While Fox News finds itself under fire from both former Republican President Donald Trump and his MAGA minions for a recent lack of unwavering devotion, they still appear willing to make excuses for his behavior.
After testimony by a former White House aide before the House Select Committee investigating the events of the January 6 Capitol riot, some Fox News personalities expressed shock over Trump's childish tantrums.
Cassidy Hutchinson—an aide to Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows—testifed about the President's behavior on and around January 6.
However Fox host Martha MacCallum tried to downplay the incidents Hutchinson described.
You can see her commentary here:
Fox News anchor John Roberts said to MacCallum:
"Martha, John Dean, who we remember from the Nixon era and the Watergate hearings, tweeted this morning about this: 'Better be a big deal'—because he was reflecting back on the one surprise witness and the hearing in the Watergate hearings back in 1973."
"Back then, that witness was Alex Butterfield, who testified to the existence of Nixon's secret taping system, which blew the whole thing wide open. Do we have anything that even approaches that from this witness?"
MacCallum responded:
"So I would say, John, you know, I'd agree with what you all have just been talking about. But I would say that we had sort of the basic parameters of what happened with regard to this. We had heard before that the President wanted to go to the Capitol and that there was pushback against that."
"So what we're getting today are a lot of details and fill in into just how dramatic that whole situation was. I think that [Cassidy Hutchinson] comes across very credible. She has a good memory for all of these different conversations that were being had."
"And clearly, the description of what happened in the Beast, which is the President's vehicle, of course, of him wanting to lunge toward the steering wheel, according to this account from Bobby, who was the security—Secret Service person who was in the vehicle who she says was very shaken up afterwards."
She added:
"The question is, you know, all of this is obviously riveting. It's—it's very dramatic. It was clearly a very difficult day for her and for those who were involved and for everybody who witnessed it, I would add."
"But the question is, in terms of the Department of Justice, does it move the ball at all on any legal action that they could pursue? Or is it sort of an overall filling in the gaps, filling in the story that has an impact on whether or not the former President decides to run again and whether or not any of these details impact people's feelings about that all around."
Fox anchor Sandra Smith interjected:
"Just a sort of an amazing turn there right at the end when the former aide to [White House Chief of Staff Mark] Meadows, the witness there, described the President smashing his lunch against the wall, ketchup on the walls after reading Barr's AP interview [ststing there was no evidence of widespread election fraud]."
\u201c"There was ketchup dripping down the wall." Cassidy Hutchinson says then-President Donald Trump threw his lunch against a wall when he learned of an @AP article in which then-Attorney General William Barr said the DOJ had not found evidence of voter fraud. https://t.co/0WDFU8fj8E\u201d— The Associated Press (@The Associated Press) 1656441669
\u201cCassidy Hutchinson testifies that Trump was so furious about Bill Barr telling the AP there was no widespread voter fraud that he threw his lunch against the wall. "So I grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off the wall to help the valet out," she says.\u201d— Kaitlan Collins (@Kaitlan Collins) 1656439277
After pointing out Trump used the word "peacefully" when he told the angry mob to march on the Capitol to deliver a message to Vice President Mike Pence and Congress, Smith concluded:
"Nonetheless, Martha, we are learning a whole lot more. And to your point about her memory and the details that we're now getting around the basic framework we already had, John and I were talking about this this morning.
"[Hutchinson] was also known to be a very good note-taker. So clearly, she's providing a lot of detail for the committee and for the country today."
MacCallum replied:
"Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm not sure that it really shocks anybody that the President just, you know, knowing what we've seen, observing him over the years, if he got angry that he might throw his lunch, I'm not sure—it's obviously a very dramatic detail."
"And the way that she describes it is but I'm not sure that any of this is—is wholly out of character with the Donald Trump and the President Trump that people came to know over the years."
But not everyone agreed a man in his 70s—claiming to have no cognitive impairments—flinging food at the wall because his Attorney General wouldn't support his lies was normal or acceptable behavior.
\u201cA Republican member of Congress texted a CNN reporter today after watching Cassidy Hutchinson\u2019s testimony: it was \u201cEnough to make me throw my lunch against the wall"\n\nSay it to the public, you little coward.\u201d— Republicans against Trumpism (@Republicans against Trumpism) 1656477247
\u201cPresident Trump got so angry at Attorney General Barr, he threw his lunch, Cassidy Hutchinson testifies\n\nKetchup was dripping down the wall. How gross is that. \n\nA big grown man acting like a spoiled brat! Haha \ud83d\ude02\u201d— \ua9c1\ud83e\udd8b\ud835\udda6\ud835\uddbe\ud835\uddc8\ud835\uddcb\ud835\uddc0\ud835\uddc2\ud835\uddba \ud835\udda1\ud835\uddc5\ud835\uddce\ud835\uddbe\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ua9c2#VoteBlue2022 (@\ua9c1\ud83e\udd8b\ud835\udda6\ud835\uddbe\ud835\uddc8\ud835\uddcb\ud835\uddc0\ud835\uddc2\ud835\uddba \ud835\udda1\ud835\uddc5\ud835\uddce\ud835\uddbe\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ua9c2#VoteBlue2022) 1656475117
\u201cAnyone who has lived with an abusive partner or parent has been subjected to incidents like ketchup on the wall and the smashed lunch plate that Cassidy Hutchinson described. This is who Trump is--we have all seen his tantrums in public. Of course they would be worse in private.\u201d— Victoria Brownworth (@Victoria Brownworth) 1656510008
\u201cCHENEY: Was this the only instance that you are aware of where the president threw dishes?\n\nHUTCHINSON: It's not.\u201d— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1656439554
\u201cCassidy Hutchinson on former Pres. Trump: "There were several times throughout my tenure with the Chief of Staff that I was aware of him either throwing dishes or flipping the table cloth to let all the contents of the table go onto the floor and likely break \u2014 or go everywhere."\u201d— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1656439554
\u201c@sahilkapur\u201d— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1656439554
\u201c@JayashreeNara14 @sahilkapur To be fair, they probably got about the same amount of actual work done.\u201d— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1656439554
\u201c@sahilkapur @EricaGrieder\u201d— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1656439554
While others pointed out the President throwing things in a fit of rage isn't the most important revelation from the January 6 hearings, it is still an indication of his character and emotional maturity.