Fox News Calls Biden 'Wannabe Dictator,' Falsely Claims He Had 'Political Rival' Trump 'Arrested' (Video)
On Tuesday, while covering simultaneous speeches by President Joe Biden and ex-President Donald Trump during what is normally primetime programming, Fox News gave a demonstration of its much-hyped "straight news" operation when it explained to viewers via text along the bottom of the screen that Biden is a "wannabe dictator" who personally ordered Trump's arrest.
No. Really. It happened. You can see for yourself right now:
A real Fox News chyron at the end of its 8 p.m. hour. pic.twitter.com/7fUT1Nj62D -- The Recount (@therecount) June 14, 2023
For those who can't watch the video, under a split screen with a speech by Biden on the left, and a speech by Trump on the right, a chyron read: "Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested." Subtle!
In case you're missing context, Trump was formally arrested earlier in the day in a federal courthouse in Miami on charges stemming from the special counsel investigation into his unlawful possession of classified documents. He was indicted on Friday on 37 charges, due not only to his illegally taking hundreds of highly sensitive classified national security documents with him when he left office in 2021, but also to his efforts to deceive the U.S. government and evade attempts to recover them.
'Alex Wagner Tonight' Refers to Trump Simply as 'Florida Man' in Chyron About Investigation (Video)
Biden, meanwhile, has consistently maintained absolute distance from the Justice Department and has refused to comment on the multiple investigations into Trump. Biden has also ordered the national Democratic Party and his own reelect committee to remain silent about the matter, lest it give the appearance of politicizing such a serious matter. And the speech he gave on Friday was in support of LGBTQ rights.
Meanwhile, it turns out that calling the only major presidential candidate in 2020 who didn't attempt to overthrow the government a "wannabe dictator" isn't the only wacky thing Fox News did Tuesday evening.
Prior to that moment, Brian Kilmeade, while teeing up coverage of Trump's post-arrest speech, practically denied that Biden is president at all. "This is the President of the United States," he said as he introduced the clip.
To be clear, Donald Trump has not been President of the United States since Jan. 20, 2021.
Fox News introduces Trump's speech w/ "this is the president of the United States" pic.twitter.com/cXiHuJF14Y -- Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 14, 2023
In unrelated news, in the month after Fox News fired Tucker Carlson, it lost 1/3 of its primetime viewership.
Reps for Fox News didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.