Discussing media bias in covering the United States moving its embassy to Jerusalem, Judy Miller highlighted the violence, and calling for press to cover all sides of the story.
May 14, 2018

Fox News tried to gaslight viewers into ignoring the controversy over Trump's decision to move US Embassy to Jerusalem by focusing on the media coverage over of the violence.

Host John Scott began by discussing Trump fulfilling campaign promises like pulling out the Iran deal also put up his meeting with North Korea and asked, "Are the media giving credit where credit is due?"

He brought on a reporter I have heavily criticized over the years and who found a home on Fox News -- Judy Miller -- along with Beverly Hallberg, a president of a media training group and Trump supporter.

Scott noted that "the coverage so far is not exactly laudatory."

Why is the media supposed to be laudatory about a highly controversial act, Mr. Scott?

Hallberg scoffed, "The only thing that seems to be controversial about this is how it's being reported," before downplaying Trump's vitriolic behavior.

But then, Judy Miller took a different and right approach for a change.

Scott said, she's right a lot of presidents have promised to move the US embassy, but "nobody's done it till now."

Miller shot back, "No one has done it for a very good reason and the reason can be seen on the split screens that are being viewed by people all over the world."

"On one hand you have the Americans and the Israelis and no Europeans, no one else toasting the opening of the embassy in a disputed part of the Israeli territory," she explained. "And you have on the other side more than 47 Palestinians killed so far and the numbers are still going up. 1600 wounded. Violence in Gaza. 40,000 at the border."

"This is a split screen story," Miller continued. "It is not that the media are being unfair to the president or his decisions. It's that it is controversial. Our job as reporters is to cover that controversy, to tell you the pros and cons of the decision to move the embassy at this point. Of course every presidential candidate has vowed to do it and nobody has done it because this was supposed to be part of a peaceful settlement, which we don't have right now."

Scott said he didn't think anybody would expect the Palestinians to be happy about this move.

Hallberg gave the most idiotic defense of this move using Trump talking points that this could lead to more conversations about peace in the Middle East. the reason no president has made this move is because it will hinder not help peace negotiations.

"The decision to move the embassy now is one that is likely to inflame the situation, not to calm it down," Miller said. "My question for Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, -- how does this advance the peace process? Where is the peace plan you've been promising? I want to keep an open mind. If the president succeeds I will be the first to applaud, but so far all we have, at least in Israel, is greater violence and death."

Here's that split screen story in one picture:

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon