Fox News forwards “Pants on Fire” false attack on Boxer by former Fox colleague Fiorina
Written by Eric Hananoki
Published
On America's Newsroom, one of Fox News' purported “fair and balanced” news programs, reporter William La Jeunesse forwarded California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina's attack on Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that she “is more interested in protecting climate change and the weather than actually the public.” The attack, as PolitiFact.com noted, is “Pants on Fire” false because it's a “major distortion” and “ignores Boxer's lengthy record supporting bills against terrorism.”
From PolitiFact:
The latest ad from California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina -- who is running in the Republican primary to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer -- mocks Boxer for saying in 2007 that “one of the very important national security issues frankly is climate change.”
After playing a clip of Boxer's statement, Fiorina faces the camera and responds, “Terrorism kills, and Barbara Boxer's worried about the weather.”
[...]
So to recap, Fiorina is guilty of a major distortion here. Boxer brought up climate change and said it was "one of the very important national security issues," but Fiorina ignores that wording and portrays it as if Boxer cited it as the only priority. In addition, Fiorina casts climate change as something you need to pack an umbrella for, or that prompts you to curse at the TV weatherman -- which strikes us as not only a trivialization of climate change but also a failure to distinguish between two well-established scientific specialties. She also ignores Boxer's lengthy record supporting bills against terrorism. So we have to light up the meter: Pants on Fire!
Fiorina, who is leading the field going into today's Republican primary, has been endorsed by Fox Newsers Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and Dick Morris. Last month, Fox Business anchor Liz Claman offered glowing words for Fiorina in a softball interview, stating that Fiorina “knows something about fiscal responsibility” and “we like business people in government.” Sean Hannity also gave Fiorina, along with fellow candidate Chuck DeVore, a national platform to make her case to California voters in March. Meanwhile, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade has trashed Barbara Boxer as an “embarrassment” and anti-military.
Fiorina's favorable coverage on Fox isn't all that surprising -- not only is she a Republican, but she's also a former member of the Fox News family. Fiorina was hired in October 2007 as a contributor with the Fox Business Network, with Fox executive Kevin Magee stating that “Fiorina is one of the foremost business leaders of our time.” Fiorina's financial disclosure statement states that she received nearly $58,000 for her employment with the “Fox Broadcasting Company.”
Previously/Related:
Ad Check: Fiorina Mocks Climate Threat As “Weather”
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