Throughout the Manhattan hush-money trial, Fox News and the rest of MAGA Media have relentlessly absolved Trump in this historic case. Day after day, week after week, figures like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Steve Bannon have relentlessly attacked the judicial system, painting Trump as an innocent victim of political persecution.
In this alternate media universe, the actual facts of the case never penetrate the bubble shielding its audience from inconvenient truths. Instead, deceitful storylines are presented as gospel.
Trump is portrayed as entirely innocent, while President Joe Biden is depicted as nefariously weaponizing the government to wage “lawfare” against his political opponent. According to these outlets, Biden cannot win a fair fight, so he has resorted to “election interference” by rigging the judicial system against Trump.
These narratives are built on a foundation of lies. Biden does not control the judicial system. The hush-money case is in New York state court, brought by the Manhattan District Attorney. And it’s not Trump’s left-wing enemies making headlines testifying against him, but his former allies, like Michael Cohen and former National Enquirer boss David Pecker.
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Despite this, millions consuming right-wing media have been fed these deceptive storylines, skewing how voters perceive events and cast their ballots. In the Republican Party, voters rely on outlets like Fox News, which has dishonestly defended Trump throughout the trial.
“WHERE’S THE CRIME?” screamed a banner on Ingraham’s prime-time show Wednesday, alongside a graphic showing Biden, Judge Juan Merchan, and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg as “THE REAL FRAUDS.”
In the following hour, Jesse Watters accused Merchan in an on-screen graphic of “LEADING THE JURY,” insinuating it was “very fishy” that a “stop Trump” judge was selected to preside over the case.
A study by Media Matters revealed that Fox News has leveled at least 200 attacks on Merchan alone since the trial commenced — a staggering number that doesn’t include attacks on others associated with the case. And this study only covered Fox News, not the myriad other right-wing media entities.
It might be tempting to ignore the relentless barrage of attacks from Trump’s media allies. But these forces are shaping how a large segment of the country understands this high-stakes and unprecedented trial in lower Manhattan. They remind us that if Trump were to return to power, he has a powerful propaganda apparatus at his disposal, ready to sanitize his actions — whatever they may be.
Fox News and the right-wing media are not just biased; they are creating a dangerous false narrative to protect Trump, further deepening the political divide and undermining the foundations of our democracy.
