Fox Promotes Obama Bailouts Fabrication

During his Fox Business program today, Stuart Varney used deceptively edited video of President Obama praising government action on General Motors to wonder if Obama is advocating “bailouts for everyone.” However, Fox didn't play the portion of Obama's remarks in which he made clear he wasn't proposing bailouts or government control of private industry. Obama instead proposed to keep jobs in America through tax code reform and “tax breaks to companies that are investing here.”

Varney began the segment by asking, “Is President Obama really saying bailouts are good for everyone?” and then played Obama's remarks at a Colorado Springs, Colorado, event in which he said “the American auto industry has come roaring back” and “what we did with the auto industry, we can do it in manufacturing across America”:

VARNEY: Is President Obama really saying bailouts are good for everyone? Listen to what he said yesterday and you decide.

OBAMA (VIDEO CLIP): I said, let's bet on America's workers, and we got management and workers to come together, making better cars than ever, and now GM is number one again, and the American auto industry has come roaring back. So now I want to say, I want to say, what we did with the auto industry, we can do it in manufacturing across America.

Varney responded by asking: “Really? Bailouts for everyone? More government help, that's the answer? Is that what the president is implying and saying?”

If Varney was unclear about what Obama was proposing to helping boost jobs, he probably shouldn't have cut off Obama's speech. Obama said moments later: “I don't want to outsource. I want to insource. Let's reform our tax code and let's make it simpler. And let's make sure that we're providing tax breaks to companies that are investing here in Colorado Springs, here in Colorado -- not overseas.” 

Here are Obama's remarks via the White House's transcript (the comments Varney played are bolded):

We are in this thing together. That's the choice in this election. And that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America. (Applause.) 

This difference in vision, it shows up on all sorts of issues. When the American auto industry was on the brink of collapse, 1 million jobs at stake, Mr. Romney said, “let Detroit go bankrupt.” I said, let's bet on America's workers. (Applause.) And we got management and workers to come together, making better cars than ever, and now GM is number one again and the American auto industry has come roaring back. (Applause.)

So now I want to say what we did with the auto industry, we can do it in manufacturing across America. Let's make sure advanced, high-tech manufacturing jobs take root here, not in China. Let's have them here in Colorado. (Applause.) And that means supporting investment here.

Governor Romney talks about his private sector experience. But he invested in companies that were called “pioneers” of outsourcing. I don't want to outsource. I want to insource. (Applause.) Let's reform our tax code and let's make it simpler. And let's make sure that we're providing tax breaks to companies that are investing here in Colorado Springs, here in Colorado -- not overseas. (Applause.) They're the ones who need tax breaks.

Let's give tax breaks to companies that are investing here. It's the right thing to do.

During the segment, Varney acknowledged that “the left says those comments are being taken out of context” -- just after playing the remarks without full context. Varney also criticized Obama's statement that “the American auto industry has come roaring back,” stating that it's “tough to say that GM is roaring back.” 

Watch Varney's segment followed by Obama's remarks in context:

Yesterday, The Drudge Report ran remarks from a separate Obama campaign speech in a similarly deceptive manner to falsely suggest the president proposed more bailouts or government control of private industry.

Varney, who regularly appears as a business analyst on Fox Business and Fox News, has repeatedly emphasized that he wants to see Republicans elected and President Obama defeated. Varney has said he's a “very clearly partisan” analyst and that “I'm a conservative, I'm a Republican. I say we must win.”