The President may be caught in arguably the biggest scandal of his entire presidency, but one Fox host thinks things are going just swimmingly.
As a tsunami of anger and criticism threatens to overtake the President in the wake of the Wednesday release of recordings in which the President acknowledged downplaying the pandemic to the American people, Fox Business host Lou Dobbs heaped praise on Trump, saying the President "had a great day."
The comments came during Dobbs nightly show, Lou Dobbs Tonight.
"President Trump today had a great day. A day that any president could only dream of" pic.twitter.com/gUZHTqGOxF
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) September 9, 2020
Reality, of course, begs to differ: The recordings, taken by journalist Bob Woodward in February and March while writing his forthcoming book, Rage, present a damning picture of the President's handling of the pandemic.
Recordings Woodward took in February reveal that Trump was aware of the deadly nature of the virus, even as he was downplaying it to the American people as little more than seasonal flu and claiming that it would "disappear."
Another recording taken in March features Trump admitting to Woodward that he misled the public in order to avoid creating a panic.
The outcry has been so severe that legendary journalist Carl Bernstein, whose reporting with Woodward in the 1970s led to the end of Richard Nixon's presidency, called the recordings' revelations "even graver than Watergate."
But to hear Lou Dobbs tell it, it's as if he and Fox News operate in an alternate reality.
On his program, Dobbs made no mention of the Woodward tapes, instead focusing on a far-right, Islamophobic and xenophobic Norwegian politician who nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize this week and in 2018.
"President Trump today had a great day. A day that any president could only dream of. President Trump started off the day with a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize."
Dobbs continued by rhapsodizing about Trump's recent exploits in the Middle East.
"That nomination comes weeks after President Trump brokered an historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. It's an achievement that has eluded every president, every administration since the founding of Israel in 1948."
That peace deal has received ample criticism, however, in particular for the ways it could allow Israel to continue its aggression toward Palestinians. Palestinian leaders have decried the agreement.
To many people on Twitter, Dobbs's praise seemed nothing short of preposterous.
Every North Korean news anchor right now is telling Lou Dobbs to take it down a notch. https://t.co/4ldQtN4MBP
— Gary Legum (@GaryLegum) September 9, 2020
Meanwhile, on Earth 2, Lou Dobbs... https://t.co/cpzfF4JU8a
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) September 10, 2020
I know some psychedelic mushrooms that would really like to score some Lou Dobbs. https://t.co/LJsJNajF69
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) September 10, 2020
Lou is shoveling with both hands.
— Reed L Pomeroy (@ReedPomeroy) September 10, 2020
“Coming up. President Trump shot puts 115 feet, runs a 3 minute mile and long jumps 40 feet in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo games. Back after this."
— Darryl Alber (@hkcollectibles) September 10, 2020
Remember when people laughed at Saddam Hussein's Information Minister for his delusional press briefings. Who is laughing now? https://t.co/G3hTWz0Wjw
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) September 10, 2020
Many others were left angry by Dobbs's propaganda.
Question for a personal injury lawyer:
If I sign a health/injury waiver to attend an event, and the event organizer has made false public statements minimizing the risks of said event, do I have an actionable cause? Millions of MAGA fans want to know.
— Scott A Berger, MD (@sabergermd) September 10, 2020
How do these FOX "news" anchors make it home after their shows without getting the crap slapped out of them by someone?
— darthruden🌊 (@darthruden) September 10, 2020
Hard to know how a guy like @LouDobbs lives with himself. I guess he just has very low expectations for himself and for @realDonaldTrump And neither can make even the lowest expectation. And @foxnews you call this news? https://t.co/N3R9hkmltW
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) September 9, 2020
This is a spoof, right? He is outed as a conscious medical fool knowingly allowing people to die on his watch for his ego, and Lou is talking about Trump bring nominated by a Norweigan, far-right Nazi?
— Amateur Renaissance Man BLM! Stop senseless murder (@BWoody1213) September 10, 2020
Fox News is literally a toxic sludge factory piping deadly shit into the mouths of their own consumers. Folks who still advertise on this network, beware. Shit stains. There is a special place in hell waiting for the grotesque parade of the privileged & craven still on this ship. https://t.co/baHlwxX9Fg
— Mangold (@mang0ld) September 10, 2020
Regardless how ridiculous Dobbs's praise may have seemed to many observers, he had at least one admirer: President Trump tweeted out a personal thank you to Dobbs right after his show concluded.
@DonaldJTrumpJr/X
@DogRightGirl/X