With the liberal media still going bonkers over Donald Trump making a legal tax deduction available to everyone, and other outlandish reports flying around, the panel on Fox News’ The Kelly File took some time Monday to poke fun at them and analyze why they’re breaking now. Anchor Megyn Kelly could barely contain her laughter after listening to colleague Trace Gallagher rattle off recent ridiculous hit pieces, “And wanted to have sex with The Apprentice staffers and says bad things. And the AG. I mean, what?!”
The news outlet’s Digital Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt told Kelly that these kind of attacks are typical for this point in the election cycle, “So, it's October. We expect a lot of hot garbage in October.” But Stirewalt noted that there is an added layer of panic to the 2016 general election that was causing people to be “freaking the freak out.”
“And the reason this year feels different is both the candidates and the press are treating this not just as an election but an apocalypse,” he explained, “That the outcome of this election will write the book for the history of human kind, and all of America fever.”
Kelly drew attention to the fact that over the past couple of weeks there had been an increase in the number “hit pieces” directed at Trump from the press. “Now listen, that doesn't make them untrue. But they're hit pieces and they're trying so hard,” she stated before mocking the media’s vigor in attacking Trump, “The same media organizations many of whom could not give him enough favorable coverage during the GOP primary are now like, “What have we done? We’re so sorry. Let's go find The Apprentice contestants. War!”
She also pointed to the timing of the pieces and suggested that it was suspect. “Where was the AP in August or September of '15,” she argued, “Why it's not until October, 30 (whatever it was) days before the election that they come out with it.”
Helping to aid the point, she played a clip of Senator Ted Cruz from back on March 6 where he almost prophetically predicted the general election coverage. “And all of the attacks on Donald that the media is not talking about now, you better believe come September, October, November,” he said to CBS’ John Dickerson, “If he was the nominee every day on the nightly news would be taking Donald apart.”
After poking a little fun at Cruz, Stirewalt agreed with his premise:
But the reality here is that they rode the wave. The press rode the wave of Donald Trump clicks and coverage and celebrity and did all of this stuff. And I think Cruz is very right about this. Now it's serious. Now it's October. Now this is a person who many in the press and the mainstream say is totally unacceptable. So they're just now starting to unload on him and it's not going to end until the election.
In keeping with the theme of “hot garbage” hit pieces Stirewalt humorously added one at Hillary Clinton’s expense. “It is also unproven whether or not Hillary Clinton is actually a lizard in a human suit,” he joked, “That has never been proven or disproven. Let's face facts, America. No one has disproven that yet.”
Transcript below:
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Fox News
The Kelly File
October 3, 2016
9:04:58 PM Eastern…
MEGYN KELLY: OMG. I'll give it to you just like that Chris Stirewalt, OMG. Secret love child, secret visits to Walter Reid or denied visits for some heart valve leak that has never been proven. $916 million loss, hasn’t paid taxes in 18 years; totally legal, we’re supposed to be freaking out over it. And wanted to have sex with The Apprentice staffers and says bad things. And the AG. I mean, what?!
CHRIS STIREWALT: I like unproven. It is also unproven whether or not Hillary Clinton is actually a lizard in a human suit. That has never been proven or disproven. Let's face facts, America. No one has disproven that yet.
So, it's October. We expect a lot of hot garbage in October. We do expect that. This year feels different. And the reason this year feels different is both the candidates and the press are treating this not just as an election but an apocalypse. That the outcome of this election will write the book for the history of human kind, and all of America fever. And people are freaking the freak out. That's how it goes.
KELLY: Howie listen, we shared some of the stories that sort of the right wing media are doing on Hillary. But the vast majority of stories out today and over the weekend, over the past couple weeks, have been about Trump. Hit pieces on Trump. Now listen, that doesn't make them untrue. But they're hit pieces and they're trying so hard. The same media organizations many of whom could not give him enough favorable coverage during the GOP primary are now like, “What have we done? We’re so sorry. Let's go find The Apprentice contestants. War!”
HOWARD KURTZ: Well, they are throwing a lot of rocks and it's turned into an avalanche. And look, just yesterday Hillary Clinton's Press Secretary Brian Fallon told me the media are holding Donald Trump accountable, which means what they believe is that the press is making their case for them. Now among these rocks and pebbles and boulders were you have legitimate stories like The New York Times tax story, although it’s not a bolder because perfectly legal deduction for him to take.
And then you have things like where Donald Trump, as we’ve talked about, fuels the fire by talking about and tweeting about miss universe. But then you have the salacious stuff. Like these people at The Apprentice who said he engaged in locker talk. You know, it doesn’t look good, it’s like every interview he’s ever done with Howard Stern, except he was an entertainer then. And then finally, Megyn, you have stories that are unfair or totally out of context.
…
KELLY: Why didn't they do it back August of 2015? I mean, it was heighted in a debate question that was seen around the world. Where was the AP in August or September of '15? You tell me Stirewalt, why it's not until October, 30 (whatever it was) days before the election that they come out with it.
STIREWALT: Right. And Jeb bush is somewhere making himself a malted milk shake and wondering the same thing. And so is Marco Rubio and so are a bunch—
KELLY: Can I just interrupt you to prove your point? We had Ted Cruz who took a moment from crying in the soup to say this. Actually it was March 6th. Watch.
[Clip of Ted Cruz talking with CBS’s John Dickerson]
TED CRUZ: Listen, frankly, one of the reasons the media wants Donald to be the nominee is because the media knows that Donald can't win the general, that Hillary would wallop him.
And all of the attacks on Donald that the media is not talking about now, you better believe come September, October, November. If he was the nominee every day on the nightly news would be taking Donald apart. I can't tell you how many media outlets I hear, you know, have this great exposé on Donald, different aspects of his business dealing or his past. But they said, “you know what, we're going to hold it until June or July. We’re not going to run it now.”
…
KELLY: Go ahead Chris.
STIREWALT: I mean, whether or not they plan it—I’m sure that it's the single tear that rolled down Ted Cruz's face as he wrote the Facebook post in saying internet regulation was reason enough for him to back Donald Trump, or whatever. I'm sure it's hard, I’m sure times are sad. But the reality here is that they rode the wave. The press rode the wave of Donald Trump clicks and coverage and celebrity and did all of this stuff. And I think Cruz is very right about this. Now it's serious. Now it's October. Now this is a person who many in the press and the mainstream say is totally unacceptable. So they're just now starting to unload on him and it's not going to end until the election.
…
