In the wake of historic lawsuits, Rupert Murdoch’s exit, Tucker Carlson’s firing, and more, it might seem like Fox News is in retreat.—and the people who are likely to decide the next election tend to watch the network. Below, a 24-hour diary of what they’re hearing on a typical day: in this case, May 9, the day Stormy Daniels was cross-examined in Donald Trump’s trial.
“Gene, as to this longer cross-examination—makes sense to me. A longer cross gives Stormy Daniels more time to self-destruct on the stand,” says Piro, a former lawyer. “Bad for the prosecution, great for the defense. Your thoughts?” “You’re absolutely right, Todd,” says Hamilton. “That is exactly the purpose of an effective cross-examination. You have to undermine the witness’s credibility and show to the jury that what she is saying might in fact not be true.” An informative observation! Alas, I cannot tell you much more about the substance of this segment, because I got distracted by an unfortunately placed lighting fixture in Hamilton’s background, which made it look like there were antennae sprouting from his head.
“It is! We’re gonna go outside and see some dogs in a little while, but, in the meantime, welcome aboard,” says Doocy, as Earhardt chuckled and a stone-faced Brian Kilmeade stares directly into the camera, nodding grimly. Dogs, weather, and barely suppressed rage—that’s thecrew for an animated discussion that touches on several newsy topics, including the Israel-Gaza war. Scott is in New York to attend Trump’s trial, and the segment eventually works its way over to that story.
After laughing their way through the generational texting story and announcing that Kilmeade is the worst texter of all thecrew—it was a legitimately fun segment—the gang gets back on topic and throws to their man on the street at the Donald Trump trial.