Podcast #230 - Fox News and The Trump-A-FLOP-ooza

Last week as the Republican Party held a 14-hour Midterm election extravaganza Fox News, the network most closely aligned with the president and the GOP, downplayed the event.Instead of focusing its cameras on the speakers who appeared live onstage at the convention the network spent most of its airtime on a luxury box at the American Airlines Center. There in a makeshift television studio Fox News hosts, popular Republican lawmakers, podcasters and pundits discussed the midterm election.For The Five, the network’s top-rated show, the corporate leadership at Fox chose to include only one segment about the convention then moved onto other news stories.The cast of The Five stayed in New York City as did Jesse Watters.Twenty underperforming Republican candidates from around the country spoke during the event. Fox News only featured five of them.During its coverage of the convention it almost seemed at times as if Fox News was aggressively trying to cover up what was happening onstage. On the first day of the event The network completely erased an extended segment dedicated to the UFC.Fox News might have suspected the event would be a flop as the ratings for the first night of the convention ended up being around three million. In comparison the 2024 Republican convention averaged over 19 million viewers per night.The broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC were unable to include the event without being in violation of the FCC fairness doctrine since there was no equivalent event for the Democratic Party. Fox News is able to show the convention because cable networks are not subject to the same FCC rules.The convention was also carried by two other Nielsen-rated channels Newsmax and NewsNation. It was also streamed on various platforms across the internet including Fox Nation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Every now and then I see cracks in the matrix of the well-formed Fox News propaganda apparatus. President Trump’s many manic social media posts, the failing war in Iran and his rapidly sinking poll numbers are all taking their toll on the network.Fox News hosts are tired of the nonstop chaos that is Trump 2.0.Last week multiple Fox News hosts appeared to almost malfunction as they spoke openly and candidly about problems with Trump’s economic policies, the high price of gasoline and the prospect of major losses in the midterms.They seemed to be trying to signal to their glorious leader to change course. Fox News management knows its programming is a conduit to Trump’s rapidly deteriorating mind and fragile ego.We’ll find out during his speech at the midterm convention if he got the message. I doubt he has.Fox News also spent a lot of time covering the Lindsay Clancy trial, various crime stories and the pre-trial hearing for Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk.Fox & Friends was the only program that spent any time or energy on the war with Iran. The segments about the conflict were very sparse and did not include much commentary.In stark contrast the conflict was the top topic on The PBS News Hour. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

If desperation had a scent all of Midtown Manhattan would be overwhelmed from the stench generated by Fox News headquarters. What started out as a dream for the network on January 20, 2025, has turned into a nightmare of another never-ending war in the Middle East, high gas prices, a rise in the popularity of socialism, and a mentally declining president who is more focused on his vanity projects than his campaign promises.Fox News was so panicked the network dedicated entire segments to Hasan Piker, a controversial leftwing Twitch streamer who is not well known outside of his specific audience.The network has brought up Piker and his problematic statements for the past few months. Last week his name showed up in the transcripts 73 times which was more often than the words Israel, China, Biden, gas or even midterm appeared.The network is determined to make Piker the new face of the Democratic Party even though he has an army of critics among prominent left of center lawmakers and political pundits.He also has made no move to seek public office or engage in fundraising at a scale that would rival a PAC or mega donor.Other than Fox’s obsessive coverage of Piker the network was a jumbled mess of pop culture stories, fantasies involving Hillary Clinton, deceptive segments about an interview with Abdul El-Sayed and fawning praise for the glorious leader - Donald J. Trump. