Glenn Beck
As Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation suit against Fox News brings to light more private messages between hosts and executives, others in right-wing media have begun to attack the conservative news giant over revelations from the filing.
The latest tranche of documents in Dominion’s defamation lawsuit has shown Tucker Carlson attacking former President Donald Trump and mocking his lawyer Rudy Giuliani; executives suggesting that they distance themselves from Mike Lindell; and infighting between the daytime news shows and the nightly opinion shows.
Here are some of the most prominent right-wing figures lashing out at Fox News:
- Steve Bannon has repeatedly used the lawsuit as ammunition against Fox News, saying at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the outlet had “a fear, a loathing, a contempt” for conservatives and on his show that the Murdoch family is “trying to destroy the United States.” On the program, Donald Trump Jr. called for former House Speaker Paul Ryan to be fired from Fox’s board of directors. Bannon also hosted conspiracy theorist Darren Beattie, and the two of them decried what Beattie called “McConnell, … Murdochs, the whole institutional apparatus at Fox,” saying that “of course they’re opposed to Trump. They’ve always been opposed to Trump.” [CPAC, 3/2/23; Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/2/23, 3/6/23, 3/7/23]
- Giuliani called Fox “pathetic” and promised that “there will be a day on which I unload on Fox.” On his YouTube show America’s Mayor Live, Giuliani — who was mocked by Carlson and his executive producer in texts released in the lawsuit — told his audience not to trust the network because of what he perceived as disrespect toward himself. [YouTube, America's Mayor Live, 3/3/23]
- Newsmax host Eric Bolling said he “just can’t get past” Carlson’s “really disturbing” admission of hatred for Trump. Bolling was exasperated as he attacked Carlson, saying he “can’t understand how a guy who can portray himself as a huge Trump fan on television, saying he hates him passionately, is very, very much looking forward to the day he didn't have to cover Trump being in the White House every day.” [Newsmax, Eric Bolling: The Balance, 3/8/23]
- Islamophobic far-right activist Laura Loomer: “Anyone who still works for Fox News does the bidding of globalist Rupert Murdoch.” [Twitter, 3/7/23]
- OAN host Dan Ball: “A lot of people are going to be a little upset with Fox ... as they should be.” Ball used his prime-time show on One America News Network to praise Bannon for attacking Fox at CPAC, bragging that “they’re not gonna find those types of texts and emails here at OAN when it comes to the 2020 election and President Trump, I can guarantee you that.” [OAN, Real America with Dan Ball, 3/6/2023]
- White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes attacked Carlson: It seems like “he’s really not with us.” On his livestream, Fuentes commented that Carlson’s comments were “pretty shocking” because “everybody thinks Tucker is, like, secretly our guy.” He said people think that Carlson is “just diluting our worldview for a mass audience” but it seems more likely that “he’s really not with us.” [America First, 3/9/2023]
- On The Glenn Beck Program, former Fox host Glenn Beck commented on the Dominion lawsuit, saying, “I have heard more and more people say, ‘I just don't trust it anymore. I don't, you know, I don’t watch it like I used to.’” Beck also claimed he was “hearing rumblings that [Fox] is coming apart at the seams on the inside.” [BlazeTV, The Glenn Beck Program, 3/3/23]
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the lawsuit proved “there was some real, real bad stuff going on at Fox News.” On The Hugh Hewitt Show, Christie criticized the network’s hosts for their dishonesty, adding that “they think these people are crazy, and then they’re putting them on the air to be able to spout the things that they think are untrue and crazy. And, I think that that skirts towards the area of actual malice.” [Salem Radio Network, The Hugh Hewitt Show, 3/1/23]
- Daily Wire’s Andrew Klavan: Fox News was “afraid of their audience.” Klavan noted that the lawsuit was “embarassing” for Fox News personalities who “were having people like Sidney Powell on” while “discussing among themselves the fact that they thought this was completely absurd.” [The Daily Wire, The Andrew Klavan Show, 2/25/23]
- Newsmax host Rob Schmitt accused Fox of going “off the rails” by “deciding to stop covering Donald Trump at all.” Schmitt had no problem with Fox’s coverage of election conspiracy theories, but used the lawsuit to promote his network and claimed Fox is “pretending” Trump isn’t running for president while an on-screen chyron read “Fox trying to erase Donald Trump.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 3/1/23]
- Former OAN and Newsmax correspondent Emerald Robinson: Fox News is an “anti-Trump outlet.” Robinson added, “Murdoch is not your friend.” [Twitter, 2/28/23]
Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.
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