Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:54 pm
Just when Friday Fox Follies thought this week’s column would look at How Fox News Unwittingly Destroyed the Republican Party, viewing it through the prism of President Obama On Fox News Sunday, when — suddenly — Bill O’Reilly Just Out-Racist’d Donald Trump. Then came news from CNN: Fox’s Megyn Kelly Meets Privately With Donald Trump, which almost broke the internet.
GET ME REWRITE!!!
A Comprehensive Guide To Megyn Kelly’s History Of Right-Wing Media Misinformation doesn’t mention her shilling for ratings, but that’s what it must have been when Fox anchor Megyn Kelly meets with Donald Trump to ‘clear the air’.
Last week, in Blackmail & Backstage Buddies, FFF reported on the decades of cozy behind-the-scenes tête-à-têtes between Donald Trump and just about everyone at the Fox “News” Channel. Megyn Kelly Meets With Donald Trump is not something that can happen unless sanctioned and brokered by Chief Honcho Roger Ailes. He had probably hoped to keep it quiet that Megyn Kelly clears the air with Donald Trump, but Politico tells us:
Reports of the meeting first emerged after NBC News’ Ayman Mohyeldin spotted Kelly entering Trump Tower in the morning, with NBC’s Beth Fouhy being the first person to tweet the sighting.
The Wrap asks the musical question Is Something Brewing Between Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump?, while People Magazine notes Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly Meet to ‘Clear the Air’ After Hostilities, and The Hollywood Reporter … err … reports Megyn Kelly Meets With Donald Trump in New York. The news that Megyn Kelly Met With Donald Trump To ‘Clear The Air’ came a few hours before Megyn Kelly Booed by Audience at Fox News Trump Town Hall.
She can’t win for losing.
If you don’t think this Donald Detente is all about ratings, I’ve got a Fox “News” story to sell you.
As I mentioned weeks ago, Kelly’s got a Baba Walters-style show coming up on the main Fox Network. They know an interview with the Orange Candidate will produce blockbuster ratings. While there’s No Trump interview yet for Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, but they’re talking, The Hollywood Reporter .. err … reports about TV Ratings: Megyn Kelly Tops Wednesday After Trump Meeting. Imagine what an interview with her antagonist would do in the over night’s.
Meanwhile, WashPo notes Megyn Kelly made up with Donald Trump. [And] Everyone else on the right will do the same, while — IRONY ALERT! — Glenn Beck Thinks Fox Has a ‘Problem’ with Megyn Kelly…
True story: I once shook hands with Glenn Beck when Fox had a Glenn Beck problem. Eventually he was kicked to the curb as sponsors abandoned his show in droves. Fox doesn’t have that problem with Kelly.
Speaking of cozy behind-the-scenes tête-à-têtes, after Kelly met with him Donald Trump, Roger Ailes Dine at Fox News Headquarters. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall during their nefarious backstage scheming.
TRUMP LEFTOVERS:
Will Judge Jeanine DISCLOSE during her Trump interview that he GAVE HER $20,000?! • Roger Stone, Eric Bolling now pushing another idiotic conspiracy theory about the GOP establishment • Fox & Friends “Proves” Anti-Trump Intolerance With “Joey Salads” Video • Trump Ally Roger Stone Attacks Mark Levin: “Whore,” “Cockroach,” “Worm,” “Prostitute,” “Paid Shill For Ted Cruz” • Fox Suggests Sanders Supporters Will Vote For Trump • Fox Contributor: CIA Director Brennan Was “Clearly Playing His Part In The Political Campaign” By Ruling Out Waterboarding
It looks more and more like Fox “News” has chosen its candidate, no matter how many mean things he’s said about the station and Megyn Kelly.
