On Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone discusses Fox News “having a lot of difficulty carrying water for Trump right now”
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From the June 24, 2026, edition of MS NOW's Deadline: White House
NICOLLE WALLACE (HOST): Angelo, this is a thing that will happen. I mean, Trump seems a little tired to travel, but if he wants to -- and I say this from some experience. When you're below 30% or around 30%, it's hard to land Air Force One anywhere other than, like, the reddest corner of the reddest district of the reddest state. No one wants just the spectacle of your plane landing, or the traffic jams, or you being on your local news because a visit from the president saturates the local news.
One of my indicators is Jessica Tarlov from The Five. And, you know, in the early months of Trump's second term, I mean, she's always exquisitely prepared, but there -- I almost, you know, was nervous for her. Now she, like, runs the table. You could tell -- well, I don't know if they're capable of embarrassment, but the whole power structure of that table, and she's just one person. But I think she called Jesse Watters a guy who, you know, shills for an idiot, and everyone was just stone silent afterward. I mean, it's not just vibes. It is -- if you trust your eyes, if you trust your ears, Donald Trump is a political loser right now, and that is undeniable.
ANGELO CARUSONE (MEDIA MATTERS PRESIDENT): Yeah. He's got a bad story. And I think your observation about Fox News is really important because we're seeing the edges fray on both ends, right? You know, Murkowski, Collins, some of these, you know, the stuff you talk about with the Republicans, you know, Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene on the other end. Fox News has been the firmest in their trying to carry water for the story that Trump is telling, and they just can't do it anymore. When you start to even expose it a little bit like the Tarlov example, it's impossible.
And they are his firmest part. That's my point. They are the strongest part that Trump has, Fox and the larger Fox audience. And even they are having a lot of difficulty carrying water for Trump right now, which is reflective of the larger reality that he's operating in.