Like an old hound dog waiting on the porch stoop for you to come home from work, Fox News is Donald Trump’s best friend. The old pooch never criticizes you and in its mind you can do no wrong. It wags its tail and excitedly shakes as you approach. This rapt devotion is much like how Donald Trump is treated on Fox News. He is not challenged, his unrealistic promises are never questioned, and his punch line that he will “make America great again” is taken at face value. He returns there time and time again, like a man returning to his favorite bar after an argument with his wife. It is comfortable, insular, and familiar.
Of course, the Trump voter base consisting of aggrieved white males and the Fox viewer demographic is one and the same. They both believe far-fetched conspiracy theories and falsehoods like the one Trump peddled linking Ted Cruz’s father to the assassination of JFK. (In fact, Trump may be the first president briefed by the National Enquirer to inform his judgement.) To both Trump and Fox viewers, global warming is a plot hatched by scientists to establish some kind of one-world, socialist government and a majority believe President Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya. Trump is most proud of the “achievement” that he got the president to produce his birth certificate, as he stated during the debate. It may be his single greatest achievement next to firing Meatloaf instead of Gary Busey on Celebrity Apprentice.
After his debate “performance” in which he interrupted, lied, and took us on meanderings of illogic resembling a LSD trip, Trump retreated to a place where he receives unconditional support and to a television personality, (I’m loathe to call him a journalist), Sean Hannity, to be reassured and coddled. As expected, he was. Trump is a man-child with a temperament of a hormonal teen and a knowledge of the issues of a drunken frat boy. His fragile ego demands constant reassurance, which he finds among the vapid right-wingers at Fox. His unformed world view is assuaged there. His ignorance treated as profundity, sort of like Chauncey Gardiner in the film “Being There.” The only difference is Chauncey was a more pleasant personality than the Donald!
In fact, Trump can not even inhabit a room full of adults because they may disagree with him or present him with facts which would shake his confidence. Of course, he would insist the facts are untrue like he did during the debate when told the “stop and frisk” policy was judged unconstitutional or that he was actually in favor of the Iraq war at the time. He pleaded Sean Hannity was the final arbiter of such claims. Trump is must comfortable among well paid sycophants, the more highly paid the more sycophantic. Obviously, Trump can not take criticism of any kind. He lashes out aimlessly and wildly. He is most comfortably at his rallies where he can listen to the anti-Hillary chorus shouting “lock her up” and all he has to do for wild applause is to reassure the crowd that the wall will be built and, nonsensically, that Mexico will pay for it.
Fox News creates this sort of womb-like existence for Trump where he just floats safely in amniotic fluid. Like a Japanese soldier living on an island in a cave for years after the war is over, Trump is retreating more and more to Fox personalities for reassurance. Fox and Friends’ personalities even reassured Trump he won the debate citing fraudulent internet polls where a troll can vote countless times for his candidate of choice with just a few dozen mouse clicks. Of course, Hillary overwhelmingly won the more scientific polls like the CNN/ORC poll. Hannity even continued to cite the polls even after Fox executives warned on-air personalities that the polls do not meet the networks “editorial standards,” as if Fox maintained any. As said by Brendan Gauthier writing in Salon magazine: “When Donald Trump says he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave. and his supporters wouldn’t waver, he undoubtedly has Sean Hannity in mind.” Good ole Sean! Such a lap dog.
Of course, Fox and Friends produces some of the most inane banter found on television outside of the Jerry Springer show. The show is almost a parody of itself! Steve Doocy has even been accused of “severe and pervasive” sexual harassment by another former Fox personality Gretchen Carlson, which must endear him to Trump. When Trump wonders aloud why we can’t use nuclear weapons or states that climate change is a Chinese plot invented to harm American manufacturing, Fox and Friends hosts surely nod in rapt agreement. During his appearance, Trump even criticized a former Miss. Universe pageant winner because in his view she gained too much weight after the competition. Of course, we want our presidential candidates weighing in on the physical appearance of a Miss. Universe. What is a little misogyny to go with a presidential candidate’s morning banter?
According to Chris Mooney writing in Alternet: “Authoritarian people have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like Fox, where they can find affirmation and escape factual challenges to their beliefs.” So clearly, right wing shallow narcissists like Trump, Sean Hannity, and Fox and Friends’ personalities are a match made in heaven. Trump reinforces the slightly concealed racism and aggrievement that Fox has sold as its signature brand for years. What is missing is any substance, which we should expect from a presidential candidate. Like Don Quixote, Trump can battle any windmills he sees fit on Fox including Rosie O’Donnell and former Miss. Universe pageant winners. He can make the racist remarks that his supporters have come to expect like that Mexicans are “murderers and rapists” and that blacks live in some sort of dystopian urban hellscape. Such banter is harmful because it is often fact free and goes unchallenged. It falls decidedly short of the careful scrutiny we expect of presidential candidates. If a candidate just wants his views reinforced and defines all else as unfair media bias perhaps by definition he is the wrong line of work and instead should be auditioning for a reality television show. Oops, I forgot Trump has already done that!