Fox News host Geraldo Rivera is under fire after tweeting he has jumped ship on former Republican President Donald Trump.
The longtime journalist has been a vocal supporter of the former President in the past, but tweeted that he "could never support" Trump again because of his "Big Lie" election denial conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential race.
But if Geraldo thought he'd post his tweet to thunderous applause, boy oh boy was he wrong--liberals roasted him to a crisp for being late to the anti-Trump party and defending Trump's record on issues besides election interference.
Geraldo posted his tweet on Wednesday and it pretty instantly stirred controversy.
\u201cElection Deniers depress me. I blame President Trump for his shameful campaign to slander and undermine American faith in our elections. \nFor all his positive accomplishments, and there are many, I could never support him again. \nWithout fealty to the Constitution, we\u2019re 2d rate.\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
He wrote:
"Election Deniers depress me."
"I blame President Trump for his shameful campaign to slander and undermine American faith in our elections."
"For all his positive accomplishments, and there are many, I could never support him again."
"Without fealty to the Constitution, we’re 2d rate."
This is a pretty direct reversal of his previous line on the former President, whom he has called a "loyal friend."
Rivera has frequently praised Trump's first term, especially his role in creating the COVID-19 vaccine, and defended him as a victim of "leftist creeps" bent on his destruction.
But Rivera has also acknowledged Trump stopped speaking to him after he admitted the 2020 election was over and settled.
Rivera has previously called out not only Trump but his Fox News colleagues for amplifying election fraud conspiracies and inciting the deadly coup attempt at the Capitol last year. But it seems now his break with Trump is permanent and irreparable.
Naturally, conservatives had a meltdown, branding Rivera a traitor and accusing him of covering up for supposed Democratic Party election deniers like former Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic candidate for Georgia Governor Stacey Abrams, both of whom have questioned the substantial evidence of fraud in their respective 2016 and 2018 elections.
That contrasts with Trump, of course, who has never presented a shred of evidence to support his fraud claims about what experts have called the most secure election in American history.
Liberals weren't impressed with Rivera either, though for different reasons.
His shout-out of Trump's supposed "positive accomplishments" in particular left a bad taste in people's mouths.
They pushed back hard.
\u201c@GeraldoRivera What accomplishments?\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
\u201c@GeraldoRivera Other than huge tax breaks for the wealthy, what significant thing did Trump do?\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
\u201c@GeraldoRivera Hey, Geraldo,\nI\u2019d be interested to see a list of, say, 6 achievements.\nI can\u2019t think of any.\nObama handed him a string stable economy. He trashed it.\nWe became the laughingstock of the world in foreign affairs.\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
\u201c@GeraldoRivera What were his positive accomplishments? Was it the tax cut for billionaires?\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
\u201c@GeraldoRivera Thank you for not supporting him again Geraldo Rivera... but just out of curiosity, what were his positive accomplishments?\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
\u201c@GeraldoRivera So what's your favorite of his accomplishments? The tax breaks for the uber rich? Both sides-ing nazis? Ignoring a pandemic? Ripping babies from their mothers' arms forever? Moving a hurricane with a Sharpie? Inciting an insurrection? So many to choose from!!!!\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1662583254
\u201c20/20 hindsight is not foresight.\n\nGeraldo owns this, just like every damn Republican that allowed him to get this far!\n\nVOTE BLUE\u201d— P a u l \u25c9 (@P a u l \u25c9) 1662609155
\u201cWhen will you people learn to drop the provisos? \nTrump was a divisive, immoral, crook from day one and EVERYONE knew it! This is like saying Hitler did a lot of good things, y'know before the holocaust?\u201d— AJ \u2014 BlueMemeMe (@AJ \u2014 BlueMemeMe) 1662656826
\u201cGeraldo is just one person who will never wipe the Trump stink off of himself. Never.\u201d— David (@David) 1662643263
\u201cWhat accomplishments? Oh yeah\n1) HE STOLEN SECRET DOCUMENTS\n2) jan 6 insurrection\u201d— jude (@jude) 1662650768
Rivera has been a rotating co-host on Fox News' show The Five since January. He can probably expect some awkward conversations with his colleagues about this tweet.
