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A Timid, Uncertain Fox News Has No Idea What It's Doing
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A Timid, Uncertain Fox News Has No Idea What It's Doing

By Dustin Rowles | TV | June 15, 2023

fox-chyron.jpg
Header Image Source: Fox News

I have strangely mixed feelings about the fragmentation of the Republican Party. A few months ago, I was marveling to myself about how impossible it would be for a Republican to win in 2024 if someone other than Donald Trump won the GOP primary. I believed that Donald Trump would drag the primary candidate and essentially destroy the GOP’s chances. However, it occurred to me yesterday that Donald Trump is running in 2024 to stay out of prison. Moreover, his indictments (and another likely indictment coming in August in Georgia) might actually help an alternate candidate like Ron DeSantis. Why? The indictments might cost Trump the primary, but he’s likely to campaign hard for a candidate like Ron DeSantis in the general election because he knows that, in exchange for his endorsement, DeSantis will pardon him. In a bizarre way, the threat of prison — if Trump loses the primary — could unite the GOP.

However, until the primary, I suspect that GOP candidates will continue to fight like cats and meatballs. Interestingly enough, this infighting is also hurting Fox News. Last year, Fox News heavily favored Ron DeSantis, but his poll numbers plummet every time he speaks. In fact, another Florida Republican, Mayor Francis X. Suarez, has now entered the GOP race because DeSantis no longer poses the threat he once did. Meanwhile, after the Dominion lawsuit, Fox News fired Tucker Carlson for various reasons, most likely to avoid further lawsuits. Consequently, Fox News, which has distanced itself from both Trump and Tucker Carlson, is losing viewers. While that may be a positive development, the downside is that they are losing viewers to even more extreme versions of Fox News, such as Newsmax and OAN. The time slot formerly occupied by Tucker Carlson has experienced a significant decline, with Newsmax being the primary beneficiary.

Fox News is aware of the shift in its audience and is once again freaking out, as it did after the 2020 election, fearing the loss of more viewers to networks that cater to their preferences rather than presenting factual information. This may explain why, two days ago, after Trump’s indictment, Fox News displayed the above chyron.

However, it seems that Fox News overreacted by embracing extremism too strongly, as the network issued a statement expressing apparent regret about the chyron. “The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed,” stated Fox News. The chyron was only displayed for 27 seconds. Now, the network seems to be hiding from its mistake. Yesterday, during a White House press conference, when Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the “wannabe dictator” chyron, Fox News immediately cut away. Co-host Sandra Smith stated, “All right, so we’ll continue to listen for any of the top stories that she might be addressing in that White House press briefing room.” Her co-host, John Roberts, then shifted to the news that really matters. “A Florida family was caught off guard after discovering a massive crocodile had made itself at home in their pool at 2 o’clock in the morning.”

It’s also worth noting that with various news networks competing for Republican viewers — Newsmax targeting extreme Republicans, Fox News catering to slightly less extreme Republicans, and CNN appealing to centrist Republicans — MSNBC has become the beneficiary, consolidating all left-leaning and liberal viewers.