Trump Gives Absurd Interview To Far-Right Conspiracy Network One America News
Far-right conspiracy network One America News aired a White House interview with President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon, just hours before that evening’s Republican National Convention events, in which Trump faced questions that would have sounded at home on authoritarian state-owned television.
“We’re watching Joe Biden slip very gently into senility while you’re at the top of your game. What’s your secret?” Chanel Rion, OAN’s White House correspondent, asked Trump.
The outlet, which has sycophantically covered the president, also ran interviews the same day with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Both received the same fawning deference given to their father, as Rion lobbed compliments in the form of questions.
Trump and his sons’ appearances on OAN further solidify a mutually beneficial relationship between the president and a network that has spread dangerous disinformation and conspiracy theories to support him. Trump’s promotion of OAN has helped mainstream the fledgling network, which last year claimed to reach around 35 million households through multiple providers, and in exchange, it has come to function as his personal propaganda machine.
Throughout the interview, Trump and Rion ran through many of his favorite talking points, allowing the president to attack journalists, blame China for the coronavirus “plague,” claim that he could have easily beaten President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, and insinuate that Biden, his Democratic opponent, has cognitive issues. Rion had no follow-ups or pushback, giving Trump free rein to boast.
“Tens of millions of Americans, everyday Americans, people who you may not have lived lives like, really support you and your family and your campaign to the great frustration of your adversaries,” Rion said. “Why do you think you’re able to have this kind of empathy for people you don’t have to have shared experiences?”
“It’s incredible,” Trump agreed.
The president has...
