As Trump Goes Wildly Awry on Economy, Fox Quietly Bursts His Bubble

Even Fox News is now admitting hard truths about the state of Trump’s economy. We talked to a chronicler of right wing media who explains how all this is straining his propaganda apparatus to the breaking point.

Donald Trump’s state of the union speech was the culmination of many months of lies about his economy and his tariffs. Yet in recent days, even Fox News has been admitting to how bad the news is getting. Fox figures have gently tried to tell Trump the truth about tariffs: One hinted Trump should use the Supreme Court ruling against them as an offramp. Another said Republicans are privately celebrating the decision. A third warned the tariffs badly threaten the GOP’s midterm hopes. On Fox Business, one anchor was surprisingly blunt about Friday’s bad inflation data. And a reporter called the recent 1.4 percent growth numbers a “bad miss.” Yet Trump needs his media allies to sugarcoat his economy through the midterms. We talked to Media Matters senior fellow Matthew Gertz. He explains how Trump’s economy is creating serious dissonance for Fox propagandists and viewers alike, how this reveals Trump’s deepening problems with his base, and why all this spells trouble for the GOP this fall. Listen to this episode here.

TNR’s Greg Sargent takes a critical look at the day’s political news and the stories leading NewRepublic.com, and speaks to leading journalists and newsmakers.

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