Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:57 pm
While appearing on Fox and Friends, Donald Trump told one lie that demonstrated why both the presumptive Republican nominee and Fox News are endangering America.
Trump tweeted this absurd picture of himself with a taco bowl and proclaimed his love for Hispanics on Cinco de Mayo:
Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016
He followed it up by claiming that he set a record for retweets during an interview with Fox and Friends on Friday:
https://youtu.be/Ejm2LR1xNCU
Trump said, “As of yesterday, I had 59,000 retweets. 59,000 in a short period of what? That’s almost got to be some kind of a record. People loved it. I’m going to do great with Hispanics. I mean, I’m going to do fantastically because I’m bringing jobs back to America.”
It was a completely ridiculous lie. Trump’s tweet wasn’t even close to a retweet record. Ellen’s Oscar selfie holds the record with over 2.1 million retweets. Trump had to lie, because contrary to his claims, he is doing the opposite of great with Hispanics. Trump has a favorable rating with Hispanics of 13%. His unfavorables are at 79%.
Fox News is creating the same false expectations and reality surrounding Donald Trump that caused Republicans to be talking about skewed polls in 2012. Donald Trump has no chance of winning with Hispanics, but to a person who watches Fox News, the only unchallenged statement that they hear is Trump saying that he is going to do great with Hispanics.
Republicans have moved beyond the conservative media bubble, and into a flat denial of all reality. The Republican reality allergy has real consequences on our government. Congressional Republicans can reject legislation and proposals that the vast majority of Americans favor because they don’t allow themselves to see beyond the boundaries of what is presented to them by Fox News.
By convincing themselves that Fox is the only source for truth in media, Republicans have slipped into an unmoveable state of permanent bias confirmation. The refusal by Republicans to agree on common facts is what has broken the legislative process and made governing impossible.
The attitude behind both Trump’s willingness to lie about all things big and small and Fox News’s promotion of the false statement as fact is what is dangerous to America. The United States is one presidential election away from federally governed by a political party that has collectively rejected reality.
America is on the brink of a breakdown thanks to Donald Trump and Fox News.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
