Appearing on the Tuesday edition of the Fox Business Network’s Trish Regan Primetime, the MRC’s Tim Graham and the eponymous host ripped the liberal media for pushing a “cuckoo conspiracy theory” about President Trump being a dictator and dismissing questions about the integrity of our electoral system (especially the voting recounts in South Florida).
Regan first told Graham that she’s “sickened which the lack of responsibility among so many of my colleagues at these other networks” and that “[i]t really irritates me” because they casually “throw out these historical references, which make no sense,” such as the comparisons between Trump and Hitler.
Graham responded that “[w]e’ve had almost two years of actual governing reality and as yet, there are no concentration camps” or second Holocaust or World War III to which Regan wondered if it’s “kind of insulting” to not only history but those killed in the Holocaust and those who’ve died fighting for our freedoms.
To that point, Graham took the liberal media to task, with a special nod to CNN:
And again, these are the networks that would say we are Facts First. We’re the people that bring you the real news. Not like Fox. Fox is state-run media and the reality is, that they don't deal in facts. They don't deal in trying to report what is Broward County doing? Who is Brenda Snipes? What is her record. They don’t care.
Following a clip of MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch suggesting Trump would seek to remain in power via military coup if he loses in 2020, Regan fretted that she “half-thought he was joking, but I don’t think he [was].”
Graham concluded by noting that anyone who made that crazy assertion about Barack Obama would have been (correctly) labeled “kooky people” on those same networks. But when someone levels that conspiracy theory about Trump: “MSNBC says this is what we consider an expert. I mean, it’s — it’s — it is a cuckoo conspiracy theory. ”
In her monologue prior to Graham’s hit, Regan humorously reacted to clips of CNN’s Joe Lockhart and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough going apoplectic over those asking questions about the less-than-competent electoral officials in South Florida: “Blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, enough. Just stop.”
Regan then made her serious points, wondering if the media would feel better if the President thought like they did and did what they want him to do, whether it's dealing with the Central American caravan, the Florida recounts, illegal immigration writ large, or even the Mueller probe.
She added (click “expand”):
[B]ut you have got to think sometimes about substance. Right? It's a point I always make about how we have to think about policy. Policy is important. What is the economic policy that’s going to drive us forward. What is it we can we do to keep us safe? In this case, the substance is legit. He wants legal immigration. What's wrong with that? He wants to prevent voter fraud. What's wrong with that? And he believes there’s no there there with Mueller. Isn't he entitled to have an opinion? You know, the mainstream and left-wing media, they need to get a grip because, I’ll tell you, after a while they all sound like chicken little. “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” It's not. But these pundits do not care. They do not care about history. I hate the way they throw around history, all these historical references like they know something about history. They don't. They don't understand history. The only thing they understand is ratings.
To see the relevant transcript from FBN’s Trish Regan Primetime on November 13, click “expand.”
FBN’s Trish Regan Primetime
November 13, 2018
8:29 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Liberal Media’s Outrageous Claims]
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Questioning the legitimacy of elections you may lose, or trying to stop the votes of people who may vote against you. That's not what we do in America. That's what happens in banana republics.
JOE LOCKHART: He has single handedly sought to undermine every institution in this country that we depend on. [SCREEN WIPE] And if you go through the scope of history, the reason leaders do this is to take and gather power and become authoritarian.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trish: The Mainstream Media Needs to Get a Grip]
TRISH REGAN: Blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, enough. Just stop. When an entire system — let me just point this out cause I like everybody to see both sides, so I'm trying to teach the mainstream media something here. When an entire system is stacked against you, are you supposed to just roll over? What do you do? Do you expect them to go out there and praise Robert Mueller when, in his mind and his heart, he believes he did nothing wrong. Is he supposed to: “Ah, uh, mainstream media you are right. I am just going to retire now.” Is he supposed to say: “Fine. Open the floodgates. Bring them all in. Thousands of migrants that want to come here — why not just allow all of Latin America to come here while we’re at it? You’ve got people wanting to go stampede our borders and according to the mainstream media, it's somehow discriminatory to not allow them? Or in Florida after an election was called, is the President not supposed to ask questions about how 93,000 votes just suddenly show up? I mean, some in the back an Avis rental car and the woman in charge of counting the votes has had this troubled history as an elections supervisor, these are all logical reactions, Look, I get that his style isn't always what some in the mainstream media want and that's just the way it is, but you have got to think sometimes about substance. Right? It's a point I always make about how we have to think about policy. Policy is important. What is the economic policy that’s going to drive us forward. What is it we can we do to keep us safe? In this case, the substance is legit. He wants legal immigration. What's wrong with that? He wants to prevent voter fraud. What's wrong with that? And he believes there’s no there there with Mueller. Isn't he entitled to have an opinion? You know, the mainstream and left-wing media, they need to get a grip because, I’ll tell you, after a while they all sound like chicken little. “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” It's not.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trish: Liberal Media Doesn’t Understand History]
But these pundits do not care. They do not care about history. I hate the way they throw around history, all these historical references like they know something about history. They don't. They don't understand history. The only thing they understand is ratings. Joining me right now, the director of Media Research Center, Tim Graham. Tim, I am just sickened which the lack of responsibility among so many of my colleagues at these other networks. It really irritates me and I was a history major in school and still consider myself a bit of an historian. I mean, hey, I’m living on the front lines of history here every night, right? But they throw out these historical references, which make no sense. These analogies that make no sense but somehow are scary enough to have people thinking that, my goodness, this president is the next Adolph Hitler in the making. Your thoughts.
TIM GRAHAM: This is something that you — maybe you could say this in 2016 before he was elected. We’ve had almost two years of actual governing reality and as yet, there are no concentration camps. There is no Holocaust. There is no World War III.
REGAN: Isn't it kind of insulting to history? Isn’t it kind of insulting to the millions of people who lost their lives as we celebrate veterans day to all those that died trying to defend our nation and Europe? For the likes of Joe Scarborough to repeatedly invoke the Hitler references or, you know, the other guy, Joe Lockhart over there on CNN talking about authoritarian regimes and dictatorships, etc. I mean, they’re going down a slippery slope.
GRAHAM: And again, these are the networks that would say we are Facts First. We’re the people that bring you the real news. Not like Fox. Fox is state-run media and the reality is, that they don't deal in facts. They don't deal in trying to report what is Broward County doing? Who is Brenda Snipes? What is her record. They don’t care.
REGAN: I think that these are fair questions to be asking and we should be asking and we should be asking because it’s about the importance and the sanctity of our electoral process and our elections system. Let me show you speaking of crazy mainstream media times. Let me show you this clip of one of those folks. Here we go.
DONNIE DEUTSCH: In the sad event he does win and he does lose, which would be a happy event, it would be stunning what he would say. He would be a President going “I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving. Call the military.” I mean, it is that — we have to look at this man. He really would do that. He would say: “No, no, no. [INAUDIBLE] I'm still here.” And even if they carried him out, he would turn to 50 million Americans and say: “I am still your President and this is my new government.” This is what we’re dealing with.
REGAN: You know, I kind of half-thought he was joking, but I don’t think he is, Tim. Your response.
GRAHAM: This is — there were certain people who thought Barack Obama was not going to cede power at the end of his 8 years and those where kooky people. So, I mean, and yet, MSNBC says this is what we consider an expert. I mean, it’s — it’s — it is a cuckoo conspiracy theory.
REGAN: Listen, I mean, look, it’s cuckoo conspiracy theory. I like that. We can coin that term. Maybe we’ll start to use that. The cuckoos out there in mainstream medialand. Tim, good to see you. Thank you so much.
