CHANGE OF HEART
Fox Pundits Spent Months Questioning Mueller’s Trustworthiness. Now They’re Taking His Word as Gospel.
The Fox party line throughout Mueller’s investigation was to cast the special counsel as partisan and someone not to be trusted. Now that the report’s in, minds have changed.
The messaging on Fox News and Fox Business about Robert Mueller’s investigation was consistent for a year and a half: The Special Counsel’s office was compromised, partisan, and not to be trusted.
That all changed Sunday, however, when Attorney General William Barr released his summary of Mueller’s conclusions. Suddenly, Fox hosts and pundits were happy to laud the report, claiming it exonerated President Donald Trump. Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, nearly in tears, declared herself “proud that we were on the right side of justice” in their reporting on the investigation.
We’ve compiled some side-by-sides of Fox’s experts unquestioningly embracing Mueller’s findings (as described by the attorney general) after 18 months of urging viewers not to believe those findings, once they finally emerged. Some choice quotes:
Jeanine Pirro: “If you think you can trust the upcoming Mueller report, think again.”
Jesse Watters: “I don’t trust Mueller.”
Gregg Jarrett: “Mueller has proven he cannot be trusted.”
Sean Hannity: “I just don’t trust Mueller and his team.”
Lou Dobbs: “Mueller and his team of partisan hacks.”
There’s plenty more. It’s amazing how hearts and minds can change!