Want Trump removed? New data shows Fox News is a huge obstacle.

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/21/want-trump-removed-new-data-shows-that-fox-news-is-huge-obstacle/

By Greg Sargent Opinion writer

Oct. 21, 2019 at 9:57 a.m. EDT

As the impeachment inquiry marches forward, President Trump is closely watching the Republicans in Congress, particularly in the Senate, who constitute his last line of defense against removal.

In that regard, Trump has a very powerful ally: Fox News.

Trump pulled the plug on his corrupt scheme to host the Group of Seven summit at his Doral resort after getting informed that some moderate Republicans — the ones he needs to keep in line on impeachment — didn’t want to defend it, amid indications that it would become part of the case for impeachment. He also witnessed some Fox News personalities disapproving of it.

That’s when Trump concluded the jig was up on Doral, the New York Times reports. Trump issued two tweets nixing the plan, but took a break between them to watch Jeanine Pirro on Fox — another indicator of how closely he’s monitoring the network as he assesses the holding power of his defensive ramparts.

A new study just out from the Public Religion Research Institute sheds light on this dynamic in a remarkable way: It shows that rank-and-file Republicans who watch Fox are far more loyal to Trump than those who do not.

The poll, which surveyed more than 2,000 Americans, finds that an astonishing 55 percent of Republicans who watch Fox News as their primary news source say there is almost nothing Trump could do to lose their approval. By contrast, only 29 percent of Republicans who don’t cite Fox as their primary source say this.

What’s more, 98 percent of Fox-citing Republicans oppose impeaching and removing Trump — opposition that’s “essentially unanimous,” as PRRI puts it. By contrast, 90 percent of non-Fox-citing Republicans oppose impeaching and removing him — which is overwhelmingly high, but suggests that among this group, at least, Trump could suffer losses on the margins as the inquiry turns up worse revelations.

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Not something we didn't already know...

[CrispyQ]

1. He didn't just nix the plan in his two tweets, he blamed the hostile dems & media.

What a whiny little fucker.

[customerserviceguy]

2. Fox news may or may not

have created Trump, but they're clearly sustaining him. They provide the spin that is needed with each new revelation.

[Caliman73]

3. Discussing the parallels between Nixon and Trump...and there are many, this is a BIG difference.

I know that most people on DU understand this so my post is preaching to the choir, but it cannot be said enough that if Nixon had Fox News and the right wing radio and internet echo chamber, it would have been much more difficult to get him to resign than it was. As I say regularly when discussing this, there have always been sharp divisions in the US between conservatives and liberals you can see it in our history. When people say "we have never been so divided", I usually say, "wrong". It isn't about the division per se, that has always been there. It is about how we perceive the world at this point.

We have always had to argue from a similar set of facts. Conservatives spun it to their way, and Liberals to their view. I know that I am biased but I think that ultimately facts and society follow a more liberal course as change is constant and diversity is the likely outcome of a world where more people interact with each other on a regular basis. I think that conservatives understand it too, but are obviously resistant to it.

With the emergence of right wing media, conservatives can maintain a bubble and receive information that directly feeds their desire to maintain their point of view. They have their own set of "facts" which is very different from the actual facts shared by the majority of people. Conservatives have always had the power and money, but have rarely if ever have the numbers to "win" based on their message. What they always lacked is the ability to consolidate a message that would secure enough of a base where they could win by turnout. Nixon and Ailes thought about it extensively and Ailes worked on it. Reagan was the first useful fool, a B actor and salesman who presented a good face to conservatism. He gutted rules about "fairness" in broadcasting and loosened the rules on media consolidation. Right wingers also saw AM radio, a dying format as a way to get their message out unimpeded. By the 90's there were a bunch of right wing radio stations and Fox News came on board with the advent of the 24 hour cable news cycle.

The result is that there is a solid group of people who hear absolutely NOTHING from the general perspective and who have been conditioned to believe that anything that doesn't sound like what they are being told from the right, is false information.

[cutroot]

4. It is infotainment

The tail wags the dog