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Fox News took things to another level last week in the network’s attempts to avoid talking about Trump’s disastrous war in the Middle East, high gas prices, a sluggish economy and the president’s obsession with his gilded building projects.The network spent over 1/3 of its airtime on the shows I covered last week trashing Democrats mostly Abdul El-Sayed and Angie Nixon.Nixon is a talented and charismatic Florida state rep who easily won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. She is unapologetically loud and known for sharing her opinions on the House floor with a pink bullhorn.She is also the exact type of politician Fox News loves to target and demonize - a powerful and intelligent Black woman.Other major stories last week included a trial involving a mother with postpartum psychosis, a student led cocaine ring at Penn State, a brawl at a Major League Baseball game and the never-ending scandal involving a comment made by a WNBA player about transgender athletes.Fox News also continued to try to change public sentiment surrounding enormous data centers and the use of AI.Meanwhile gas prices remained elevated while Trump’s approval numbers plummeted. Measles cases continued to rise across the country while the U.S. food supply has become increasingly dangerous with recalls of beef, blueberries, jalapeños and even popsicles.The national debt also reached a staggering $40 trillion last week.While everything crumbles around him Trump led the press on an extended tour of construction sites for a planned White House helipad and his grand ballroom/security fortress.Fox News also largely ignored a growing scandal involving Natalie Harp, a close presidential aide whom the Secret Service is worried has an unhealthy relationship with Donald J. Trump. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

For weeks the folks at Fox kept telling their audience that diehard communist revolutionaries were on a mission to destroy the American way of life. The movement started in deep blue congressional districts in New York City but was quickly spreading across the nation to envelop the heartland.Thanksgiving celebrations would be canceled; football games would be replaced by Pagan transgender drum circles and air conditioners would be confiscated by the state and smashed by blue-haired women studies majors.On the night of Wisconsin’s primary when it became clear that the Democratic Socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong would be defeated by a moderate, I could almost hear a primal scream coming from the offices of Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan.Every script for nearly every program was going to have to be rewritten. Even though Hong didn’t win the folks at Fox News kept talking about her for days after the election.The network also made a slight adjustment in its messaging. Both Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt sang the praises of free market economies and daring bold entrepreneurs. Miranda Devine from the NY Post and folks from Fox Business warned of the dangers of government run healthcare systems.Fox News also managed to stretch a minor scandal about a statement made by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham of the WNBA into a four-week story. Cunningham made a statement about excluding transgender athletes in women’s sports and the public reacted both negatively and positively to her opinion.It was astonishing to watch the network react with such panic and indignation over an incident where no one was fired or sanctioned and no actual transgender athlete existed.The folks at Fox News also avoided talking about the war with Iran. The network still covered it but segments about the conflict were short and vague. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week Fox News attempted to revive long since dead horrors for its audience - the COVID-19 pandemic, outrage over a transgender athlete scandal that did NOT include a transgender athlete and commies, commies and more commies.In late June the Supreme Court ruled that states were allowed to ban transgender athletes from K-12 and colligate sports programs for women and girls. This essentially barred transgender athletes from competing in women and girls’ sports in 29 states.The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committee announced last July that it would ban transgender women from competing. Several other sports leagues followed suit including the International Cycling Union, World Aquatics, World Boxing Organization, World Athletics Council, and the National Athletics Council (NCAA).Although the issue of transgender women and girls competing in women’s athletic competitions is not completely settled the SCOTUS case and athletic league bans have greatly reduced the likelihood of transgender women and girls dominating women’s sports.Sophie Cunningham, a WNBA player, voiced support for barring transgender girls in an ESPN article in late July. Fox News acted as if Cunningham was the Rosa Parks of women’s basketball.After the article was published Cunningham wasn’t fired or disciplined. An Adidas shoe she sponsored sold out in nearly 24 hours. She was praised and criticized for her statement with dueling protesters at some of her games.Cunningham is entitled to her opinion of course, but the hysteria seemed displaced as there is no transgender athlete in the WNBA. Even before the SCOTUS ruling and other athletic league bans transgender athletes made up less than less than 0.002% (10/500,000) of US college athletes, and even fewer of recent Olympians (0.001%) identified as trans.The hype and hysteria surrounding the Cunningham story is peak Fox News. The network knows that the bigotry and hatred of transgender people will keep its viewers interested in its programming while it ignores things like the affordability crisis, the war in Iran and the DOJ’s many efforts to coverup everything related to Jeffrey Epstein.While the network whipped its audience into a frenzy about an imagined transgender takeover of the WNBA