Even before the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump was something of a mainstay in the Fox News bubble, frequently appearing on the network as a commentator – most notably for his propagating of the Obama “birther” campaign shortly after the turn of the decade. Now, the singularity of Fox News and the White House is seen by some as state-sponsored media. While the validity of this claim is certainly up for debate, and despite the errant critical tweet from Trump, one thing is clear: the president and Fox News have a long-standing and close relationship. Whereas previous elected officials have undoubtedly maintained covert relations with news outlets, Trump’s is one of few seemingly left out in the open.
By this point, you probably know what’s coming next: how did we get here? And again, the answer always, in some way or another, leads us back to Roger Ailes. This should come as no surprise, as the former chairman and CEO of Fox News’ impact on conservatism, and the political media environment in general, is still felt today. In his brainchild of Fox News, he cemented an ideology of xenophobia, racism, isolationism, and more, based in fear. His mark on the Republican Party is no more clearly demonstrated than by Donald Trump’s surge to the presidency. This singularity of ideology between the Trump and Fox News, as mentioned earlier, created the perfect storm for his election in 2016. Like Fox, Trump’s campaign platform was based largely on fear mongering and creating a sense of “us versus them.”
As the 2020 presidential election heats up, President Trump will inevitably appear on more main-stream news networks, a move which, as stated in this article from Vanity Fair, did not go over well in 2016. This time around, it remains to be seen whether similar political blunders, with the whole nation watching, will be met with the same apathy as four years ago, but one thing is for certain: as he did then, the president will retreat back into the Fox News bubble in moments of disgrace.
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 