It’s been a long time since Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs stopped pretending to be an actual journalist, but his interview with Donald Trump on Wednesday was one of the most appalling displays of propaganda ever televised.
During part of the horrific exchange, Trump discussed the infamous Russian dossier, dismissing it and calling it “fake news.” Dobbs’ responded like a good lapdog – by spewing the appalling lie that the dossier has been “debunked.”
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First, Trump repeated the lie that the Russia dossier has been “discredited,” calling it “disgraceful” and a “total phony,” though most Americans would probably use those adjectives to describe him and his presidency.
Despite the clear lie Trump just told, Dobbs – lacking any shred of journalistic decency – nodded, smiled and lathered on another thick layer of propaganda by attacking Hillary Clinton and echoing the president’s falsehood.
“I think her (Clinton) word that she likes to use that’s so serviceable about that dossier – debunked, it’s been debunked,” the Fox hack said, before letting Trump spew more nonsense.
The truth? Not only did the intelligence community see the Trump-Russia dossier as credible enough to be scrutinized, but as time passes it, more of the document is being confirmed, regardless of who helped fund it.
As Vanity Fair pointed out today:
That doesn’t change the fact that much of what Steele found—muddled as it may be by rumor, innuendo, and possible Russian disinformation—was deemed sufficiently credible by the F.B.I. for the agency to begin working with Steele and, ultimately, to fund his research—at least until his name was made public. The broader intelligence community found the allegations sufficiently credible that they gave classified briefings to members of Congress and, in January, days before the inauguration, presented a two-page synopsis to then-President Obama and President-elect Trump. Many of those details have since been confirmed, though the dossier’s most outrageous claims have not. The overall legitimacy of that intelligence, including allegations that Russia may have compromising personal and financial information about the current president, remains a matter of significant public concern.
Still, Donald Trump and Lou Dobbs have nothing left to do but grasp at straws and lie through their teeth, not only because the Trump presidency has been an epic disaster but also because each of the men knows their audience will believe them.
It’s no wonder why Donald Trump always takes shelter inside the Fox News bubble when he decides to give an official sit-down interview. They don’t just sit silently by while the president lies; they happily regurgitate those lies in real time.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
