'In too deep: Right-wing media remains loyal to Trump even as economy tanks — here's why

Far-right Fox News host Jeanine Pirro drew plenty of scathing criticism from liberal and progressive media outlets for a comment she made during a panel discussion on April 3, when she remarked, "I don't really care about my 401k today. We've got to have manufacturing in this country."

Pirro made that remark at a time when the stock market was plummeting because of President Donald Trump's steep new tariffs. And many critics slammed Pirro as painfully tone-deaf, reminding her that for older Americans and retirees who need 401k money to live on, a tanking stocking market is no joke.

But in right-wing media, many pro-Trump pundits had no problem with what she said.

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In an article published on April 12, The Guardian's Ed Berger examines right-wing media responses to the volatility the stock market is experiencing because of Trump's economic policies.

"The chaos of last week posed a serious challenge to many aspects of right-wing U.S. media, which often acts as a largely unquestioning cheerleader for Trump and his MAGA movement," Berger explains. "The story was sometimes played down, sometimes cheered but rarely seriously questioned — even amid warnings of price rises, recession and cratering investments, especially precious 401(k) retirement accounts."

Berger notes that some media outlets pride themselves on being to the right of Fox News.

"The most popular conservative news source in the United States is Fox News, which has a much larger audience than CNN and the left-wing MSNBC network," Berger observes. "Its hosts, such as Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters, consistently praise Trump and bolster his inaccurate claims. But Fox News has faced new competition from Newsmax and One American News Network (OANN), networks that positioned themselves as even more reliable Trump supporters…. While Fox Business, a sibling network, had guests who criticized the tariffs, Fox News personalities told viewers nervous about their investments that everything would work out well."

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Berger points out that according to Media Matters' Matt Gertz, Fox News hosts are afraid to criticize Trump because they're "in too deep."

Gertz said of Fox News, "They have, for nearly a decade now, sold their audience on the sense that Donald Trump would be a good president. Now, he is single-handedly causing a worldwide market collapse…. (but) they can't abandon him."

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Read The Guardian's full article at this link.