Why this Fox News tweet about Republicans turning on Trump

Why this Fox News tweet about Republicans turning on Trump



Are Republican Senators who voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial betraying him?Of course not. But Fox News evidently thought so.To get more foxnews updates, you can visit shine news official website.

“Here are the Republicans who turned their backs on Trump during impeachment trial vote,” a tweet sent Saturday from the network’s brand account read, after the U.S. Senate acquitted Trump. Seven Republicans voted to convict him.Turned their backs on him? By listening to evidence for days and voting how they believed they should?

What an absurd tweet. It was later deleted without explanation or clarification. The network didn't respond to requests for comment.The story itself couldn’t be more straightforward: “7 Republican senators vote to convict Trump on indictment charge,” the headline reads. It’s basically a list of them, along with available statements explaining the votes.Anyone clicking through to the story from the tweet must have been surprised.

This wasn’t a tweet from one of the network’s opinion hosts, like Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson. That would be acceptable for their roles. But the network goes to great pains to tout the independence of its news division. I have on occasion written just that: The straight news reporting is usually solid on Fox News; the network does a respectablejob of covering stories.Trump famously has soured on Fox News, especially since the network’s decision desk called Arizona for Joe Biden early on election night. The fear of losing far-right-wing viewers to upstarts like Newsmax and the One America News Network, where there is no real objectivity in the reporting, is legitimate, and could be costly.

But it’s not worth betraying basic standards of journalism ethics and audience trust. Granted, the core Fox News audience may want to read such a tweet. That doesn't make it the right thing to do.Nice headline,” one person tweeted in response. “By nice, I mean an absurd and obsequious debasing of conservatism for a guy who would sooner burn the Constitution than defend it — and has proved it again and again.”

And another, even more to the point: “You should probably rethink this tweet. It’s dangerous.”Agreed. The vote took place in the U.S. Capitol, where on Jan. 6 a violent mob invaded. Voting your conscience could carry real-world consequences, especially for senators who voted against the party line.