BLAMIN’ ‘BAMA: This regular feature opens the week with Chris Wallace Explains How Fox News Sunday Got Obama to Finally Agree to Interview and closes with President Obama Interview Delivers Big Ratings for Fox News Sunday. In between, we got a whole load of this:
Chris Wallace Grills Obama: Are You Downplaying the Threat of Terrorism? • Chris Wallace Didn’t Want To Hear Obama Criticize GOP Candidates • Watch Chris Wallace practically beg Obama for sound-bite blaming Fox News for “perception” of his failed presidency • Fox News Presses Obama on Clinton Emails, Then Criticizes Him For Commenting • Obama Loses Patience Over Clinton Email Grilling by Fox: ‘How Many Times Do I Have to Say it, Chris?’ • Obama on Hillary Emails: ‘She Has Not Jeopardized America’s National Security’
As FFF predicted last week, President Obama would use the opportunity to uncork a jeroboam of truth, whether Wallace wanted to drink it or not:
Obama Storms Fox News And Destroys GOP Clinton Email Conspiracy Theory • Obama Tears Into GOP for Supreme Court Obstruction on Fox News Sunday • Obama To Fox Host On Trump’s Rise: ‘Republicans Have Their Own TV Station’ • Obama explains Trump’s rise to Fox host Chris Wallace: ‘Republicans have their own TV station’
In the aftermath of the interview, nothing has really changed:
Fox News Reporter Asks
Whether President Obama Knew
About Private Clinton Server
On Fox News, You’re Not
Man Enough To Be President
If You’re Not Willing To Torture
Watch and read along:
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke doesn’t believe a single word President Barack Obama uttered during his interview with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” telling Fox’s Steve Doocy on Monday that Obama had three objectives when he entered the White House in 2009, none of which was to be a unifier.
Those objectives, Clarke alleged on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning, were to “destroy American exceptionalism, obliterate the U.S. Constitution and eradicate the Republican Party.”
“He’s done pretty well with those three objectives, but he’s done nothing else for the American people,” Clarke said. “We used to be the envy of the world before he became president, but I don’t think that that’s the case anymore.”
Clarke added that Obama is “disconnected from reality” and is not respected by other world leaders, even the ones who say they respect him, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
That’s why Blamin’ ‘Bama is a regular FFF feature.
RACIST O’REILLY: This week we learned that Bill O’Reilly’s Next ‘Killing’ Subject: WWII-Era Japan. One can only wonder whether he’ll revive WWII racial slurs. FFF has been calling Loofah Lad a racist as often as possible, but — to be fair — only when he deserves it.
While Cable News Largely Silent On Report Finding “Systemic Racism” In Chicago Police Department, this week Donald Trump and Bill O’Reilly discussing the problem of black unemployment is about what you’d expect: Racist O’Reilly asks Trump: How can you help blacks get jobs when they ‘have tattoos on their foreheads’? That’s right, all the problems in the Black “precincts” is because, as O’Reilly Tells Trump, Blacks Are “Ill-Educated And Have Tattoos On Their Forehead”.
You’ll want to read The History Of Bill O’Reilly’s Tattoo Obsession in order to get a better understanding of Racist O’Reilly [who feels]: ‘America Gets a Bad Rap’ on Race Relations.
In other words, he’s blind to racism. He doesn’t even see it: Bill O’Reilly Insists: In My ‘Fairly Expansive’ World, ‘I Don’t Know Any Racists’ as Bill O’Reilly Supports His Claim That He Doesn’t “Know Any Racists” By Pointing Out He Has A Black Assistant. As I suggested last week, all The Falafel King need do to see a racist is look in the mirror — or deep into the eyes of his BFF vanilla milkshake buddy Donald Trump:
O’Reilly to Trump: How Will You
Overcome the Perception You’re a Racist?
Bill O’Reilly Revives Black
Crime Canard To Defend Mass
Incarceration of African Americans
Fox Contributor: African-American
Voters “Probably Like David Duke A
Little More Than They Like Trump”
Bernard Goldberg: Trump “Hasn’t
Done Anything To My Knowledge That
Would Offend So Many Black People”
Watch Bill O’Reilly’s
Republican Math Incredibly
Wipe Away Trump Racism
Trump Defends O’Reilly: I Don’t
Think He’s a ‘Total Vulgarian’
However, the “grievance industry,”as Loofah Lad calls anyone who demands Racial Equality, had a whole lot to say about Racist O’Reilly:
Tavis Smiley Slams O’Reilly’s ‘Tattoos On Their Foreheads’ Race Baiting • Roland Martin Challenges Bill O’Reilly to Debate Over ‘Many Blacks Ill-Educated’ Remark • Tavis Smiley: Bill O’Reilly’s “white supremacist language” proves the Fox News host is a “race-baiter” • “Bill O’Reilly is afraid of this black man”: Roland Martin challenges Fox host to debate “anytime, any day, anywhere” • Bill O’Reilly Is Still a Racist M*th*rf*ck*r
As always, the best take comes from a comedian as Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore ridicules Bill O’Reilly’s racist ‘tattoo’ remark. Watch #ForeheadSolidarity – Bill O’Reilly’s Racist Tattoo Fantasy:
And, while The Falafel King gets some things right this week, he got a whole lot wrong, as usual:
RIGHT:
Even Bill O’Reilly Labels
Mississippi’s New Anti-LGBT
Law “Discriminatory”
WRONG:
O’Reilly Refuses to Believe
Fox’s Own Poll Showing
Sanders Beating All GOPers
Fox News Bill O’Reilly
Doesnt Think Democrats Care
About Your Physical Safety
Because, Loofah Lad’s looking out for you. He says so himself.
