Bristol Palin weighed in on the latest Donald Trump controversy, slamming Fox News and Erick Erickson for their thinly-veiled attempts to target the leader of the Republican presidential candidates after last week’s debate.
Fox used a series of questions designed to get a reaction from the real estate mogul, and even had a ‘nuclear option’ should Trump go too far with his antics. The nuclear option according to the LA Times was a procedure in place to have Trump escorted from the debate.
Meanwhile, Erick Erickson opted for a ploy which seemed more about publicity than anything else, ‘dis-inviting’ Trump from his RedState Gathering over comments Trump made about Megyn Kelly.
Essentially, Fox News targeted Trump with their questions, then a paid contributor to the network (Erickson) pulled him from a conservative event to allegedly defend another Fox anchor. Something smells, and Palin wasn’t about to let it slide.
Via Mediaite:
Bristol Palin slammed Fox News and Erick Erickson in her blog on Monday, saying that she was furious with the reactions Donald Trump has been seeing ever since the Republican debate.
“I used to use this blog to point out how liberals use the ‘outrage industry’ to manipulate people and keep their power. Now Republicans are just as bad,” Palin wrote.
Palin insisted that she does not agree with Trump on every position, but said that the debate questions and Erickson’s dis-invitation from the RedState gathering were proof that both were playing to the “politics of outrage.”
Throughout the post, Palin blasted Fox’s focus on “sexism and decency” as a way to distract viewers from a chance to learn about how the candidates feel about other issues. “I considered it an exploitation of the process,” Palin wrote. “[The debate] is supposed to inform the American people. Not gotcha questions, not gossip… I think the American people are owed an apology.”
Palin quickly pointed out that Erickson and Fox are not without sin when it comes to derogatory comments about women – particularly her own mother. Erickson’s RedState website had used a photoshopped image of Sarah Palin sitting on Santa Claus’ lap, while Chris Wallace once cracked a joke about having her sit on his lap during an interview.
Palin wasn’t exactly saying these things are necessarily game-changing comments, but she decried the fact that Fox and Erickson have been portraying Trump’s words and actions as game-changing themselves.
“Fox and Erickson need to get off their high horse on how outraged they are NOW about sexism and decency,” she wrote.
“Let’s focus on winning the election, not winning accolades from The New York Times.”
Comment: Who do you side with on this controversy, Donald Trump or Fox News and Erick Erickson?