Deep Weekend Thoughts From Fox News Frat Boy: ‘Liberals Like War’ – Observer
When Roger Ailes discussed advancing Alisyn Camerotas career at Fox News Channel, he suggested a special location for his personal journalistic tutoring.
It might have to happen in a hotel, the Fox boss said. Do you know what Im saying?
Yes, she did. She spoke of this moment on Reliable Sources on CNN Sunday morning in a conversation with host Brian Stelter. Camerota now works at CNN. Ailes left as Fox News emperor last summer in a sexual harassment scandal.
I knew in my head at that moment that Im never going to that hotel under any circumstances, Camerota recalled of her conversation with Ailes. . . . And I remember vividly that I had sort of an out-of-body experience hovering over us in the office and thinking Is this it? Is this the end of my time here? Will I be fired if I dont do this?
A different sexual harassment scandal led to the departure last week of Foxs Bill OReilly, the host of The OReilly Factor, the highest-rated program on the highest-rated cable news channel.
The Mad Men culture of sexual coercion grew at the right-wing outlet in the 20 years that Ailes, OReilly and other brilliant but diabolical propagandists pushed racial and religious resentment along with reactionary rage to a frightened and dwindling white American middle class.
Along with help from Russian spies, Foxs distorted but powerful world view provided the momentum for a takeover of the entire government of the United States last fall by radicals and grifters under the impulsive and vindictive leadership of amateur President Donald Trump.
Like OReilly and Ailes, Trump has denied all charges of sexual misconduct, even the stuff hes bragged about. These three men of power have been allies, collaborators and friends for decades. Small world, huh?
Camerota said the harassment by Ailes was humiliating . . . embarrassing, demeaning. She said after she rejected his sexual proposition, Ailes switched to emotional harassment based on her unwillingness to say the things he wanted us to say during Foxs biased and fear-mongering reports.
I didnt share his world view, Camerota said. And he said Youre not saying the conservative things I want you to say. Seeking objectivity, she said she asked Ailes Isnt this supposed to be Fair and Balanced, which is Foxs ludicrous motto.
There is no other side, Ailes told her.
Camerota said she avoided being alone with Ailes in his office.
He would boom and bellow at me about how I was getting it wrong, she said.
Of the overall toxic culture at Fox, she said There was a lot of suffering in silence and people who felt humiliated and people who felt scared and people who felt intimidated.
It has been reported that a federal investigation of Fox is underway in Manhattan regarding the reporting of payments to female victims of Ailes and OReilly, because that hush money may have been reported falsely as compensation, a trick that could mislead investors.
Stelter devoted the first 39 minutes of his one-hour show to the news about Fox News. One highlight came early when Stelter showed a video clip of OReilly in 2004 explaining why big-shot stars like himself must be wary of chicks, dames and broads.
I think that the sexual harassment thing is used as a club, as I said, by many women, all right? OReilly said. Its something they have against men, a threat to keep men at bay.
MEDIA BUZZ: The Wisdom of Brother Tucker
Around the middle of his one-hour show on Fox, host Howard Kurtz found about eight minutes for the OReilly story, much of it hyping Foxs new prime-time schedule.
Tucker Carlson Tonight will move from the 9 p.m. hour to OReillys old 8 p.m. hour. The Five, a panel chat, moves from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sean Hannity remains at 10 p.m. to puff up and fluff up Trump.
In that the pre-recorded shows of OReilly and Hannity in recent months have been canned, stale and predictable, Kurtz saw a silver lining for the folks who sign his paychecks.
More live programming at night is a good thing in this breaking news environment, Kurtz said.
His super-duper, extra-special guest wasSurprise!Tucker Carlson himself, who addressed the Murkin people.
Liberals like war, Brother Tucker said. Its true.
THIS WEEK: Sessions sets you straight
Trumps henchmen dont always know the difference between strong and strict versus cruel and mean.
An example is Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, who spoke to ABC host George Stephanopoulos.
Trump has said the Dreamers can rest easy, although there have been detentions of some of these immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as undocumented children and grew up American.
STEHANOPOULOS: So, can they rest easy?
SESSIONS: Well, well see. I believe that everyone that enters the country unlawfully is subject to being deported. However, we dont have the ability to round up everybody and theres no plans to do this.
Sessions also pushed for Trumps delusional wall on the Mexican border which, Sessions says, will keep drugs and criminals Mexicans on the other side.
You sound quite confident, Stephanopoulos said. Do you have any evidence that Mexicos going to pay for it?
(This was one of Trumps campaign threats).
Well, Sessions said, were gonna get it paid for one way or the other.
Sessions last week ridiculed the state of Hawaii as some island in the Pacific where a federal judge there dared to rule against Trumps religiously bigoted Muslim ban.
