Bernie in the Fox's Den: Sanders Takes Anti-Trump Pitch Straight to 'State
TV'
By Lauren Gambino, Guardian UK
15 April 19
The Democratic frontrunner will speak at a Fox News town hall. He says it's
necessary to speak to Trump voters. Others disagree
Bernie Sanders will finish a four-day tour of Trump Country on Monday, with
a town hall on the president's favorite network: Fox News.
It is an unexpected partnership, between a self-described democratic
socialist and a media outlet that dedicates primetime to pundits who rail
against a purported "creep" of socialism.
The event will be staged in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a state Trump won by
less than 1%, and it will be moderated by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and
Martha MacCallum.
Sanders is the first Democratic presidential candidate to appear on the
network for such an event. He says it is a way to speak directly to Trump
supporters, to make the case that the president is a "pathological liar" who
has misled the working class. The booking is also important for Fox News,
which was banned from hosting a Democratic primary debate.
Among Democrats, the booking has drawn criticism. Some progressive groups
are urging presidential contenders to boycott the network whose stream of
pro-Trump commentary has led critics to liken it to unofficial "state TV".
"Fox News has turned into something, particularly in the last year, that is
distinguishable and different from just being a conservative outlet," said
Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog.
"It's functionally the same as political propaganda and going on does more
harm than good."
Carusone distinguishes between brief appearances on news shows and the
staging of events, such as town halls and debates, which require
negotiation.
Refusing to partner with Fox News could force it to "change its behavior",
he said. Media Matters has pushed advertisers to drop Fox shows when hosts
make offensive or controversial statements.
Last month, Media Matters released recordings of controversial statements
made by the Fox News host Tucker Carlson on talk radio. At the same time,
Fox was forced to distance itself from on-air comments made by host Jeanine
Pirro, who asked if congresswoman Ilhan Omar's wearing of a hijab was
"antithetical to the US constitution". Some advertisers withdrew from the
shows concerned.
"Now is the moment of accountability," Carusone said. "Democrats really need
to ask themselves if at this moment they really want to be throwing Fox News
a lifeline."
Marianne Gambelli, Fox's president of ad sales, said the network recently
"had a very successful upfront presentation where our advertisers walked
away feeling extremely positive about our story and the value of our
audience". She said the network anticipated "no change" to its ad sales this
year.
Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia and
author of Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation
of American Politics, said the relationship between Fox and Trump was both
"unprecedented" and symbiotic. Shifting directions, she said, could
therefore cost Fox an important segment of its viewers.
She pointed to a period during the 2016 campaign when Trump was feuding with
Fox, and especially with host Megyn Kelly. Then, Breitbart was able to edge
out Fox to become the center of the "rightwing media ecosystem".
"We've seen in the past when Fox goes against the wishes of its base, the
base goes elsewhere," said Hemmer, who previously told the New Yorker Fox
was "the closest we've come to having state TV".
'The very notion of truth'
Sanders has defended his town hall appearance, which will air at 6.30pm,
ahead of the network's primetime lineup that draws its largest audience.
In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, Sanders said: "When I go on
Fox, what I will say is, 'Look, many of you voted for Donald Trump, but he
lied to you. He told you he was gonna provide healthcare for everybody. Yet
his policies are to throw 30m people off of the health insurance they have
.'
"How do you explain that to people who voted for Trump if you don't talk to
people who voted for Trump?"
Asked in the same interview if he believes the network is a "propaganda arm"
of the White House, Sanders replied: "In most respects, I think it is."
Distinguishing between its journalists and its primetime pundits who bring
in most of its viewers, Fox News has aggressively defended its reporting
operation.
Last month the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced that it would
exclude Fox News from the presidential primary debates, amid concern it
would not be "fair and neutral".
The DNC chair, Tom Perez, attributed the decision to an 11,000-word New
Yorker article in which the veteran journalist Jane Mayer described how the
2016 election transformed a conservative-friendly news channel into a
"mouthpiece" for the White House, providing as she did so fresh details on
the intimate relationship between Fox and the Trump administration.
That was followed by a three-part, six-month investigation by the New York
Times on Fox founder Rupert Murdoch's media empire, which the Times said had
"helped elevate marginal demagogues, mainstream ethno-nationalism and
politicize the very notion of truth" on three continents.
Fox hosts such as Carlson and Sean Hannity help to shape and amplify the
Trump policy agenda. Hannity even joined the president onstage at a campaign
rally, to be praised as someone "with us since the beginning". Fox News
issued a statement at the time saying it "does not condone any talent
participating in campaign events".
Trump's inner circle is filled with Fox News alumni, including former
executive Bill Shine, who oversaw Trump's communications team until moving
to the re-election campaign.
Perez is scheduled to appear on Fox's America's Newsroom on Monday. He has
said he does not have a problem with Democrats going on the network. But he
draws a distinction between guest appearances and sponsored debates.
"I go on Fox News with regularity, so do other Democrats," Perez told the
San Francisco Chronicle's politics podcast. "We don't discourage anyone from
doing the same. That's a far cry from hosting debates."
'Top-notch journalists'
Last month, Fox hosted a town hall with the former Starbucks chief executive
Howard Schultz, who is considering running for president as an independent.
In 2016, it hosted town halls with Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Executives
at the network said they hope Monday's town hall with Sanders and others in
future with other Democratic contenders will push the DNC to reconsider on
the debates.
In a statement, Bill Sammon, Fox News' senior vice-president and managing
editor in Washington, said: "We're pleased that Senator Bernie Sanders and
the DNC agree with Fox News that successful Democratic presidential
candidates must engage directly with our large, diverse audience through
televised town halls with top-notch journalists Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum
and Chris Wallace."
The former Maryland congressman John Delaney, the Democratic presidential
candidate who appears most frequently on Fox, thinks the network provides a
"unique opportunity" to engage in a "contest of ideas" with a conservative
audience.
"The premise of my candidacy is that the country is divided and we need to
bring the country back together again," he said. "You're not going to bring
the country back together again if you refuse to go on Fox News."
Miriam's comment: This illustrates how politically smart Beernie is and how
dumb the Democratic Party leadership is. They want to cut off an important
means of communication with potential voters. Hillary lost the election
because, among other things, she never bothered talking to the people who
watch Fox.
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