Trump's relationship with Fox News is even more dangerous than you think

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( September 16, 2020 It is impossible to tell the story of President Trump’s rise to power without understanding his relationship with Fox News. Together they form one of modern America’s most defining duos, argues CNN’s chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, who documents their symbiotic dance in his new book, Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth. Through countless interviews with sources at various levels of power inside Fox, Stelter reveals how the wildly popular cable channel has subordinated journalistic integrity to President Trump’s political interests, while setting the broader daily agenda for his administration. “Every day’s a new episode,” Stelter told Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery during a livestream hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California. “Certainly Fox programs his presidency that way.” Stelter argues there is no Trump without Fox. Trump entered the national political arena via a weekly call-in segment on Fox & Friends, during which he pioneered the racist birther lie; he regularly regurgitates talking points from Fox News’ The Five; he is emboldened by—and wed to—positive coverage from anchors like Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, and Tucker Carlson, whose shows reach millions every night; and Hannity is a close adviser who even stumped for the president at a rally in Missouri. “We don’t feel we have power to fact-check Trump,” Stelter recounted being told by one Fox journalist. “We feel like we’re being squeezed out by propaganda.” The title of Stelter’s book was inspired by back-to-back uses of the word “hoax” by Trump and Hannity to describe the emerging coronavirus crisis in the United States. Both Trump and Fox downplayed the threat at the outset, a deadly error for which they face dual culpability (but zero accountability from Fox brass)—a travesty made all the more apparent following the recent release of Bob Woodward’s tapes. For a look inside the Fox-Trump feedback loop that has distorted truth and threatened American democracy, read Jeffery’s [interview with Stelter](, or listen to their conversation on [this episode]( of the Mother Jones Podcast. —Molly Schwartz [Indiana University Press]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Trump Stumbles, Lies, and Equivocates His Way Through a Meeting With Undecided Voters]( Surprise: A rare encounter with voters outside of his fawning rallies goes poorly. BY INAE OH [Trending] [The CDC head said masks are better than vaccines. Here's what he meant.]( BY KIERA BUTLER [The number of people without health insurance has gone up under Trump]( BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG [A simple plan to deal with COVID-19: free flu shots for all]( BY DAVID CORN [All that horrible wildfire smoke could be making people more vulnerable to COVID-19]( BY WILL PEISCHEL [Indiana University Press]( [The Mother Jones Podcast] [Special Feature]( [The Trump-Fox Codependency Is More Dangerous Than You Think]( “Every day’s a new episode,” CNN's Brian Stelter says on this week’s podcast. “Fox programs his presidency that way.” BY MOLLY SCHWARTZ [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [CNN’s Brian Stelter Unpacks Fox’s Playbook on the Latest Mother Jones Podcast]( As my colleague Molly Schwartz [neatly sums up](, the lies, obfuscations, and dizzying talking points of Fox News are bad. Exposing them is good. We’ve known this forever, but it is freshly necessary to corroborate, investigate, and understand the big picture and the small, to see how we got here. In case you missed the steady skewering that Fox and Trump took last week by CNN’s chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, in conversation with Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery, [catch it here](. With Jeffery’s pinpoint questions, he assesses whether Fox explains Trump or Trump explains Fox, or each explains the other in a dance of propaganda and power trading. He dishes on what Fox insiders told him for his book Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth. It’s all laid out, the horror and the humor, the madness and the bleakly fascinating details. “You say that Hoax is essentially about the Foxification of Trump and the Trumpification of Fox,” the conversation begins. “Who leads this dance, the president or the network?” [The answer is good](. (Back to good-good news tomorrow. Today we welcome, for a midweek lift, good-bad news.) Reach us with personal stories and good-good recharges at recharge@motherjones.com. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755