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Since being confirmed as Attorney General, William Barr has been somewhat of a hero in the right-wing media universe. He attacked the Russian probe. He spoke of a big match on the Antifa crackdown. He sharply criticized the news media. And so on.
Barr’s statement, which only recites a simple fact, goes against not only what Trump said, but also what Trump’s propagandists and allies in the right-wing media are feeding their audiences. For weeks, these media figures drew their audiences, suggesting damning evidence of fraud was imminent. That’s why Barr’s comment stung so badly.
The comment effectively forced these right-wing stars to choose between acknowledging the reality presented by Barr or pursuing Trump’s fantasy. Trump’s staunchest propagandists have chosen the latter. And so they started throwing Barr under the bus, like they did with all the other Tories who dared to contradict the president. (Think about how former conservative stars like Jeff Sessions, Justin Amash, Paul Ryan and others were treated when they didn’t blindly obey Trump’s demands.)
“A liar or a fool or both”
Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, whose conspiratorial agenda is one of the president’s favorites, attacked Barr in blunt terms on his show. “For the United States Attorney General to make that statement – he’s either a liar or a fool or both,” Dobbs said. Dobbs then went further, suggesting that Barr was “maybe compromised”. He characterized Barr as having “appeared to join the radical Dems and the Deep State and the resistance.”
Dobbs was not the only one. Newsmax host Greg Kelly, who has risen to fame in right-wing media circles in recent weeks for suggesting that Trump could become the election winner, Barr continued on his show. “Some of us wonder if he’s a warrior with the Constitution or if he’s just a bureaucrat,” Kelly said. Kelly added that he “can’t believe” if Barr “looked for voter fraud, he wouldn’t find it.” And Mark Levin said he “regrets[ted] say “that Barr’s comments were” misleading “.
Far-right blogs were even harsher. The Gateway Pundit, a fringe website that Trump has repeatedly promoted, ran an article that said Barr had been “totally deaf, dumb and blind.” The post went on to say that “Barr’s charade as a person opposed to Deep State crime” had been “exposed as a venal lie” and that he was a “fraud”. He concluded, “Either you fix this damn corrupt system or we will abandon you …
Some hold the fire
While Barr has been heavily criticized by some notable names in right-wing media, others refrained from attacking him on Tuesday night. Notably, heavyweights Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity didn’t scramble the GA. It will be interesting over the next 24 hours whether this anti-Barr narrative gains traction in pro-Trump media, or if it dissipates.
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