‘He is a bad-ass,’ Fox News says of Trump as he faces indictment

The former president’s relationship with the network had cooled, but Fox offered a vehement defense of Trump on Thursday night.

A breaking news graphic flashes across the screen, and the words “Fox News alert” are illuminated by flashing amber lights.

“We just got word that former President Donald Trump has been indicted,” the host begins, while an off-camera stunned gasp can be heard.

“What?

” asks another skeptical voice, as the presenter informs Fox News’ afternoon audience that the former president will face charges in connection with an alleged “hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.”

The network’s hosts and commentators took some time to process the news shortly after it broke. After reporting for weeks that Trump’s indictment was imminent, the news seemed to catch Fox’s panel of experts off guard.

“I feel bad for the guy… now they’re trying to nickel and dime him for a private agreement he made with a woman eight years ago,” Jesse Watters, the show’s host, says.

But, if the network’s initial reaction was one of surprise, even trepidation, what followed was more akin to the bellicose confidence that its viewers have come to expect.

When Watters returned to his own show, he told his prime-time audience that America was now in a “revenge political climate.”

“When Trump reclaims the presidency, he needs to start looking into Democrats,” Watters’ guest, Mike Davis, told him.

“You could have a former president behind bars.” The only way to get a free Trump is to vote for one,” Davis added.

‘Hunting Trump, destroying America,’ says one.

Fox News has long been supportive of the former president, but their relationship has recently become more complicated. Trump had been absent from the network for months, the victim of an apparent shadow-ban imposed by senior management, until this week.

The apparent schism was thought to be the result of a closely watched legal battle between the network and voting machine company Dominion. Evidence presented in that case revealed what many at Fox’s top truly think of Trump, driving a schism between the former president and the network that helped propel him to the presidency.

Private messages presented as evidence in the $1.6 billion case revealed that, even as they went on the air to cast doubt on the 2020 election results, many Fox News personalities privately questioned Trump’s claims.

Sean Hannity, one of the network’s most well-known personalities, allegedly said of Trump, “He’s acting like an insane person.” According to a deposition in the case, Fox News’ owner, Rupert Murdoch, said several of the network’s top stars “endorsed” Trump’s false claims, and later added, “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight.”

However, any lingering animosity between two of the most powerful forces on the American right appeared to have vanished by Thursday night.

Throughout the network’s coverage, Trump’s indictment was described as retaliation, political overreach, and, perhaps most importantly, a boost to his chances of re-election in 2024.

“He is a bad-ass if he has a mug shot… his poll numbers have gone up with this and I just think this is going to make sure he’s on the ticket,” one commentator said shortly after the news broke.

The question had shifted by the time Tucker Carlson, one of the network’s most popular personalities, came on air: how to respond?

Carlson, who, according to evidence in the Dominion case, once told an associate that he despises Trump, described the indictment as a watershed moment for America. He provided a condensed history of Trump’s presidency, peppered with conspiracy theories, calls for the FBI to be defunded, and parallel narratives of the former president’s two impeachments. He claimed that “Washington elites” have been working since the beginning to prevent Trump from becoming president again.

Carlson repeatedly returned to the question of how Americans should react in interviews with fellow analysts, a potential Republican rival, and Trump’s attorney.

“The rule of law is suspended tonight,” Carlson said solemnly. “What you’re witnessing now is lawlessness; the question is, who can put a stop to it?”

At one point, he remarked, “It almost feels like they’re pushing the population.”

Carlson appeared to have found the answer he was looking for when he heard sports commentator Jason Whitlock say, “They are agitating for unrest… I’m ready for whatever comes next.” And I hope every other man watching is prepared for whatever comes next.”

The charges against Trump were framed as a direct attack on Americans throughout the evening. Laura Ingraham took to the air with a banner that read, “Hunting Trump, Destroying America.”

Many Fox News hosts did not believe Trump’s claims of a stolen election, according to evidence presented in Dominion’s defamation lawsuit. However, while these depositions indicate that many at the top of Fox News were eager to break with Trump for good, his indictment shows that this will be difficult for the network to achieve.

“It’s a toxic relationship,” former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said earlier this month.

“They’re both good and bad for each other… Fox can’t do without Trump, and Trump ultimately can’t do without Fox because, at the end of the day, that’s the media vehicle through which he’ll be able to reach the broadest audience of his supporters.”