On Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” with host Brian Stelter, Breitbart News editor-in-chief Alexander Marlow said Fox News host Megyn Kelly set a”very snarky tone” with her question to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about comments about women on his Twitter feed at last week’s Republican debate.
Marlow said Trump was attacked by the Fox News Channel hosts because, “I think Fox is trying to consolidate support of the GOP establishment as well as people in the center. The Fox bosses are geniuses. They’ve proven they can dominate cable news and dominate the Republican party in terms of media. They’re making a play, it seems like by this line of questioning, that they’re now going to go after the center, CBS, NBC, ABC. The media landscape is changing.”
When asked if Kelly did a nice job, Marlow said, “I don’t believe she did a nice job. I thought her line of questioning led to a lot of gossipy answers, and trying to create this sort of negative energy around Trump. I take issue with a lot of that. But I see Fox’s strategy. They put on a show.”
He added, “I don’t think she was doing her job. I think she was actually releasing opposition research similar to what you would have seen from the Democratic party. Going through sexual harassment claims from season six of [Trump’s NBC show] ‘The Apprentice’ where the guest doesn’t even recall what happened and wasn’t offended by it all.” Marlow continued, “There were 14 seasons,” Marlow said, “going back eight seasons seemed strange. There is a war on women going on on this planet, Brian. It’s not happening in Donald Trump’s boardroom or his Twitter feed. Yet that was the second question of the debate, setting the tone for a very snarky night.”
When asked if Trump failed a leadership test, Marlow said “I don’t think he failed it. I don’t think Trump gave great answers on that question. It’s shocking to have to defend your family. The Rosie O’Donnell clip, which again Megyn Kelly didn’t talk about, Rosie O’Donnell is mocking women in Trump’s pageants, mocking Trump’s family in that clip. So look, it took Trump aback, hopefully Trump will improve his answers. I think his answer to the first question [about a third party run] wasn’t great either. But it was his first debate as a presidential candidate. He didn’t look nervous, unlike many of the others. So, I think he’ll be around for a long time,” Marlow concluded.
“I think the grass roots were a little bit let down by [Fox News’s] line of questioning,” Marlow concluded. “I think a lot of the media elite appreciated what Fox did,” he said, citing positive coverage of the debate from CNN and The New York Times. However, “I have been hearing from grassroots people all week on our SiriusXM programs. We run something called the Breitbart primary at Breitbart News, from our commenters, we have 18 million readers now, and it’s overwhelming that they were let down. They love Fox. I don’t think this is the end of Fox as a conservative brand because they’re so dominant, but you do see that this is a move in a different direction.”
“Our audience, though it’s a vast audience, it’s diverse,” Marlow said, “it is largely conservative grassroots. That’s the primary voters. People who are going to The New York Times opinion page might not be those voting in the Republican primary. And some of these comments about Megyn Kelly are just going to solidify Trump’s support.”
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