Will The Donald take it lying down? On this Thanksgiving afternoon, FNC honcho Roger Ailes must be having indigestion: His latest Fox News anchor to tangle with GOP Presidential front runner Donald Trump, Happening Now co-host Gregg Jarrett, deemed Trump a liar.
First, there was the Megyn “affair”: Now, there is the Jarrett jeer.
In the first GOP debate (in August), FNC anchor Megyn Kelly, co-moderated the first Republican Presidential debate and took what was perceived by The Donald as a cheap shot re the purported “war on women.” Ever The Donald, he robustly defended himself, declaring that he was often not politically correct: Subsequently, he acerbically asserted, “And, frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it’s fun, it’s kidding, we have a good time: What I say, is what I say. And, honestly, Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to you although I could probably, maybe not be, based on the way you’ve treated me but I wouldn’t do that.” [Vid clip of the exchange.]
And, then the war was on–until Trump and FNC chief Roger Ailes appeared to call a truce with a few seeming “violations.” However, it did not last long when The Donald took a subsequent shot at Kelly in a Tweet, calling her “a lightweight” and “overrated”: Apparently, Ailes was not amused, and The Donald’s appearance on the “O’Reilly Factor was cancelled. No shrinking violet, Trump hit back with a boycott of Fox News. Ailes apparently relented to the ratings magnet when The Donald returned to the O’Reilly Factor, and Trump has been regularly booked ever since on Fox News shows.
Today, Ailes’ erstwhile errant anchor, Happening Now co-host Gregg Jarrett, ignited a probable feud again by deeming Trump a liar. In a segment subtitled “Trump’s Chances of Winning WH” with Democratic strategist and pollster Jessica Tarlov (Senior Strategist of Schoen Consulting) and Kevin McCullough (a radio host nationally syndicated), Jarrett, with a twinkle in his eye, remarked, “Donald Trump has been spewing canards.”* When Tarlov guffawed, “That’s such a polite way of saying it,” Jarrett chuckled, “That, that essentially means lies. But, I was trying to be nice.” He added, “Um, and, just in the past week, I mean, one after another, after another.”
Looking at his notes with his reading glasses in his hand, Jarrett continued, “He said, I saw thousands and thousands of people in New Jersey cheering the 9/11 attacks when the Towers fell.” Chuckling, he declared, “Officials in the state say that’s not true [and that] there’s no proof of that: Politifact gave it a ‘pants-on-fire’ rating.” Subsequently, Jarrett challenged Trump’s assertions as to the percentage of whites killed by blacks, citing the F.B.I., and the number of Syrian refugees that the President intends to brings into the U.S.
In conclusion, Jarrett jeered, “And, the Washington Post, in summarizing all of these things he’s saying, said quote, ‘Trump has lied so many times about so many things during the past week, it’s difficult to keep track of all of them.'” As Tarlov began to answer, Jarrett asked, “But, is he ever going to be held accountable for this stuff?”
Trump a liar? Doubtlessly, The Donald will respond. And, Gregg may not be as lucky as Megyn.
*Happening Now – 10/26/15 (@ 1:26 p.m. ET).
Carpe Diem 