Via Mediaite:
On Fox News last night, Jesse Watters suggested that there may be an anti-Trump “coup” going on.
Watters brought up the anti-Trump texts from Peter Strzok and another FBI agent, including the “insurance policy” wording, and concluded this is “smoking gun evidence” that agents investigating Trump believed it was their duty to protect the country from him.
And in case there was any ambiguity about whether this word choice was deliberate, the chyron above appeared on screen during Watters’ interview with Kellyanne Conway.
Fox News throwing the c-word around with the kind of carelessness I've only ever seen in the Middle East pic.twitter.com/LnTCXhJLLg
— Sulome Anderson (@SulomeAnderson) December 17, 2017
Coup?! I cover wars. Militaries. Actual coups. Where citizens violently rise up and kill each other for power over each other.
This is alarmingly irresponsible language, even for Fox. Inflammatory. Baseless. Dangerous. https://t.co/1tGrKZGfTR
— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) December 17, 2017
In a proper coup, the first thing you do is seize state television broadcasting studios so you can put out the new party line and people know what’s what. https://t.co/QYwTmBVpJm
— Subscribe to My Newsletter (@mattyglesias) December 17, 2017
“A coup in America?” This is incredibly irresponsible rhetoric. It’s no surprise that the same network that still denies Russian interference for Trump, also uses this kind of language to describe law enforcement efforts to uphold the law and our sovereignty. https://t.co/VUilAaAhAD
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 17, 2017
Cable news banners don’t just appear out of thin air. Producers brainstorm, fact-check, proof-read them. Hosts are sometimes involved too. Yes, mistakes slip through occasionally. But this doesn’t look like a mistake… pic.twitter.com/nZkbRyKxUE
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 17, 2017
I'm an academic studying coups. This is embarrassing and dangerous. There is no coup in America, but there is a de-facto state propaganda outlet named Fox News. pic.twitter.com/Rtg37N84ZC
— Marcel Dirsus (@marceldirsus) December 17, 2017