Would you take financial advice from this man?
by digby
Earlier this week some of the Fox News people like Brit Hume, Neil Cavuto and Shepard Smith objected to Trump’s tweeting that Fox is no longer doing a good job for him. They like to pretend they are “fair and balanced” and it makes them uncomfortable to have the president admitting out loud that they are a GOP propaganda outfit and more recently Trump state TV.
However, some of the Fox hosts were clearly upset that Trump had found them wanting and they went out of their way to make it up to their Dear Leader. Case in Point, Stuart Varney who is reduced to outright denial of reality.
Karoli at Crooks and Liars caught the exchange:
“I’m running against this president, because I believe he lies virtually every time he opens his mouth. You know that, too–” Walsh said.
Varney interrupted, clearly irritated at that last part. “No, I do not,” he huffed.
Walsh continued, “I believe he’s morally unfit—”
Interrupting again, Varney managed an indignant denial before warning, “Do not impute that to me, Joe Walsh.”
Undeterred, Walsh pointed out that Trump is a danger to the country.
Aside: I’m not at all convinced that Joe Walsh is playing a good guy role here, but it doesn’t really matter when you put him up next to Stuart Varney, who is clearly and obviously “working for” Donald Trump.
Getting madder and madder, Varney laid into Walsh.
“Don’t do it, Don’t do it. Do not impute that on me,” Varney yelled. “Look, I invited you on — you are on this program because I got questions … Look, you’re on the program because I’ve got questions that I want to ask. And when I get an answer like, I know — “Stuart Varney knows that the president lies,” I’m going to push back. Because that’s nonsense, and you know it’s nonsense. And don’t try to bring me into your phony arguments.”
[…]
WALSH: I believe, Stuart — I’ll give you an example, just from yesterday — and even his staff, Stuart, admitted that he lied this week when he said there were high-level phone calls between the United States and China. Trump said that repeatedly. His staff came out yesterday, and admitted that the President of the United States lied to the world
VARNEY: No, they didn’t.WALSH: to manipulate the markets. I have a problem with that.
VARNEY: That’s not a lie. Let’s not get technical.
WALSH: That’s not a lie?
VARNEY: No, that’s not a lie. If the man says — and he did — that high-level talks had been held with China, that is not a lie. They were held with China.
WALSH: Stuart, he said there were high-level phone calls with Chinese officials. His staff admitted that was not true — that he lied in order to manipulate the market.
VARNEY: OK, Give me another one.
An incredulous Walsh asked Varney, “Really, you don’t believe that that’s a lie?”
Varney, with a straight face, answers that he doesn’t, and furthermore, “I really object to you saying to me, ‘And you know it is, Stuart.’ I do not know it is. And please, don’t bring me into your nonsense.”
NARRATOR: It is, in fact, a lie.
But Varney’s job isn’t to tell the truth, it’s to serve Donald Trump, which is why the segment ends this way:
WALSH: Stuart, do you believe this president lies?
VARNEY: No.WALSH: You don’t believe he’s ever lied?
VARNEY: He exaggerates and spins.
WALSH: OK. Do you believe he’s ever told the American people a lie?
VARNEY: No.
You’d think even his staunchest supporters would flinch at such a ridiculous statement. But it appears to be an official talking point:
CNN host Chris Cuomo had to check that his earpiece was working properly on Wednesday night after Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, claimed with a straight face that President Donald Trump has never lied to the American people.
In case you are feeling just a little bit crazy after seeing these people, here’s a dose of clarity:
He’s not just a liar. He’s a pathological liar of a scale most of us have never seen before. In fact, I’m guessing there has never in world history a liar of such proportions in such a powerful position. That’s one thing. Maybe it’s a fluke or a function of ou celebrity culture that some with such sever psychological impairment could rise to high office.
But what can we say about the Stuart Varneys among us, the people who say “you can believe him or you can believe your lying eyes?”
They are either monumentally stupid, delusional or evil. And there are millions of them.
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