\u00ab\u00a0It doesn’t help anybody.\u00a0\u00bb<\/b>
\nEt Tu, Fox & Friends?
President Trump apparently watches this show during his early morning \u201cexecutive time,\u201d so there\u2019s a chance he saw this today when not one but two of the show\u2019s co-hosts challenged the phrase \u201cenemy of the people\u201d as a way to refer to the media.
\u201cI really wish he would lose that term,\u201d co-host Kilmeade said, adding, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t help anybody.\u201d He continued, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t push back on the media that he wants to push back on and I think it gets too many other people\u2026get shrapnel with that statement. Because the press isn\u2019t the enemy of the people. Some of the things they say and the way they stack their shows, the president could look [at them] as if they\u2019re targeting him and he\u2019s got a case. But that broad statement does a lot of damage.\u201d
Co-host Steve Doocy said, \u201cWell I think he probably feels like they are not doing him any favors and so he doesn\u2019t like \u2019em, ultimately. But are they the enemy of the people? I don\u2019t think so either.\u201d
Only co-host Ainsley Earhardt chose not to chime in, though I sort of get the impression producers might have been urging the hosts to move on from the topic. Kilmeade at one point started to say something else and then dropped it.
It\u2019s not the first time Kilmeade has disagreed with Trump on the show. In fact, Kilmeade has challenged Trump on the wisdom of some of his statements pretty regularly. Still, the president seems to still be a fan of the show so maybe he appreciates some tough love once in a while.
All of this was prompted by an interview Trump gave to Laura Ingraham which aired on her show last night. Ingraham also pushed Trump a bit on why he chose to use the phrase. Trump responded, \u201cWhen I say the enemy of the people, I mean the fake news.\u201d Trump then talked a bit about his attempts to improve the situation with North Korea as an example of the media treating him unfairly.
\u201cBut how does it help expand your base to call them the enemy of the people?\u201d Ingraham asked. She added, \u201cHow does it help America heal in times like this?\u201d
Trump talked some more about North Korea, finishing his point and then said, \u201cIt\u2019s my form of telling the truth.\u201d
Kilmeade is right in this case. He\u2019s right that Trump has reason to complain about some of the coverage he gets, and he\u2019s right that \u201cenemy of the people\u201d is a big club when what would often be better is a scalpel. You saw some of this yesterday when CNN\u2019s Jim Acosta was going after Sarah Sanders. Acosta asked for a list of media organizations the president believes are enemies of the people. Sanders said it wasn\u2019t always about organizations but individuals. If so, Trump should be free to name those people and call out what they got wrong, but as Kilmeade said, \u201cthat broad statement\u201d results in a lot of people taking shrapnel.
Trump has heard all of these complaints before and it hasn\u2019t changed his approach. The difference is that now he\u2019s hearing it from his friends. Maybe that will make him think twice. Here\u2019s the clip of Fox & Friends:<\/p>\n

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