the network revived other cultural issue zombies such as rehashing disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and the new red scare.One of the more amusing moments last week happened when Fox News immediately distanced itself from a story involving its former host Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.In a 20-page court filing, Pirro’s office wrote that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was the result of a “botched” renovation – “not vandalism”. Her office dropped criminal charges on four people connected to incidents involving the tourist attraction.President Trump was outraged insisting there was ‘tremendous vandalism’ at the site. Fox News did absolutely nothing to support its former host. The network did not acknowledge how it supported Trump’s false claims with surveillance footage that showed no criminal activity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

As the president’s ill-conceived conflict with Iran becomes more unstable and chaotic his personal propaganda machine has run out of ways to spin it to its viewers. Last week the network was more than happy to hype up a personal vendetta Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has against Dr. Anthony Fauci, formerly the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) cast himself as a noble physician battling what he believes is a corrupt mad scientist, Fauci, who was hellbent on accumulating power and wealth during one of the darkest chapters in recent American history. Although Paul is a medical doctor, he studied ophthalmology and briefly worked as an eye surgeon before following his father’s path in politics.The senator might be able to surgically fix a problem in a human eye, but he has no expertise or experience with infectious diseases.Dr. Anthony Fauci is a physician-scientist and immunologist with a decades long career as a public servant. Fauci was instrumental in the U.S. government response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Over a period of years he helped secure research funding, speed up drug trials, and helped design PEPFAR - a U.S. initiative to treat HIV/AIDS patients all over the world.Fauci had the misfortune to run the NIAID when a new virus, SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, spread across the world while working with one of the most incompetent presidents in U.S. history - Donald J. Trump.During the public health catastrophe Fauci kept notes about his work on a government issued computer. Senator Paul subpoenaed the personal notes Fox News called “The Fauci Diaries” and attempted to use Fauci’s writing to bolster a false narrative about the COVID-19 pandemic.Paul’s pursuit of Fauci resulted in a Senate committee hearing last week where the doctor evoked his fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination over 100 times. Meanwhile Paul and his fellow GOP senators cherry picked statements from the personal notes and mocked Fauci for passages about his fascination with celebrities and his newfound fame.The focus on COVID provided the network with an easy way to avoid discussing an unpopular war while it provided Fox News viewers an opportunity to re-ride the roller coaster of conspiracy theories, snake oil remedies and vaccine avoidance that cost hundreds of thousands of American lives.In addition to the network’s obsessive coverage of a senate committee hearing that gave their viewers no new information Fox News hosts continued to openly criticize Trump’s handling of the war in Iran while insisting that the United States was on the brink of a communist takeover by a small group of Democratic Socialists. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Most of the folks at Fox News last week looked like they would rather endure a drug-free root canal performed by a trained chimpanzee than talk about Trump’s disastrous war in Iran. The conflict that was supposed to be over in a matter of weeks has dragged on for months with no real end in sight.More American troops have paid the ultimate sacrifice as Iran managed to strike U.S. a military base in Jordan. As soon as the first retaliatory strike was launched at an Iranian target gas prices spiked.As the midterm elections loom Trump is dropping like a stone in the polls. Most of the president’s campaign promises have not materialized as grocery prices remain stubbornly high, mortgage rates have spiked, Black and Latino unemployment are higher now than when Trump started his second term, the national debt has increasedand residential electricity rates have gone up in nearly every state.The war in the Middle East will only make everything worse for Trump as it has caused an increase in the price of petroleum-based fuels along with fertilizer. His plan to add additional tariffs to nearly every country on planet earth won’t ease the affordability crisis.The president continues to boast to the American public about a booming stock market, but the average citizen won’t touch most of their investments until retirement. The gains they might see in their 401(k) plans, IRAs or stock portfolios are just Monopoly money until they sell.Trump is slowly sinking a ship he managed to pull out of the depths of his party’s losses in 2020 and the riot on January 6th.Last week Fox News hosts openly called the war unpopular and questioned how the so called decimated Iranian military was able to strike U.S. targets. Jesse Watters was the only Fox News hosts who has not lost faith. Even Sean Hannity couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for the conflict.Producers at The Five decided the war wasn’t even worth covering so it wasn’t mentioned for most of the week. Laura Ingraham spent more time discussing the woke leadership at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.The network put far more focus on trashing Democrats last week than covering a regional Middle East conflict that could spiral out of control at any moment. