Fox & Friends ignores reports that North Korea has increased nuclear production after Trump-Kim summit
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
After lavishing propagandistic praise on President Donald Trump for his high-stakes nuclear summit with North Korean despot Kim Jong Un, Fox & Friends has failed to mention new reporting that, despite the president’s claims to the contrary, North Korea has “stepp[ed] up its production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons” and that Kim’s regime “intended to deceive the U.S.”
Prior to the June 12 summit, at which Trump claimed to have “developed a very special bond” with Kim, Fox & Friends heaped praise on Trump for simply showing up to the summit. The June 11 edition of the show opened with a fawning monologue from co-host Ainsley Earhardt, describing all of the Trump administration’s actions toward North Korea as accomplishments — and none as missteps. Later, Fox & Friends aired a propagandistic supercut summarizing events that led up to the Singapore summit:
After the summit, despite Trump leaving with an objectively weaker deal than past agreements with North Korea that were brokered under previous administrations, the president’s allies in the media jumped to praise him for showing up to the summit. Moreover, after Trump’s own claim that “there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea,” CNN’s Rick Santorum said that it was “insulting” for the press to ask the Trump administration for details regarding verifiable steps for North Korea’s denuclearization.
Now, Fox & Friends is ignoring new reporting that North Korea has “increased its production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites in recent months — and that Kim Jong Un may try to hide those facilities as he seeks more concessions in nuclear talks with the Trump administration.” Even though Fox’s flagship Sunday morning program, Fox News Sunday, mentioned the new report, according to a Media Matters review, both Fox & Friends Weekend edition on Sunday and Fox & Friends have completely ignored it.
Like with most damning reports about the seemingly endless allegations against Trump administration officials of conflicts of interest, pay for play, and national security concerns, Fox & Friends is sticking to its tried and true playbook of simply looking the other way and keeping its viewers ignorant regarding the Trump administration’s indiscretions.