HANNITY THE HAGIOGRAPHER: This week Scammity had a meltdown when pundits pointed out the obvious: How Sean Hannity Managed To Interview Trump 41 Times And Never Once Made News:
Trump has appeared on Hannity an astonishing 41 times since he announced his campaign last June, often for the entire hour. (On five occasions, Hannity replayed extensive excerpts from previous appearances by Trump.) In other words, you can watch Hannity interview Trump about once a week.
Hannity’s role is less of an interviewer than a member of Trump’s campaign staff. During his appearances, Hannity seeks to tamp down controversies, talk up Trump’s poll numbers, and tout his policy proposals. Hannity’s Trump is a reliable conservative with specific ideas who isn’t afraid to take on “PC” culture. Trump’s critics in the media, according to Hannity, are “dumb” “idiots” who don’t understand what’s happening in America.
Hannity has managed to interview Trump for hours without ever coming even close to making news.
Effectively, Hannity has given Trump something that is unprecedented in American politics: A serialized infomercial spanning nearly an entire year, targeted at the most reliable Republican voters, but presented to the public as “news.”
In fact, he defends Trump:
Hannity Freaks Out: Nothing Trump
Said is Racist… ‘That’s Total BS!”
Sean Hannity Ignores Trump’s
Sexist Attacks Against Hillary Clinton
Hannity Salivates Over
Donald Trump’s Upcoming
Viciousness To Hillary Clinton
Sean Hannity Concern Trolls
CIA For Refusing To Torture
However, after taking heat from all quarters, Sean “Where Did The Freedom Concerts Money Go” Scammity accidentally blurted out the truth:
Hannity Cites His GOP Mojo
As The Reason He’s Being
Attacked As A Trump Hack
After Battery Charges Dropped,
Trump Campaign Manager Goes
To Hannity For Softball Interview
Lewandowski Speaks Out on
Fox About Fields: ‘Everything
Is Politically Correct Nowadays’
Yet, my fave Scammity story this week was this tiny, inside baseball, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bun fight:
CNN’s Sally Kohn threatens to
spill the beans on Sean Hannity
after he leaks her private email!
In case you missed it, @seanhannity cited something I wrote in our private email exchange on air today. Hmm. What should I leak now? 🙀
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) April 8, 2016
Imagine my disappointment to learn that she was only joking:
OMG people *really* need better sense of humor. I was joking. Not gonna spill anything. And @seanhannity knows it. https://t.co/D2L3LV29Ju
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) April 9, 2016
Or is she? I’m hoping eventually not.
WOMEN, WAGES, & MONEY MATTERS: All of the following stories seem to fall under this rubric:
Fox Dismisses Obama’s Remarks
On Importance Of Equal Pay Day
How Fox News Dismisses
The Gender Pay Gap
Myths & Facts: The Gender Pay
Gap And Need For Equal Pay
Fox is not just against equal pay. They are against consent:
Fox hosts lose it over having
to ask permission to touch
women: ‘Yes means yes’ is ‘insane’
“The real story here now is, the law is now controlling intimate relationships between men and women,” [Stuart] Varney complained. “Lawyers [and] the law should not be in the middle of an intimate dating relationship between the sexes.”The host ranted that the “no means no” rule had morphed into what he called the “Yes Means Yes movement,” which requires women give permission before men can touch them.
“The young lady must be asked, may I hold your hand. Failure to ask that question where she says yes is an assault!” Varney exclaimed, slapping his desk in disgust.
That opinion is simply an assault on our intelligence. It’s also an assault on our intelligence to believe the objective is to be FAIR & BALANCED when:
Fox Business Turns To
Restaurant Executives To Attack
Fight For $15 Demonstrations
Fox Host Notorious For Poor
Shaming Now Outraged That Casino
Mogul Said “Nobody Likes” Poor People
Fox Continues Obsession
With The Treadmill Shrimp
It’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect.