Why not just call it the state of Hawaii? the host asked.
Heh-heh-heh, Sessions said. N-nobody has a sense of humor anymore.
Another guest was radio talk-show goofball Bill Cunningham, from Cincinnati.
Donald Trump is a rock star, Cunningham said. We love Donald J. Trump.
A third right-winger was Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, who said Donald Trump is the most divisive president since Abraham Lincoln. He represents an alternative world . . . You have two parallel universes here.
STATE OF THE UNION: Dana Bash subbed for host Jake Tapper on CNN and had a tough time keeping her panelists from talking over each other. One of the louder ones was Darrell Issa, the Republican Congressman from southern California, who offered only faint praise for The Great Leader.
The people in my district who did vote for me have some doubts at times about certain aspects of the Presidents behavior, Issa said. But Ill tell ya something: They dont have any question that hes appointed good people.
Another Republican House member to drop in was Mark Sanford of South Carolina, a member of the so-called Freedom Caucus (whatever that means). They blocked the attempt by Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan to destroy American health insurance.
Under the half-baked and failed Republican plan, about to be resurrected, the Republicans would take healthcare money away from poor and sick people and give it instead to healthy and wealthy people in the form of fat tax cuts.
Sanford didnt appreciate Trumps threat to back a primary candidate against him in 2018.
Those kinds of threats are counter-productive, he said. I dont work for him.
In defense of Sanford, it must be noted that the Freedom Caucus opposed Trumpcare not because it attacked peoples health insurance but because it wouldnt do enough damage.
FACE THE NATION: Who, exactly, are the bad dudes?
During the campaign, Trump often railed against bad dudes and bad hombres that he would send back to Mexico. So host John Dickerson on CBS asked Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly about the Dreamers caught up in the increasing amount of immigration busts.
They dont fit into the category of `bad dudes, Dickerson said. But theyre still being deported, anyway.
Kelly explained that sometimes the deportation cops find their targetan undocumented immigrant convicted of a crimein the company of five, six seven other people who, Kelly said, cant produce some form of proof of American citizenship but are otherwise without crime.
These are the kind of people Trump, Sessions and Kelly will deport if they come across them while persecuting someone else.
People fall into our hands incidentally, he said.
FOX NEWS SUNDAY: And whos gonna pay for it?
Host Chris Wallace interviewed Mick Mulvaney, Trumps director of the Office of Management and Budget. In that Trump has vaguely threatened to shut down the government or deny medical insurance subsidies to the poor if he doesnt get at least a $1 billion down payment from Congress to start his wall on the Mexican border, Wallace asked Mulvaney Will he sign a government-funding bill that does not include funding for the border wall?
Mulvaney replied, in part, We dont know yet.
WALLACE: Can he back down on the border wall given the fact that youve set this up?
MULVANEY: Sure. Let me put it to you this way: I like you. Ive met you a couple times. Im not going to negotiate with you on national television on Sunday. Well negotiate with the Democrats.
Another elected Republican not bowing to Trump is Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who has called for Trump to release his tax returns, as he promised in the campaign.
The president should be able to keep his word, Lankford told Wallace. This will be a distraction to his presidency all the way through . . . He said he was going to do it.
Even Karl Rove himself questioned the tactics of Trump, who keeps belching out promises to do major things quickly, easily and just as he commands.
This town doesnt work that way, Rove said of Washington. You may be able to cut a real-estate deal that way, but you cant govern the country that way.
Agreeing was Charles Lane of The Washington Post who said This is a guy who very often used the word quickly. He presented himself as somebody who had these extraordinary capabilities to transcend . . . normal politics.
MEET THE PRESS: None of your business
Host Chuck Todd on NBC welcomed Reince Priebus, Trumps chief of staff, who said the public has no right to know the names of the members of Trumps country clubs for millionaires in Florida and New Jersey.
Those members, Todd said, have access to Trump and his staff on Trumps frequent and expensive golf trips. Camp David, where most presidents spend many weekends, is not up to Trumps glitzy standards
Priebus said not to expect Trump to release names of fat cats who pay big bucks to schmooze with the Trump gang.
No, I dont think its anyI mean, this is the private business, its a private organization, its a private club, Priebus said. Of Trump, Priebus added Hes the boss.
Reliable conservative Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal expressed amazement at the chaos and random policies of the Trump administration.
This sense of confusion, she said. Is the White House really talking to the Congress? Is there really a tax bill thats being put together? I mean, a sense of Wow! Whats going on here?
In reference the ousting of OReilly from Fox, Noonan said I dont know what was in the water over there, but it wasnt good, it was poisonous. And Im glad theyre doing environmental cleanup.
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Deep Weekend Thoughts From Fox News Frat Boy: 'Liberals Like War' - Observer
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