Once Again, Fox News Wants To 'Dial Down Rhetoric' After Threats
Up until the hour CNN received a credible bomb threat, Fox News was happy to portray their competition as lacking deference to Donald Trump at the very least. Now it's all about "turning down the temperature."
This has been going on all week: Fox News starting feuds with their "collegues" at CNN and MSNBC, in order to distract from all the bad news for Trump coming out of the Mueller probe.
Sean Hannity flipped out on Stephanie Ruhle and others for not loving Trump enough in light of the Bush funeral.
Shannon Bream hosted Rush Limbaugh, who also complained about non-Fox cable channels using the Bush funeral to "attack" Trump.
And less than three hours before CNN headquarters were evacuated due to a credible bomb threat, "The Story with Martha MacCallum" ran video of Don Lemon allegedly refusing on air to shake Donald Trump's hand. That's what the chyron says, but that's not what Lemon said. Don Lemon was praising Barack Obama for shaking hands with Donald Trump, and noted that after all the attacks Trump had levied against Obama and his family, Lemon said he was not that good a person that he could do that.
It was praise for Obama FOR shaking Trump's hand, not an announcement that no one should shake Trump's hand or that Lemon hated Trump personally.
Fox News viewers were steered in a different direction until the bomb threat.
Once the bomb threat was a real thing, Fox News turned quickly to words of "turning down the temperature."
Laura noted the previous pipe bombing incidents and the alleged perpetrator's "crazy van" without noting that the van was covered with pro-Trump propaganda.
LAURA INGRAHAM: When individuals who are already on the edge feel like they're... Gotta take temperature down and that's a good lesson from George H. W. Bush. Bring it all down a little bit. Can still have an aggressive debate.
Maybe it's time for your whole network to figure out how you're going to break it to your viewers that Trump conned them and you helped, Laura. How will those MAGA bombers on the "edge" react then?