One of the things that irk me most about our unscrupulous media is the way certain government officials are treated. For many journalists, any federal government official is empowered to speak on any issue related to the current administration, regardless of their title and duties.
Yesterday’s “Fox News Sunday” interview with National Security Advisor John Bolton was a prime example of this mismatch in questioning. Bolton is a well-known foreign policy hawk who advocates for constant intervention against America’s adversaries. There is plenty to question him on in this regard, specifically with Russia, which continues to interfere in our electoral process. (RELATED: Trump Asked About Russian Election Interference – Replies ‘Where Is the Server?’)
So what does Fox’s Chris Wallace do when he has Bolton live on the air? He questions him, among other things, Trump’s aggressive rhetoric towards the media. (RELATED: President Trump Belittles Media During VFW Convention Speech – Crowd Joins In.)
Here’s how the exchange went down:
WALLACE: You talked about the media and the idea that they all jump off the telephone line at the same time –
BOLTON: Not all of them, but a lot of them –
WALLACE: But a lot of them do at the same time. In a much more direct way, the president critiqued the media, and I wanna put up his tweet.
Notice how Wallace tries to tangentially tie foreign policy into a critique that is primarily about media bias. Here is the Trump tweet referenced:
The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018
The exchange continues:
WALLACE: Ambassador, what wars have we started?
BOLTON: Look, I think the issue of press bias has been around for a long, long time. As a boy, I supported Barry Goldwater in 1964. I thought the press was biased against him. I don’t think it’s changed much since then.
WALLACE: Absolutely agreed. There is press bias. People get stories wrong, and people are called out for it – and we should be called out if we make a mistake. Cause war? Sick? Divisive? This is taking it to a completely different level.
BOLTON: Well, that’s the president’s view based on the attacks that the media have made on him.
WALLACE: Okay.
Here is the full interview:
First of all, Bolton doesn’t have to answer for President Trump’s personal opinion. It’s a cheap shot to even ask him to.
Second, it’s the President’s view the media is hopelessly biased, and it’s not totally wrong. The media controls the narrative of major events. If they report that Russia fired an ICBM at the United States, wouldn’t that prompt a response from the military?
Trump is right to question the media constantly. They have an enormous amount of power they don’t always use responsibly. And Wallace, as a Fox host, should know that better than anyone.
