Fox News anchor tells Republican Senator that effort to throw out election results “benefits everybody”

Courts have repeatedly dismissed President Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories about mass voter fraud. But anchor Harris Faulkner claims, “you've got to take a look at those areas that are broken so going forward, everybody has more faith.”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

From the January 5, 2021, edition of Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime with Harris Faulkner

HARRIS FAULKNER (ANCHOR): You know what's interesting? And I've had voters ask me this very question. I'll put it to you. If this were a situation where others were disenfranchised — and it weren't Republicans — what you're doing benefits everybody. Because you've got to take a look at those areas that are broken, so going forward everybody has more faith.

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Well, I think that's exactly right. And I think one of the issues, I think we want to make, is state legislatures are empowered by the Constitution to set the time, manner, and place of elections. And yet many state legislatures abdicated to unelected judges, unelected election officials, and we've seen it time and time again. So maybe this is the warning to state legislatures — if you don't want your citizens, their votes disenfranchised, not counted — step up to the plate, assume your responsibility, take control over your own elections. Don't let judges, don't let election officials do it for you.

President Donald Trump and his allies have brought multiple challenges in court, seeking to overturn the election results by lodging a variety of conspiracy theories about mass voter fraud. Judges of both political parties, including judges who were appointed by Trump himself, have rejected these allegations for lack of evidence.

And as a factual matter, people are not “disenfranchised” just because their candidate of choice lost an election. Actual voter suppression is very real, both now and throughout the history of this country.