Fox News Denies Own Reporter Confirmed Trump Used ‘Suckers and Losers’ After Airing Interview of Her Confirming It
Fox News is having a hard time covering the president’s ass following The Atlantic’s reporting that claims Trump harshly disparaged the military — mostly because their own reporter has confirmed much of what the report said.
On Saturday morning, following a late Friday night tweet from the president calling on Fox News to fire her, the network’s national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin told host Neil Cavuto that Trump did indeed use the sort of language The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg said the president had.
After being asked about The Atlantic’s framing of Trump’s comments, Griffin told Cavuto that she double-checked with her sources this morning and they reconfirmed both Goldberg’s reporting and her own.
“Well, I circled back with my source this morning and he firmly said this was not a one-off,” Griffin said, adding that Trump “used, according to my source, he used ‘suckers’ and that term repeatedly to describe McCain and anyone who went to Vietnam.”
Griffin continued, “He always described — according to the source — Vietnam vets as those who couldn’t get out of it. And he would often say to his advisers when they suggested that he would go to visit the war dead, ‘What is it about you guys and guys who get killed?’ So, he used ‘losers.’ That’s a big part of the president’s vernacular. I think anyone who’s been around him knows that.”
Later on Saturday, Fox News continued to undermine Griffin’s reporting even after her morning interview.
Fox News: @JenGriffinFNC did not confirm the salacious part about 'suckers and losers.'@JenGriffinFNC: According to my source he used 'suckers' repeatedly… He used 'losers.' That's a big part of the president's vernacular. I think anyone who's been around him knows that. pic.twitter.com/gj3NdtdfKb
— Peter Wade 🤦♂️ (@brooklynmutt) September 5, 2020
On Friday during Fox News’ The Five, the hosts, with a total disregard for their own network’s reporting, called the story a “hoax” and a “scam.” And later, Fox News’ chief political news anchor Bret Baier reported on the story with a chyron that read: “Fake News.”
Trump’s propaganda network seems to be fighting with itself on this one, and the viewers, as the president might say, are the big losers.