• Podcaster Dan Bongino said people need to “take it on the chin” and “sacrifice for a little bit” for Trump’s policies. 
• Ben Shapiro downplayed cuts to national park workers: “You can cut all those people by just having an automatic parking meter.”

• Daily Wire host Michael Knowles: “Trump in many ways is our Napoleon.” 
• Julie Kelly: “They will pay a price if anyone prevents the confirmation of Kash Patel.”
• Fox’s Greg Gutfeld praised Trump for referring to himself as “king.”

• Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro attacked federal employees who “think they’re entitled to a job.” 
• After a judge scrutinized Trump’s ban on trans service members in the military, Fox’s Laura Ingraham invoked the judge’s status as openly LGBTQ. 
• On CNN, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. adviser Calley Means said Kennedy “is not concerned with measles.”
• Steve Bannon: “We’ve got to maybe work the Constitution” so Trump can have a third term.
• Fox’s Jesse Watters: “Four more years of Trump?”

On February 18, President Donald Trump pushed multiple false claims about the war in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s involvement in it, falsely suggesting that Ukraine started the war and that Zelensky is a “dictator without elections.” Both claims echo Russian propaganda about the war. 

Many right-wing media figures praised Trump’s comments, with some commentators even following in his footsteps to target Zelensky. 

• Newsmax host Carl Higbie: “How about Ukraine hold an election because Zelensky canceled their elections?” 
• Fox host Laura Ingraham aired a chyron that read “Trump won’t bow to dictators” while a photo of Zelensky appeared on screen. 
• Megyn Kelly said that Zelensky continues to “yap” about being unhappy with Putin and Trump’s meeting. 

Other right-wing media commentators, however, denounced Trump’s comments. 

• Ben Shapiro: “Ukraine absolutely did not start the war.” 
• National Review’s Jim Geraghty wrote that "somewhere in Moscow, Vladimir Putin must be grinning from ear to ear.” 
• Fox News’ chief political analyst Brit Hume wrote that Trump’s comments are “music to the ears of Vladimir Putin.”

Fox News has largely dodged reporting on President Donald Trump’s February 15 declaration that he is above the law as long as he “saves his Country,” with much of the networks’ sparse coverage focusing on how the president’s nakedly authoritarian statement triggered the libs. 

On Saturday, Trump posted, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” The quote, “often attributed” to Napoleon Bonaparte, followed calls from Trump’s allies to defy court rulings that strike down his administration’s actions as illegal. Trump’s post drew a fierce response, with numerous critics on the left and a handful on the right pointing out the danger inherent in Trump appearing to place himself above the law. 

Fox News, however, had a notably muted response, with only about 6 minutes of discussion through noon ET on Tuesday. The bulk of Fox’s coverage — more than 4 and a half minutes — came from a Sunday segment in which anchor Griff Jenkins and his panel mocked Democrats and journalists for criticizing Trump’s statement. 

Trump’s remarks undermining the rule of law are not anomalous. He vowed to act as a “dictator” and promised to unleash the Justice Department on his political enemies. He regularly praises murderous authoritarian rulers. And now, his actions suggest he means what he says.

The stars of Fox News have used their shows to defend Donald Trump’s banning of Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the wire service refused to adopt the administration’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” They’ve characterized the AP’s actions as “deadnaming” the Gulf and said that “the White House is right” to restrict its access in response. 

But Fox has also reportedly signed a letter calling on the Trump White House to restore the AP’s access and characterizing the ban as a “serious breach” of the First Amendment’s protections for the press. So has Newsmax, whose on-air talent praised the White House response while attacking the “Fake News AP” as “Associated Propaganda.” 

The disconnect demonstrates how Trumpist propaganda channels like Fox and Newsmax occasionally try to bolster their standing by play-acting as legitimate news channels which share the values of the free press, even as their on-air product plays to their right-wing viewership base. 

• Right-wing media celebrate the gutting of the federal government as critical agencies are expected to reel from layoffs. 
• Project 2025 laid a foundation for Trump’s attacks on workplace safety. 
• Fox conflates benefits for authorized immigrants and American children with money spent on “illegal migrants.” 
• Key Trump administration officials appeared on Fox News 124 times in the first month of his presidency. 
• Media Matters President Angelo Carusone explained how MAGA media personalities are trying to intimidate judges and justices to get their way. 
• OANN host Matt Gaetz said the same “playbook” is being used against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as was used against Trump. 
• Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo repeated Trump’s claim about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — and was immediately corrected by her guest Bill Browder. 
• Ben Shapiro said he has “moral objections” to Trump’s remarks on Ukraine: “Ukraine absolutely did not start the war.”