Fox Says Chyron Calling Biden ‘Wannabe Dictator’ Was ‘Addressed’ After Backlash

Topline

Fox News said Wednesday it has “addressed” a message that appeared on a broadcast Tuesday night calling President Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator” who had his “political rival arrested”—which swiftly drew widespread backlash and aligns with former President Donald Trump’s unfounded (and unending) narrative blaming Biden for federal charges Trump faces for Trump allegedly mishandling classified documents.

News of former President Donald Trump’s indictment is displayed at the Fox News Headquarters … [+] building on June 13, 2023, in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Key Facts

Fox News ran a chyron reading “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested” under a split screen of Trump delivering his post-arrest speech from his New Jersey golf club Tuesday and footage of Biden speaking earlier from the South Lawn at a Juneteenth event.

Fox News spokesperson Alexandra Coscia told Forbes on Wednesday, “The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed,” without explaining how the incident was “addressed” or whether Fox News regrets the mischaracterization.

The chyron reportedly aired for about 27 seconds around 9 p.m. EDT, just as Trump was wrapping up a speech in which he blamed Biden for his arrest earlier in the day on federal charges accusing him of mishandling classified documents and obstructing the Justice Department’s investigation against him.

Chief Critic

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made a veiled jab at Fox when asked about the chyron Wednesday, telling reporters: “There are probably 787 million things I can say . . . about what we saw last night . . . but I don’t think I’m going to get into it,” an apparent reference to the $787.5 million settlement Fox was ordered to pay Dominion Voting Systems for promoting false claims that its equipment rigged the 2020 election in Biden’s favor.

Surprising Fact

Fox News aired other graphics earlier in the night that echoed Trump’s criticisms of Biden and Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is handling the documents probe. “Soon: Donald Trump Speaks After Being Targeted by Biden’s Department of Justice,” read a graphic previewing Trump’s speech, according to the Washington Post. The network also featured the chyron “A Look at the Man Who’s Out to Get Trump” underneath a segment about Smith, to whom Trump has repeatedly referred as a “deranged lunatic.” (Sort of like an “unbelieving atheist.”) During Fox News host Sean Hannity’s 9 p.m. program, the network featured a graphic that read: “Two-Tiered System of Justice Alive and Well.”

Key Background

Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Miami to 37 felony counts accusing him of taking sensitive military documents to Mar-A-Lago after leaving office and refusing to comply with a Justice Department subpoena seeking their return. Following his arrest and release on his own recognizance, Trump accused Biden of instructing the Justice Department to have him arrested in a speech from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. Biden has denied any involvement in the probe, and Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to handle the investigation in an effort to avoid a perception of political interference. Trump also ranted about what he said was a double standard of justice by comparing the DOJ’s investigation into his own conduct with its probe into Biden’s handling of documents found at his former office in D.C. and his home in Delaware by his lawyers and federal investigators. There are distinct disparities between the two cases: Biden has said he was not aware he had documents in his possession and voluntarily complied with FBI searches of his homes and office, while Trump is accused of obstructing the DOJ investigation against him.

Tangent

Trump’s relationship with the right-leaning network and its parent company, Fox Corp., has soured in recent years as the network and its sister publications have taken a less-favorable approach to coverage of Trump, including by calling the 2020 presidential election for Biden. Trump publicly attacked the company and its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, earlier this year after court filings in Dominion’s defamation suit revealed Murdoch and several high-profile hosts criticizing Trump in sharp terms and expressing serious doubts about Trump’s election fraud claims. Trump appears to have patched things up with the network, however, and returned to its airwaves for an interview with Hannity in March after a hiatus of several months.

Fox Says Chyron Calling Biden ‘Wannabe Dictator’ Was ‘Addressed’ After Backlash—But Doesn’t Apologize