March 31, 2020

You would think that a Best Friend To Jesus like Ainsley Earhardt wouldn’t need to ask Donald Trump how to pray for him – unless she was looking to polish her brand just like the Dear Leader she spent an hour sucking up to on Fox & Friends Monday morning.

I’ll have more to say about Trump’s self-serving chat with with his Fox Friends Monday. But let’s just say that if you were hoping he was thinking of anyone but himself as the U.S. tops the world in coronavirus cases, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

Not that Earhardt seemed to mind. As Trump ended the interview to get off the phone, she worked in this question, “Could I ask you one last question? How can we pray for you? … the Bible is clear, we need to pray for our leaders and we are praying for you.”

Now, why would someone who portrays herself as Jesus’ sweetheart need to ask how to pray for someone? This is a woman who hosts a Fox Nation show called Ainsley’s Bible Study and wrote a whole book about her Christian faith and “developing that relationship with God.”

Well, maybe it’s because her not-so-Christian advice to viewers to hop on an airplane in the middle of the COVID-19 contagion has come under a harsh spotlight. On March 13, Earhardt announced, “It's actually the safest time to fly. … terminals are pretty much dead. … remember back in the day when you had a seat next to you, possibly empty, you could stretch out a little more? It's like that on every flight now.” Less than a week later, Earhardt pivoted to, “We have a responsibility to slow down this virus and to think of other people during this time. And so if you can keep your distance and prevent someone from getting close to you that might be sick, you can save your family, you can save the elderly and help our country as a nation.”

Earhardt’s about-face was brutally exposed in a Washington Post viral video (more than two million views on Twitter, alone). As far as I know, she has neither explained nor apologized for her dangerous recommendation. In fact, Fox News is reportedly worried about being sued over remarks like hers.

Earhardt claims she wants to be a tough journalist. But she didn’t seem to notice, much less mind, any of the very un-Christian behavior Trump displayed right in this interview. When he trashed Rep. Nancy Pelosi as “a sick puppy” with “a lot of problems,” while her district is one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Super Duper Christian Earhardt responded by piling on: “Lindsey Graham was asked about it and he said -- he said she's one to talk. This is not fair for her to say that. She was fiddling by delaying the stimulus package.” (The exchange begins at about 11:49).

Maybe Earhardt should start by praying for herself. You can watch this disgrace to journalism above, from the March 30, 2020 Fox & Friends.

Posted with permission from News Hounds.

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