When Fox News allows its more respectable anchors, Shep Smith, the freedom to hit the Republican President of the United States with impunity, it is evident that the network is attempting to keep the little if any reliability it has left.
Shep Smith does not hold back on Trump
Shep Smith has been one of the few competent journalists at Fox News. But even he must toe the line to some extent. Lately, they’ve given him much freedom.
Right off the bat, Smith called out Trump’s lie about voter fraud as he introduced his guest RealClearPolitics.com Associate Editor A.B. Stoddard.
“President Trump called to launch an investigation into his unsupported claim of wide widespread voter fraud,” Smith said. “It is the reporting of Fox News that widespread voter fraud did not happen. There is no evidence that any widespread voter fraud happened. There never has been. What is this really about?”
Stoddard made it clear that Trump and his press secretary Spicer are well aware that they are purposefully misinterpreting a Pew poll. Smith interjected stating that the poll said there was no widespread voter fraud. Stoddard pointed out the irony that both Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon and his treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin are both registered in two states. Neither is being accused of voter fraud as it requires that they attempt to vote illegally in several states.
Stoddard pointed out it is hard to rig an election because it is controlled by so many different entities within the states and not the Federal Government. Of course, the reality that a few companies control the electronic machines, absent an audit trail or paper trail, corporations could, in fact, rig our elections, not the voters that Trump is concerned about.
“John Bussey from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the big picture is here,” Shep Smith said. “Start an investigation, find some incidents here, there, and beyond, of voter fraud. Get people whipped up. And then put in rules to suppress the vote across the country, a pattern that we’ve seen in state after state over the past four, five years.”
Stoddard responded that that is the fear of Democrats. The Supreme Court striking down portions of the Voting Rights Act and the ascent of Jeff Sessions becoming attorney general makes it even more ominous.
Shep ended the segment with a question that allowed the guest to enumerate the Trump lies. This is on Fox News.
“The list of falsehood from the President is growing,” Shep said. “Does this have a cumulative effect?”
Studdard did not disappoint.