If you think Fox News is in the bag for President Trump, you should spend some time watching One America News.
The conservative outlet, described by AdWeek in 2017 as the “Ultimate ‘Pro-Trump’ Network,” regularly lavishes Trump with praise, goes after his opponents, and hires his allies. Its fear-mongering makes Fox News look like Nick Jr. Among its greatest hits are suggesting a California law would ban the Bible, incorrectly linking a rise in U.K. crime stats to Islam, and pushing a host of conspiracy theories about Planned Parenthood.
In recent months the ass-kissing has finally started to work. Trump has tagged @OANN on Twitter seven times since mid-March, more than twice as many times as he had in his entire presidency prior to that. And, according to a new report in the Daily Beast, Trump’s not just tweeting about the network:
This year, Trump has tuned in more often than ever to OAN, two sources close to him say. There’s been a conspicuous uptick in his public promotion of OAN’s segments, including on his personal Twitter account. And, it appears, he’s even pitching the network to those roaming the halls at Mar-a-Lago.
The embrace of OAN, a more polished InfoWars, is not just about the network’s slobbering coverage of Trump and his policies. It’s also a way to hit back at Fox News, Trump’s longtime love. Trump has recently criticized the network for hosting Democratic presidential candidates, a betrayal from a network that he wants to serve as his own propaganda arm. “Hard to believe that @FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete, as Chris Wallace likes to call him,” Trump tweeted this month.
In April, he tweeted, “So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on @FoxNews. Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the “audience” was so smiley and nice. Very strange, and now we have @donnabrazile?”
A month prior, Trump slammed anchor Shepard Smith, calling the network’s most vocal Trump critic its “lowest rated anchor.” Also in March, Trump tweeted a defense of Jeanine Pirro, who was suspended from the network for questioning Representative Ilhan Omar’s loyalty to the U.S. “Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country,” Trump implored network brass.
According to the Daily Beast, Trump is just using OAN. His public love affair, a source told the site, is about making “the Fox News brass jealous, with the source comparing the situation to showing off a new girlfriend.”
