I wrote about this after the Mueller hearing: “Republican politicians have taken an important lesson from [the Fox-Trump] feedback loop: They can use Fox to gain power in their party.” mediamatters.org/fox-news/its-n…
“The incentives for these members of Congress were straightforward: By regularly appearing on Fox to defend Trump from Mueller, they could capture the Fox-obsessed president’s attention and garner his favor.
That strategy worked.”
That strategy worked.”
That’s the entire schtick for House Republicans like Gaetz, or Jim Jordan, or John Ratcliffe: converting acts of pro-Trump fealty into Fox hits that the president watches, thus earning his support and gaining power within the GOP.
The strategy succeeds because Trump:
1) watches hours of Fox each day
2) appreciates over-the-tip obsequiousness
3) eagerly accepts conspiracy theories that confirm that he did nothing wrong and it’s all a witch hunt.
1) watches hours of Fox each day
2) appreciates over-the-tip obsequiousness
3) eagerly accepts conspiracy theories that confirm that he did nothing wrong and it’s all a witch hunt.
It has fused congressional Republicans deep within a complex web of conspiracy theories, to the point where nothing they say about Russia or Mueller or Ukraine makes sense if you aren’t a regular Hannity viewer.
