Fox Affiliate Axes Staffer for Doctoring Video of Trump Address

FOX affiliate Q13 in Seattle announced Thursday that it terminated an employee for altering a video of President Donald Trump’s first Oval Office address,which aired on its broadcast.

The video, which aired during the Seattle-based news station’s broadcast of President Trump’s prime time speech, shows the president sticking his tongue out as he called on Democrat leaders to rise above partisan politics to “support national security” and stop illegal immigration. The video’s saturation level was also altered, giving the president’s skin and hair an orange tint.

“This does not meet our editorial standards and we regret if it is seen as portraying the president in a negative light,” Q13 news director Erica Hill said of the video in a statement to the Seattle Times.

In a second statement, the news director announced that the staffer behind the video had been fired. “We’ve completed our investigation into this incident and determined that the actions were the result of an individual editor whose employment has been terminated,” Hill said.

Below is a side-by-side comparison of CNN’s broadcast to the doctored video.

In his first address to the nation, President Trump called for Democrats to support legislation that would provide $5.7 billion for a U.S.-Mexico border wall to prevent further shedding of “American blood” by illegal aliens.  “I have invited congressional leadership to the White House tomorrow to get this done. Hopefully, we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security,” the president said in his nine-minute address, before lamenting a partial government shutdown entering its 20th day Thursday, could come to an end with a “45-minute meeting” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

President Trump also highlighted the various crimes committed by illegal aliens, pledging to “never forget the pain” of those he met who have been impacted. “How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job? For those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask to imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken,” he said.