Fox host Ainsley Earhardt didn't just eulogize Roger Ailes, she all but suggested he should be memorialized on Mt. Rushmore.
I do not like to speak ill of the dead and I do sympathize with the Ailes loyalists who have been reeling for almost a year since his ouster in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. Who could not feel for Fox News’ Janice Dean as she sobbed on air after the news of Ailes’ death was announced, then explained his kindness after diagnosis of multiple sclerosis?
However, one should not deny that the network that Ailes started became a cesspool of sexual harassment, racism and divisiveness. James Murdoch, CEO of the parent company is reportedly embarrassed by the network. That's not counting Ailes' own predatory behavior.
But Earhardt’s eulogy could have been written by Ailes himself:
EARHARDT: Roger believed in hard work … Many people out there would say that he saved this country by starting the Fox News Channel.
[…]
He went out in such a sad way but who doesn’t have sins, we all have our sins, we all have our cross to bear and Roger I will love you forever.
Earhardt closed by saying, “I hope that you rest in peace, Roger, and I hope that you are at peace.”
I will go along with that last part. The man's life ended in disgrace and I doubt the $40 million he received in severance was enough to erase the pain.
So I harbor no malice toward Ailes nor his family but I won’t pretend he was something he was not, either.
Watch Earhardt above, from the May 18, 2017 Fox & Friends.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
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