The relationship between Trump and Fox News appears to be getting stronger with each passing day. Trump has just hired a Fox talking head with a history of making extraordinary poor predictioons to be his leading economic voice. John Bolton may follow as the head of the NSC if his mustache doesn’t get in the way. Independent commentators have found a direct correlation between the matters discussed on “Fox and Friends” and Trump’s tweets. “Executive time” appears to be increasing. And so on.
Such a close relationship between a TV network and a president is unprecedented, to my knowledge. What does it mean for the country?
Nothing good. People who appear frequently on TV are usually experts on TV–nothing more. They are typically put on the air because they attract ratings, not because they have any great expertise in anything. For Fox News, the more the commentators trigger liberals, the more they please the base, and the better ratings the network gets. For Trump, that may be emotionally satisfying, but it is not a governing philosophy, and it certainly doesn’t do anything to bring the country together.