Hypocrisy network...

Conservative media’s analysis of hearing gets rosier as day goes on

By JASON SCHWARTZ

When Air Force One landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday morning, all the televisions onboard were tuned to Fox News’ coverage of Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony, according to a press pool report. The analysis from the news hosts on President Donald Trump’s favorite network may not have been what he was hoping to hear.

By the end of the day, though, once Judge Brett Kavanaugh had his turn to testify about Ford’s sexual assault allegation, the tune coming out of the network would be much more to Trump’s liking.

On Fox News as well as other media outlets favored by conservatives, Thursday was a tale of two testimonies. While earlier in the day the Fox hosts were talking of a Republican “disaster,” by the end anchors were speaking positively about Kavanaugh’s prospects for getting confirmed to the Supreme Court, citing in particular the performance of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in rallying fellow Republicans.

Early on, during the first break in Ford’s testimony, Fox News anchor Bret Baier said, “Compelling testimony, obviously emotional.”

Fellow news anchor Martha MacCallum, noting the disjointed nature of the questioning by a sex crimes prosecutor hired by Republicans for the hearing, said, “You have to believe that the Republican senators right now are asking themselves whether this was a good idea, whether or not they have robbed themselves of the opportunity to ask pointed questions in a way that perhaps might be more compelling.”

But it was veteran news host Chris Wallace who dropped the hammer the hardest.

“This was extremely emotional, extremely raw and extremely credible,” he said. “Nobody could listen to her deliver those words and talk about the assault and the impact it had on her life and not have your heart go out to her.”

“This is a disaster for Republicans,” Wallace said, referring to the format and the questioning by Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor brought in from Arizona. He later added, “The Democrats are landing haymakers.”

The network stocked its coverage of the hearing with its most respected news voices. In addition to Baier, MacCallum and Wallace, Shannon Bream and Brit Hume were on set, as well as commentator Marie Harf.

The panel spent much of its time around Ford’s testimony discussing the shortcomings of the hearing’s format and Mitchell’s questioning, though it was clear they found Ford compelling. Hume described her as a “very sympathetic witness.”

The on-air statements stood in contrast to the opinions aired on previous nights by the network’s opinion hosts. Laura Ingraham, for instance, on her show accused Ford of making up a therapist’s notes from 2012, which Ford says describe her recounting her alleged assault.

Reacting to criticism on Twitter that the Fox News commentary was overly kind to Ford, Baier tweeted: “We are covering the news. No matter where it falls. Thanks. If you think that the first section of this hearing was a win for the GOP — then you saw a different hearing. So far.”

The “so far” part ended up being important.

During an early break in Kavanaugh’s testimony, Andrew Napolitano, a conservative legal analyst, joined the panel, offering a rave for the nominee.

“He came out swinging as he needed to,” Napolitano said. “This was a clear and almost ferocious defense of himself, which rivaled in its emotional impact the brilliantly executed defense of Justice [Clarence] Thomas in a similar situation.”

He added: “If Republicans were gloomy two hours ago, I don’t think they are now.”

But the Fox panel was especially taken with Graham’s fiery defense of Kavanaugh — and his attack on Democrats. The anchors declared particularly effective the Republicans’ decision to drop Mitchell — and her lawyerly questions — in favor of the senators themselves entering the fray.

MacCallum described Graham’s speech as “one of the most powerful moments we’ve seen on the Senate floor.” And Wallace, objecting to Democrats’ fixation on questions about Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook, said: “He really called out the absurdity and in a sense the sadness of it. The fact that this is a game the Democrats are playing. He kind of called B.S. on them, and now you see it.”

At the hearing’s conclusion, Hume — who earlier opined that Kavanaugh’s anger could well be the mark of an outraged innocent man — lamented a “damaged” process, but said he thought Kavanaugh had helped his case.

“Judge Kavanaugh is damaged, this has been a terrible experience for Dr. Ford,” Hume said. “I think, politically speaking, we’re dealing here with a jury of a tiny handful of Republican senators. I think that Judge Kavanaugh probably did himself a lot of good with them.” He added: “The odds in his favor have improved.”

The shift in tone on Fox News was reflected throughout other media favored by conservatives. Perhaps the starkest example was on The Daily Wire, the conservative site run by Ben Shapiro. Following Ford’s testimony, the lead headline read: “How Republicans Blew the Christine Blasey Ford Hearing … And What Comes Next.”

Before Kavanaugh’s testimony had ended, however, that shifted to: “Kavanaugh’s Impassioned Rebuttal to Accusations of Sexual Abuse May Have Just Saved His Nomination.”

And by day’s end, Breitbart, which had been supportive of Kavanaugh throughout the day, declared, “JUDGMENT DAY: JUDGE KAVANAUGH CLEARS HIS NAME.”

The Fox News opinion hosts were equally thrilled.

Ingraham said relatively little on Twitter during Ford’s testimony but sprang to life during Kavanaugh’s. “This is a fantastic open,” she tweeted. “Kavanaugh is fighting like we need all conservatives fighting against this poisoned process.”

On his radio show, Sean Hannity, the Fox News host with probably the most influence over the president, also raved over the nominee’s performance, saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen more compelling testimony.”