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Donald Trump’s grand entry into the political arena “greatly helped the cable news television business” and “created thousands of jobs,” according to his Feb. 4 letter of resignation from SAG-AFTRA.
The former president specifically names MSNBC, which he refers to as MSDNC, and “Fake News CNN” as the major benefactors of his political presence.
He leaves out Fox News, which is currently living in the Trumpian dog house for the temerity of being the first network to call Arizona for Joe Biden.
Trump’s letter follows a recommendation from SAG-AFTRA’s disciplinary committee to boot him from the membership ranks for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol and “sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists.”
Trump’s response to the recommendation: “Who cares!”
And then, of course, Trump hit back at the union.
He dismisses the disciplinary move as nothing more than a publicity stunt, “a blatant attempt at free media attention to distract from your dismal record as a union.”
The master of distraction knows what he is talking about when it comes to shifting the focus from a dismal record.
America's democracy just barely survived four years of distractions from the White House.
Hail, hail the gang’s all here. Fox Corp., Fox News Network, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell are named defendants in Smartmatic’s $2.7B defamation and disparagement lawsuit.
The 276-page complaint is a good read.
Smartmatic alleges that the defendants cooked up a story about a rigged presidential election.
But they needed a villain to make it fly so they concocted a tale in which Smartmatic’s election software rigged voting machines to swing the election to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“A story of good versus evil, the type that would incite an angry mob, only works if the storyteller provides the audience with someone who personifies evil,” reads the complaint.
Millions of Fox watchers swallowed the stolen election lie. Smartmatic officers received death threats, while clients panicked.
“The company’s reputation for providing transparent, auditable, and secure election technology and software was irreparably harmed,” according to the complaint.
Smartmatic went from an under-the-radar election technology to a villain in a disinformation campaign.
The fake news push did more than just jeopardize the future of a company.
“The story turned neighbor against neighbor. The story led a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol.
“Defendants started a fire for selfish and financial reasons and they cared not the damage their story caused to Smartmatic, its officers and employees, and the country,” says Smartmatic.
It will take the country a long time to put out that fire.
Fox News provided a statement, saying it is proud of its 2020 election coverage and "will vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit in court.”
It claims to be "committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion."
Fox Business has canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” one of its highest-rated shows, on Feb. 5, a day after the filing of the lawsuit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Fox News Media says Dobbs' exit is part of an earlier plan to change programming.
Let's hope for the better.
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