Accusing 69-year old real estate mogul and GOP front-runner Donald Trump of a “sick obsession” with news anchor Megyn Kelly, Fox News President Roger Ailes is back to his old tricks. Since Trump was blindsided by Kelly in the first Fox News debate Aug. 6, 2015, calling him a misogynous, Fox News has relentlessly bashed the GOP front-runner. Ailes thought Fox News could easily derail Trump’s campaign, especially early on when no one took him seriously. When Trump pushed back at Megyn Kelly, Ailes warned Trump to not mess with Fox News. Only days before the Feb. 1 Iowa Caucuses, Ailes hit Trump with a series of snarky Tweets. Trump’s “afraid of Putin and the Ayatollah,” Tweeted Ailes, prompting Trump to cancel his appearance in the Jan. 28 Fox News debate. Ailes took his work seriously as the media wing to the Republican Party to destroy Trump.
Eight months later after Megyn’s dust up with Trump in Aug. 6 debate, Fox News relentlessly attacks Trump’s successful campaign. Megyn’s “Kelly File” almost exclusively devotes itself to ripping Trump, parading pundit-after-pundit, bashing Trump as a misogynist, racist, inciter of riots, etc. “Donald Trump’s vitriolic attacks against Megyn Kelly and his extreme, sick obsession with her is beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate who wants to occupy the highest office in the land,” read a Fox News statement written by Ailes. When you consider the Megyn’s nonstop Trump-bashing coverage since the Aug. 6 debate, it speaks volumes about Ailes and Kelly’s obsession with Trump. Trump did something unforgivable when he boycotted the Jan. 28 Fox News debate, citing Ailes’ inappropriate Tweet storm hoping to damage Trump’s campaign.
Ailes hasn’t noticed that his key on-air talent, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, have already joined the Trump bandwagon. Only Ailes and Kelly continue the feud, hoping to prevail on what’s left of the anti-Trump audience. As the media wing of the Republican Party, and more particularly the Tea Party, Fox News has its credibility on-the-line attacking Trump. Whatever’s left of the anti-Trump movement is now confined to Ailes and Kelly, hoping against all odds that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) can ride the dwindling Tea Party to the nomination. Most of Kelly’s content focuses on Trump’s negatives, mentioning nothing of how his national movement helps the GOP and offers the best shot of beating Democratic front-runner former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Kelly mirrors Ailes’ inappropriate vendetta with Trump—something he’s losing very badly.
Since the first debate, Trump challenged Fox News’s stranglehold on the Republican Party. Controlling the GOP airwaves since 1996, Fox News’s relentless anti-liberal attacks helped fuel the bitter partisan divide leaving Congress paralyzed. Ailes motto of “fair-and-balanced” mirror a calculated attempt of the Fox News Channel to only back the conservatives, not matter what the cost. Promoting the war between Democrats and Republicans helped elect President Barack Obama in 2008. Obama’s attack on red-and-blue states and Washington’s war between Republicans and Democrats helped get him elected. While promising to lead a post-partisan presidency, Obama did the opposite, creating a toxic partisan atmosphere exceeding divisions in George W. Bush presidency. Obama’s failure overcome the bitter partisanship opened the door for a candidate like Trump.
Ailes remains fixated on Trump because he sees his presidency as ending Fox News monopoly on GOP media politics. Promoting nonsense about the GOP establishment plotting to upend Trump makes good headlines but does nothing to change the narrative. Putting its remaining stock in Cruz, Fox News doesn’t want voters to see what’s coming next. Contrary to Fox News pundits talking up a brokered convention, Trump should have plenty of delegates before GOP primaries end June 7. When you look at the rest on the delegate-rich states, they’re all leaning toward Trump. As Trump piles up more wins, it’s becoming clear to GOP voters that he’ll be the Party’s 2016 nominee. Continuing to rip Trump on the Kelly File, Ailes damages the Fox News brand, showing his vindictiveness, over following popular trends of more credible Fox News anchors backing Trump.
Showing that he’s no longer fit to run the Fox News Channel, Ailes has let his emotions run wild against Trump. Instead of seeing Trump as a threat to Fox News, Ailes should follow the lead of O’Reilly and Hannity recognizing that Trump’s growing GOP movement promises to benefit all, including Fox News. Ripping Trump on the Kelly File shows the opposite of what Ailes claims, namely, that Fox News is consumed with attacking Trump. Trump’s objections to Ailes and Kelly stem purely from their unending attacks. Ailes needs to stop defending Kelly and recognize that ripping Trump only harms the Fox News Channel. Highlighting Trump’s flaws only backfires on Fox News by ignoring Trump’s meteoric success, on his way to the 2016 GOP nomination. Instead of fighting the inevitable, Ailes and Kelly should reconsider their anti-Trump message and strategy.
