Then he indulged in the magical thinking that got so many Americans killed in Iraq. He kept carrying water for a Republican Congress through the worst of its corruption. And his dishonesty helped delay the moment when his listeners would see reality. No matter. Roger Ailes proved himself a deeply unethical man by broadcasting that show. Beck has since apologized for his role in bringing the country to its present state of dysfunction.
At the time, the few voices who spoke up against his behavior were told to relax by well-meaning beneficiaries of the status quo like Jonah Goldberg, who wrote :. Many conservatives believe Beck is undermining conservatism with his often goofy style and his sometimes outlandish and paranoia-tinged diatribes. In an ode to conservatives such as William F.
Within living memory, the right was successful. The right changed the country for the better—through good arguments made by fine men.
There are problems with such nostalgia. First, there has always been a populist front on the right, even during the "glory days" when Buckley was saying he'd rather be governed by the first 2, names in the Boston phonebook than the faculty at Harvard. Moreover, whatever Beck or Limbaugh's faults, they are more cheerful——and more responsible—warriors than the populist right-wingers of yesteryear. The Tea Partiers may be rowdy and ideologically diffuse, but their goals, like Beck's, are indisputably libertarian.
And from a conservative perspective, popular libertarian uprisings should be preferable to the sort of statist populism so often celebrated on the left.
As it turned out, the statist Donald Trump easily seized control of Republican populism, exploiting the fact that it was fueled by outlandish, paranoia-tinged diatribes, which are much easier to redirect than principled cases for a positive agenda.
He depended on propagandists like Hannity to keep the walls of his alternative reality intact. Trump, of course, did no such thing. The country was two weeks into a shutdown of unprecedented proportions.
He complained about it; mused about filling the church pews on Easter; and stood uncomfortably close to his coronavirus task force members. After 39 minutes the president left the briefing early, ordered dinner, and waited for his turn on Hannity. The power imbalance was something to behold: He had the joint chiefs and the cabinet and any number of world leaders at his beck and call. He could talk to any scientist or public health expert he wanted. But when it came to a Fox interview, he was just another caller waiting to be patched into the control room.
Hannity started the show with his usual sermon about Democrats endangering the country. Then, a good 20 minutes into his show, he finally prepared to welcome his guest. He heard nothing and momentarily freaked out, waiting for the control room to tell him what to do. And they were off. But the rest of the Hannity interview was a love-in and a lie-fest. Lower-level staffers could mock the misinformation all they wanted, and they did, copiously.
But they were powerless. The prime-time stars held the power, and management had no control over prime time. In the midst of a crippling pandemic, on a day when another plus Americans would die, the president wanted to know about his ratings. Sean Hannity was the most powerful person at Fox in the Trump age.
There was only one way in and one way out of his village, and a police station that kept track of every car that drove by. Billy Joel lived half a mile down the road. Hannity was close to his favorite fishing spots and the airstrip where he kept his private jet.
Every day was a new war. Hannity played his part masterfully. But his friends told me he was burnt out for long stretches of the Trump presidency. Hannity counseled Trump at all hours of the day; one of his confidants said the president treated Hannity like Melania , a wife in a sexless marriage. Arguably, he treated Hannity better than Melania. Hannity chose this life, so no one felt sorry for him, but the stress took its toll. Early on in the Trump age, Hannity gained weight and vaped incessantly, which some members of his inner circle blamed on Trump-related stress.
He doubled up on his workouts and slimmed back down. Hannity swore that no one knew the truth about his relationship with Trump. He lashed out at people, like yours truly, who reported on it.
But once in a while the curtain slipped and his own colleagues pointed out the extraordinary position he held. While Democrats in the United States turn to and place their trust in a variety of media outlets for political news, no other source comes close to matching the appeal of Fox News for Republicans.
Below are five facts about Fox News and how Americans feel about it. You can use this interactive tool to explore the data from these surveys yourself. The first survey was conducted Oct. The second was conducted March , , among 11, U. Recruiting our panelists by phone or mail ensures that nearly all U. This gives us confidence that any sample can represent the whole population see our Methods explainer on random sampling.
To further ensure that each survey reflects a balanced cross section of the nation, the data is weighted to match the U. Here are the questions asked in the first survey, along with responses, and the methodology.
For the second survey, here are the questions and responses and the methodology. Nearly the same share distrust it.
Among all U. Democrats distrust it more than any other outlet. As of November, six-in-ten Republicans said they had gotten political news from Fox News within the past week.
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