STILL WATTERS; STILL OFFENSIVE: It’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect when Fox News’ Jesse Watters stalks Princeton campus to shout “ghetto” in black students’ faces:
Meanwhile:
Jesse Watters Tag Teams With
Andrea Tantaros For A Stream Of
Anti-Clinton Smarm And Smears
Jesse Watters Smacks Around Juan
Williams on Obama-Hillary Email Deal
After another teacher was fired for an [alleged] assault on a student, we get Chaos in the Classroom: Watters’ World Investigates Teachers Under Siege from Out of Control Students. Watch:
I’m glad I don’t live in Watters’ World.
THIS WEEK IN FOX “NEWS” BIGOTRY:
Mississippi’s Anti-LGBT Law Is
Based On Fox News’ “Religious
Freedom” Horror Stories
Fox’s Ablow: “Transgenderism”
Paves The Way For “People
To Declare Their Own Races”
Fox Contributor: Celebrities
Boycotting Anti-LGBT Laws
Are “Bullying … An Entire State”
Fox’s Dr. Ablow Blames
Transgenders For Rachel Dolezal
Tucker Carlson: LGBT Rights
Advocates Are “Out-of-Touch”
With “Average Person”
THIS WEEK IN FOX “NEWS” ISLAMOPHOBIA:
Fox Fans Want To Bomb Hamtramck
After Pete Hegseth’s Hit Job On The City
Fox News viewers
take to Facebook to
say ‘Bomb Hamtramck’
The Fox “News” Channel, channeling all the hate all the time.
MY BFF: My new best cyber-friend, Jonathan Hoenig, shoots down Eric Bolling’s ABSURD plan to make Mexico pay for Trump’s wall. To be fair: Most of what Bully Boy Bolling has to say is absurd.
PASSAGES: The last time FFF mentioned Rupert Murdoch was to congratulate him on his nuptials to a former-Mick Jagger squeeze and fashion model. Or was it to make fun of him? I forget. No matter because ‘It was sweet!’ Jade Jagger gushes about former step-mother Jerry Hall’s wedding to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Meanwhile, I guess the old bachelor pad isn’t good enough for Hall as Rupert Murdoch puts his New York house up for sale for $29m.
That’s not all the headlines he made this week, much of which concerned his NYC tabloid:
Rupert Murdoch man and Kevin
Rudd escort exits The New York Post
Mr Allan was recently spotted wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on The Post’s newsroom floor, according to The New York Times. The move was an apparent gag in response to rumours he could become Mr Trump’s media adviser.
Mr Allan dismissed the Trump job speculation as “not true”, when asked by Fairfax Media last month.
News Corp editor Col Allan
to retire after four decades
at helm of Murdoch papers
Longtime Post editor-in-chief
Col Allan is retiring
While we’re on the subject of management, early in the week we learned that Fox News Looks to Save Roger Ailes From Testifying in Reality Television Lawsuit. However, then we learned that Roger Ailes Won’t Face Deposition in Lawsuit, despite his having his fingers all over it.
I’ve saved the biggest news in this section for last:
Anna Kooiman crowned 2016 Azalea queen
As if North Carolina didn’t have enough problems.
CLINTON CONTEST: FFF is still offering a prize to the first person who spots a positive Fox “News” story on Hillary Clinton. While we’re waiting:
Fox Hypes Anti-Clinton Ad
Without Disclosing Fox Contributor
Karl Rove’s Ties To Super PAC
Fox Pushes Conspiracy That
Obama Is Protecting Clinton On
Emails Due To “Personal Conflict”
This as a guest was allowed to blurt out the truth:
Fox Guest Calls Out Network For
“Editorializing” And “Speculating”
On Clinton Email Investigation
FOX BYTES: Fox News Promotes Fallacy That Heavy WI Voter Turnout Means No Voter Suppression Occurred • Million Student March Organizer Interview With Fox’s Neil Cavuto Goes Off the Rails • Fox ‘Forgets’ Mark Fuhrman During O.J. Simpson Trial Critique
Headly Westerfield is Head Writer at the Not Now Silly Newsroom and your genial host at Fox Follies & Fallacies. He’s also Twitterlicious.
- Friday Fox Follies: Trump Tee Vee - Fri, Jun 23rd, 2017
- Friday Fox Follies: Fair & Balanced No More - Fri, Jun 16th, 2017
- Friday Fox Follies: Comey Comedy Cavalcade - Fri, Jun 9th, 2017
