President Biden criticized Fox News during a speech in Pennsylvania, referencing the network’s $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over its coverage of the 2020 election and former President Trump’s false claims about voter fraud. Biden stated, “Let’s be clear about the 2020 election: Trump exhausted every legal avenue available to him to overturn the election. But the legal path just took Trump back to the truth: that I won the election, and he was the loser.” Fox News agreed to pay Dominion the historic settlement in April 2022, after the voting systems company sued the network for defamation.
The settlement came after Dominion argued in court that Fox News knowingly spread false statements made by Trump and his allies about its software. Internal communications from top hosts and executives at the network were made public during the litigation, revealing that many of them privately dismissed the voter fraud claims being promoted on their airwaves. Fox News released a statement expressing its satisfaction with reaching a settlement with Dominion out of court, hoping that it would allow the country to move forward from these issues.
Following the settlement, Fox News pulled top-rated host Tucker Carlson, who was a favorite pundit of Trump, off the air. During Biden’s speech, Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, who was covering the event, acknowledged the president’s criticism of the network. MacCallum questioned whether Biden’s remarks represented someone who is president to all of America, noting that Fox News is the most-watched cable news channel in the country.
This is not the first time Biden and his aides have clashed with reporters and hosts at Fox News. The president was caught on a hot mic in January 2022 referring to Peter Doocy, one of Fox’s top White House reporters, as a “stupid son of a bitch” after he asked a question about inflation. In his speech, Biden primarily focused on what he called “threats to democracy” and the potential danger of Trump winning the White House again in 2024.
Fox News has been a frequent target of criticism from Democrats and other media outlets due to its conservative-leaning coverage. The network has faced scrutiny for its handling of election-related news and its role in amplifying Trump’s false claims about voter fraud. The settlement with Dominion was seen as a significant development in the ongoing debate over media responsibility and the spread of misinformation.
Original Story at thehill.com – 2024-01-05 21:23:00
