Trump's latest Fox News hire looks even worse than Pete Hegseth
Pirro is unqualified, perhaps even more so than was her former Fox colleague Pete Hegseth when he was named Trump's defense secretary a few months ago. In that crucial position, Hegseth has been a dangerous embarrassment, as his shockingly inappropriate communications have exposed national security secrets to the world.
Pirro, although once a county-level district attorney, hasn't held a government legal position in decades. But she has been opining on Fox for 14 years, mostly recently as a host on The Five, the network's popular afternoon talkshow.
But no matter. She 'is in a class by herself', Trump wrote on social media in announcing his intention to make her the interim (and perhaps permanent) prosecutor.
His description may be accurate, but surely not in the way he intends.
Pirro's record at Fox is startlingly checkered, even for that propaganda outfit. She got in trouble with the network's brass a few years ago for her eager promotion of Trump's lies about supposed voter fraud in the 2020 election. (The voting-fraud lies became part of a defamation lawsuit against the network by a voting-systems company; Fox paid nearly $800m to settle the case and had to acknowledge that statements made on air were false.)
Fox once suspended her for her ugly commentary on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's wearing a hijab, which Pirro suggested was an adherence to 'sharia lawm which in itself is antithetical to the United States constitution'. And she advocated for a 'cleansing' of the FBI and the justice department because their ranks were full of people who 'need to be taken out in handcuffs'.
But none of this causes any real concern for the president, apparently, because Pirro has one huge thing going for her. Over the course of a long friendship and many visits to Mar-a-Lago, she has been relentlessly loyal to Trump.
In fact, she has gone well beyond loyalty into straight-up sycophancy.
On this score, Pirro has what it takes.
'Since Trump returned to office, Pirro has kept busy by showering him with praise and lashing out at anyone who stands in his way,' wrote Matt Gertz, senior fellow at the progressive watchdog group Media Matters, noting that she is the 23rd former Fox employee whom Trump has tapped for his administration.
Tom Homan, a former Fox contributor, became Trump's 'border czar', aggressively carrying out the administration's anti-immigrant policy, and Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and former host of a weekly Fox show, was named ambassador to Israel.
Beyond her peerless cheerleading, Pirro would be useful to Trump in practical terms, noted the New York Times in a news story.
She supports 'Trump's efforts to exact vengeance on his political enemies, has backed his challenges to federal judges who have questioned the legality of his immigration policies and spent months protesting the legitimacy' of Biden's 2020 election to the presidency.
Although Trump often doesn't return the favor of loyalty, he has stepped up for Pirro's family by pardoning her former husband (once Trump's lawyer), who in 2020 was convicted of conspiracy and tax-evasion charges.
All told, this is some serious symbiosis. In stepping away from her high-profile – and high-earning – TV job, Pirro may solve a sticky problem for Trump, whose earlier choice for the DC prosecutor's position ran into trouble with Senate Republicans.
It's not clear if Pirro's nomination will succeed, especially in the long term. Although Trump is nominating her on an interim basis, there's little doubt he'd like it to be permanent. But even the interim appointment may run into a legal fight over just how many acting US attorneys the president can appoint consecutively.
You might think that with Hegseth's rocky and widely criticized start as defense secretary – where he oversees almost three million employees while maintaining a TV star's firm jawline – the president would hesitate to choose another unqualified TV personality for a key role.
But Trump clearly doesn't see it that way.
There's hardly anything better, it turns out, than Fox News on one's resume. Even better when it's paired with a solid record of fealty to the Audience in Chief.
Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Toppled Confederate statue in DC to be replaced in line with Trump's executive order
A statue of a Confederate general that was toppled by protesters in Washington in 2020 will be restored and replaced this fall, in line with President Donald Trump 's pushback on recent efforts to reframe America's historical narrative. The National Park Service announced Monday that the statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate brigadier general and a revered figure among Freemasons, would resume its previous position in Washington's Judiciary Square, a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. It was the only outdoor statue of a Confederate military leader in the nation's capital. The statue was pulled down with ropes and chains on Juneteenth in 2020 as part of mass protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Confederate statues around the country were toppled by similar protests while several military bases named for Confederate leaders were renamed. The Pike statue restoration, which is targeted for October, 'aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation's capital and reinstate pre-existing statues,' the park service said in a statement. In March, Trump issued an executive order entitled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' It decried post-Floyd efforts to reinterpret American history, stating, 'rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame." The order targeted the Smithsonian network of museums as having 'come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.' It also instructed the Interior Department to restore any statue or display that was 'removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.' Pike, who died in 1891, is more known for his decades-long stint as a senior leader of the Freemasons than for his Confederate military career. The Masons lobbied Congress for the right to erect the statue on NPS land in 1901 — provided that he be depicted in civilian, not military, garb. But Pike did lead a regiment for the Confederacy during the Civil War. And as the only outdoor statue of a Confederate leader in Washington, D.C., it had been a source of controversy for decades. Even the brief Park Service page on the statue notes that it has 'stirred opposition since it was first planned.' A long history of demands for its removal The D.C. Council asked for its removal in 1992. In 2017, Mayor Muriel Bowser struck an agreement with congressional leaders to eventually remove it. When protesters toppled the statue in 2020 while police officers looked on, Trump — then in his first term — called it 'a disgrace to our Country' on social media and called for their immediate arrests. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington's non-voting delegate in Congress, called the Park Service move 'odd and indefensible' in a statement Monday. Norton said she would introduce legislation to remove the statue permanently and place it in a museum. 'I've long believed Confederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts," she said, 'not remain in parks and locations that imply honor.'
