Laura Ingraham and Martha MacCallum sent their audience, as well as the Viewer-in-Chief, a clear message that “we’re with Dear Leader Trump über alles” in his war on the First Amendment right to a free press.
Ingraham joined The Story with Martha MacCallum Wednesday night to discuss Trump’s latest rampage against our free press. He was triggered by NBC’s report that he ignorantly and frighteningly said he wants to increase the U.S. nuclear arsenal by tenfold. That followed closely on the heels of reporting that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called Trump “a moron” and Republican Senator Bob Corker publicly questioning Trump’s fitness for office.
Neither Ingraham nor MacCallum specifically called for a crackdown on freedom of the press during three minutes that seemed devoted more to soothing Donald Trump’s ego than to informing about his war on the Constitution. But they made it clear which side they were rooting for.
INGRAHAM: This [the NBC report] is a hit job. It was done to amplify Corker and again plant seeds in the minds of the American public that we have a president who’s not really tethered to reality, that doesn’t really know what’s going on and, Martha, let me just say that I know for a fact that when Donald Trump goes into meetings on the issues that I care about - trade and immigration, especially – he is brutal and questioning everyone in that meeting, whether it’s the trade rep or whether it’s the Commerce secretary or everybody in between. He is engaged, he asks questions and sometimes they’re questions that certainly I wouldn’t know the answer to and people who are new to politics wouldn’t know the answer to. There’s nothing wrong with that.
There was a whole lot of deflection going on there. For one thing, the issue raised by Corker, et al. was Trump’s recklessness with foreign affairs and how he’s leading us down a path toward World War III. Trump’s handling of trade or immigration has nothing to do with that.
Perhaps more importantly, Corker told The New York Times that the vast majority of Republican senators share his concerns about Trump's fitness. “[O]f course they understand the volatility that we’re dealing with and the tremendous amount of work that it takes by people around him to keep him in the middle of the road,” Corker said, referring to his colleagues and Trump.
Trump’s ignorant rashness with nukes and foreign policy is way more significant than (supposedly) asking tough questions about trade as a layman.
Yet anchor MacCallum let Ingraham’s deceptive deflection pass unchallenged.
Ingraham continued by slyly conflating Trump’s alleged mojo on trade with NBC’s report about the “more nukes!” meeting. It was that meeting that also reportedly prompted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to call Trump a “moron.”
INGRAHAM: [Trump] wants us to be the strongest, the best, the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, on all levels. And so, he says he didn’t say it, he says he wants us to be the strongest and the biggest and I think a lot of journalists hear that and I think they’re horrified that “How could Donald Trump ask any questions about that?”
They’re always gonna paint it in the worst possible light. This is more Washington intrigue. I really – I don’t think most Americans are paying much attention to it.
MacCallum nodded complicitly. Then she did her part for the Dear Leader Ego Restoration Cause by painting him as the victim of a horrible press.
MACCALLUM: You know and I know that this is not going to change because there’s always going to be someone in that room … who’s going to walk out of that room [and tell the press] that he didn’t get it, that he wasn’t up to speed, to instill that bit of fear in people’s minds that says he’s not up to the job. So on top of doing the job, he’s got to constantly battle that 92% negative-story rate in the press. It’s on top of the presidency, it’s another heavy weight to bear.
If Trump is not up to the job of dealing with the press and our First Amendment, maybe he should resign. You know that Fox would be all over that message 24/7 if President Barack Obama had threatened Fox News.
Watch Ingraham and MacCallum demonstrate how fealty to Trump tops love for the Constitution and democracy on Fox above, from the October 11, 2017 The Story with Martha MacCallum.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
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