Since the attacks on 9/11, Fox "News" was the most ardent and favorable Bush 43 supporter, no US President could have asked for a bigger cheerleader. It was of no consequence the magnitude of the lie or blunder du jour, any negative critique of the Bush/Cheney Administration was not tolerated and those guilty of truth-telling were sent to Purgatory. That is, until that Kenyan Usurper™ (h/t driftglass) took over and stopped making America great.
Once the name Bush became toxic and the GOP lost two consecutive bids for the White House, you could criticize any member of the Bush family without dire consequences.
It might have helped Jeb in his efforts to garner the GOP nomination if he was aware that the once obsequious Fox 'News,' more specifically, Roger Ailes, was colluding with the enemy: Donald J Trump. Too bad for Jeb that he was in the dark on this one.
Gabriel Sherman authored an article in NY Mag:
Final Days: Trump’s advisers are working hard to plan their own futures while riding out the roller-coaster end of the campaign.
MSNBC's Kate Snow spoke with Sherman about his conversations with Trump and other campaign staffers, past and present.
SNOW: You write about Roger Ailes, formerly of Fox News and his involvement. What did he do for Trump because I'm not sure we really know this until now. Is he still involved?
SHERMAN: What is fascinating is that I learned, in the course of reporting this piece, that Ailes was recruited to the campaign by Paul Manafort in July while he was still running Fox News to be an early adviser on debate prep and also to help stage the Republican National Convention. So a news network chief is actively involved in the running of a presidential campaign. While still running Fox News during all the sexual harassment allegations.
Sherman's article details the behind the scenes day-to-day with Donald, Paul Manafort, Roger Ailes, Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway. The only way to succeed at preventing Trump from self-sabotage is to trick him into agreeing with you, he must believe that it's his idea. This is why so many have given up and left his campaign in frustration.
According to a Republican briefed on the meeting, Ailes attended a session at Trump’s penthouse shortly before the RNC, but “Donald wanted to talk about anything but the debates.” Ailes did suggest that Trump make an appearance at the convention every night to create drama, which he did. (Reached for comment, Ailes lawyer Susan Estrich said: “Roger has been friends with Donald for 30 years and has offered informal advice from time to time.”)
As things were spiraling downward, the mood changed. Sherman explained:
When I asked one senior Trump adviser to describe the scene inside, he responded: “Think of the bunker right before Hitler killed himself. Donald’s in denial. They’re all in denial.”
Another NY Times columnist put it this way:
In Trumpworld as Hitler’s Bunker terms,” the FBI investigation is “like when Goebbels thought FDR’s death would save the Nazi regime.”
The latest unorthodox antics by FBI Director James Comey are keeping the Trump campaign alive, albeit on life support. If Abedin's emails reveal nothing, the Trumpers are counting on the short-term memory of the American people and what is triggered by the code word EMAIL.
This spiral might never have been possible if Trump wasn't catapulted to the top of the list by the head of Fox "News." Trump didn't oust the whole GOP clown car without a lot of inside help. We shall see if Jeb has anything to say about Ailes.