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
What to know about the killings of 4 Tennessee family members of an abandoned baby
A man accused of killing four family members of a baby girl that he left unharmed in a western Tennessee front yard miles from the crime scene last week was captured on Tuesday. Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was taken into custody after a search that put a community along the Mississippi River on edge and amid several unanswered questions surrounding the July 29 quadruple homicide in Tiptonville. Here's a closer look at what we know and don't know about the investigation: How did officials connect the killings with the baby? The investigation into the family's killings in Tiptonville began after an infant in a car seat was found in a front yard in the Tigrett area, roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) away. The Dyer County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that a caller reported that a minivan or midsize SUV had dropped the baby at a 'random individual's front yard.' The sheriff's office later said they were working with investigators in neighboring Lake County, where four people had been found dead. Officials determined those people were the child's parents, grandmother and uncle. Why was the baby found so far from the crime scene? That is not clear. Detectives believe Drummond drove the baby about 40 miles from Tiptonville, where they say he fatally shot the four adults, to the town of Tigrett, where the baby girl was left in a front yard. They haven't said publicly why Drummond chose that house. Dyer and Lake counties District Attorney Danny Goodman declined in an interview with The Associated Press to elaborate on what detectives know about this aspect of the case. He said only that the baby girl is safe now and in the custody of other relatives. What was the motive? Investigators have not revealed why they think Drummond carried out the killings. Goodman said Drummond knew the four people he's charged with killing and that Drummond's girlfriend is the sister of the child's grandmother, but it's unknown if he has any connection to the baby. The victims were found fatally shot in a wooded area near Reelfoot Lake, a swamplike body of water near the Mississippi River and not far from the Missouri border. Did the suspect act alone? Police say Drummond had help in the killings, but haven't elaborated further. Tennessee authorities charged Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovonte Thomas, 29, with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Investigators allege both men 'assisted' Drummond, 28, in the killings. Dearrah Sanders of Jackson, Tennessee, was also charged with being an accessory after the killings. Did Drummond have a criminal background? Yes, an extensive one. According to court records, Drummond spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store as a 16-year-old and threatening to go after jurors. He was tried as an adult for the July 2013 robbery in Jackson, Tennessee. During the robbery, he pointed a pistol at the gas station store worker and ordered the cash register to be opened, taking the $44 inside, court records show. At a 2020 parole hearing, Drummond said he was on Xanax the night of the robbery and doesn't remember robbing the gas station. He said the firearm was a BB gun. After the jury convicted him of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, he made threats to go after jurors, Drummond said during the hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to 13 counts of retaliation for past action and was given a combined 13-year sentence. His sentence ended in September 2024, according to Tennessee Department of Correction records. As of the 2020 parole hearing, Drummond had more than two dozen disciplinary issues in prison, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault, refusing a drug test and gang activity. Drummond was charged for several activities inside the prison, including attempted murder, after he completed the sentence that originally put him behind bars, Goodman said at a news conference. Drummond was out on bond on the other charges at the time of the killings, Goodman said. What happens next? Drummond is expected in court in Tiptonville for an arraignment later this week. He faces four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses, officials have said. Goodman said he's yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty, but said 'it is very likely' he'll pursue it. An attorney who represented Drummond in his case as a teenager did not return an earlier message requesting a comment. A telephone listing for Drummond could not be found, and an automated message from the local public defender's office said to call back later.
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Fate of Jimmy Fallon's late-night spot at NBC is revealed after Stephen Colbert's brutal firing
Jimmy Fallon 's spot in the world of late night television has been declared safe, just weeks after news broke of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert 's shock cancellation. According to Page Six, Fallon, 50, and his fellow NBC late-night host, Seth Meyers, 51, will continue their hosting gigs, despite having to navigate some budget shifts. 'Seth and Jimmy had budget cuts last year, which saw Jimmy go from five days a week to four days,' an insider told the outlet. 'He records Monday through Thursday and the show repeats on Friday.' In June, Fallon renewed his multimillion-dollar contract with NBCUniversal to continue on as the host of The Tonight Show through 2028. The extension came a month after he rang in his 10-year anniversary on the show with a two-hour special, which included surprise celebrity appearances including Robert De Niro, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lady Gaga and more. He has held onto the coveted role since 2014 after Jay Leno stepped down from the position in 2014. Over at ABC, Jimmy Kimmel has also been spared. 'Even if he was thinking of retirement, he most definitely will stay now,' a source insisted to Page Six. '[Disney President] Dana [Walden] would never ax Kimmel.' Daily Mail has reached out to Fallon's representatives and NBC, but they have not yet responded. Last month, Colbert's cancellation after a 10-season run drummed up considerable controversy as many dubbed him a political martyr under President Donald Trump. At the time, Trump praised CBS' decision to let Colbert go. 'The reason he (Colbert) was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!' he wrote on Truth Social. Trump then asked: 'Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Falon. The only real question is, who will go first?' Trump, who once gained reality television notoriety as the face of The Apprentice, tried to offer the trio a lesson in showbusiness, writing: 'Show Biz and Television is a very simple business. 'If you get Ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don't, you always become a victim. Colbert became a victim to himself, the other two will follow.' CBS announced the cancellation of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert earlier this month, just days after the host blasted the network's $16million settlement with Trump as a 'big fat bribe.' Executives said the decision was made after the show's revenue plummeted by around $40 million a year. 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,' they said in a statement. 'We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire the Late Show franchise at that time,' the executives continued. 'We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and his broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.' At the time, Trump praised CBS' decision to let Colbert go The network explained that the decision to cancel the show is 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.' 'It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,' it added. But Colbert has not held back in his criticism of his employers since the decision was finalized, telling crowds: 'They made one mistake, they left me alive! For the next ten months, the gloves are off!' He dedicated much of his first show back after the announcement to criticizing the network, inviting other liberal late night talk show hosts and comedians onto his program to stand united against the decision.
