In an effort to revive the Obama-era economic stability as a talking point in favor of his reelection, President Donald Trump keeps calling on governors to scale back stay-at-home orders against the advice of health experts.
In continuing his long-held opposition to the truth, the President claims that support for lockdown orders isn't due to a belief in science and a desire to keep the already 80+ thousand deaths to a minimum.
The support, he claims, is due to the "fake news media" and Democratic party, who want the economy to fail and want millions of people to remain out of work in an effort to win reelection.
In an interview with Fox Business's Maria Bartiromo, the President responded to the question of whether he thinks economic shutdowns are political:
"Yeah, I do. I do. I think it's a political thing. If it's up to some people, let's keep it closed for a long time. And watch the United States go down the tubes."
On its face, this is ridiculous. The experts on Trump's own virus task force recommend social distancing measures that necessitate stay at home orders in the first place.
But leave it to Fox News to give the claim credence with air time.
One of the network's anchors, Harris Faulkner, interviewed former Democratic communications manager Jon Summers, in which she asked:
"Jon, is it political to you? I mean, the president says critics want to keep the economy closed until the election. It's a political thing."
Summers didn't mince words in his response.
Watch below.
Outnumbered Overtime 5/14/20 | Breaking Fox News May 14, 2020youtu.be
Summers responded:
"I don't know, Harris. What do you think? Do you think it's real? Do you think there's a big Democratic 'deep state' that is going in and trying to shut down the entire economy and make everyone suffer just to win an election? Do you think there is actual truth to that?"
His tone spoke for itself, and Faulkner insisted that she was just asking questions.
People commended Summers for calling out the ridiculousness.
Some of Fox's most recognizable faces have pushed conspiracy theories about science-based hesitation for reopening. Meanwhile, the network's offices have demanded its own employees work from home.
People agreed that the idea of a conspiracy to shut down the economy is ridiculous.
Not a good look.
For an in-depth report on Fox's tactics, check out Foxocracy, available here.