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week the folks at Fox News seemed like the frustrated parents of a juvenile delinquent son who was caught setting his high school principal’s car on fire.The network had no problem spinning measles outbreaks, the Epstein files coverup, the murder of Iranian school children, the mass pardon of cop beaters, the president’s insider trading, self-dealing, foreign bribes, vanity projects, or his deference to Bibi Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin.Fox News didn’t seem to care that he kept threatening the very foundations of our democracy with unconstitutional executive orders while openly defying various court rulings.The network didn’t mind when high-ranking members of the Trump administration openly lied about details regarding the death of two American citizens at the hands of federal law enforcement agents.The spikes in inflation, gasoline prices and residential electricity rates weren’t even speed bumps to the folks at Fox News who kept insisting the country was experiencing a new golden age of prosperity.As the Ukraine War raged on without an end in sight no one on Fox News seemed to remember Trump’s promise to end it before he was sworn in for his second term.Even his deeply unpopular war of choice in the Middle East didn’t cause much concern.Last Thursday their glorious leader took a step too far when he used up about a half an hour of primetime television to spin the same election lies that cost the network $787.5 million. Fox News still faces a $2 billion defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic for the lies the network knowingly promoted about the 2020 election.Trump committed the ultimate sin. He was messing with the money.Since Trump’s primetime address I’ve noticed a subtle shift on Fox News away from the president. The network is still trying to terrify its audience about the looming threat of a communist takeover of radical Democrats.Fox News is still demonizing transgender folks and undocumented immigrants. It continues to beat the drum about the evils of diversity, equity and inclusion in American institutions.The network mocks what it calls ‘woke’ celebrities while it promotes racist tropes about urban crime and the decay of western civilization. The cultural battles are never-ending while some of the shine of their populist hero is chipping off like the American Flag Blue coating on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.Last week I noticed a slight transition away from the usual praise for the president. It’s beginning to sink in that his administration could be a catastrophe for the conservative movement and the Fox News media empire. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week on Fox News guests and hosts alike seemed to all come up with the exact same conspiracy theory about the Democratic Party and control of the U.S. Senate.According to the Fox News narrative party leaders decided to pick a deeply flawed yet charismatic blue collar oyster farmer, Graham Platner, to run for the U.S. Senate in Maine. The second he started to dip in the polls the Democratic machine convinced one of his ex-girlfriends to tell the press that Graham sexually assaulted her.When Platner dropped out of the race the Democratic establishment would replace him with their preferred candidate - someone less radical and more likely to defeat Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who has represented Maine in the U.S. Senate for over 29 years.Did this theory make any sense? No, but that wasn’t going to stop anyone at Fox from promoting it. Platner’s many shortcomings and disastrous personal life was somehow all part of the master plan to disenfranchise voters and sneak in a new candidate at the last minute to run against a well-funded incumbent.Also last week as more evidence came out during the preliminary hearing for the suspect in the murder of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk the network lambasted opportunistic un-named podcasters and pundits who knowingly promoted false stories about his death.So, Fox News, the same network that pushed elaborate fabrications about the 2020 election, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden family, the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, undocumented immigrants, and the World Economic Forum was suddenly outraged about conspiracy theories.All irony is dead on Fox News.Other major stories on the network last week included:* The new red scare - the communist takeover of the United States* Trump’s intervention into a red card call at the World Cup* The war in Iran (the network’s least favorite subject) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe