can paint it as a politically motivated hit and call it a day?

Trump used similar language to describe the arrest during his speech. “A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges,” he said, before invoking the election conspiracy theory rhetoric that contributed to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. “This is called ‘election interference’ and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election,” he said. “More importantly, it’s a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or Communist nation.”

So much for the notion that Fox News had turned against Trump. It’s back, and slimier than ever.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate