Conservative Media Is Turning On Donald Trump, Says Reporter

CNN host Michael Smerconish said on Saturday that conservative media is turning its back on President Donald Trump, Raw Story reports.

Smerconish said that he is starting to see “cracks” emerge in what he describes as Trump’s conservative media “firewall.” According to the reporter, the robust right-wing media apparatus that supported Trump and advocated for his policies is slowly abandoning him.

The CNN host explained that the president’s impeachment, which the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives appears to be willing to go through with, is not only setting up a trial in the GOP-controlled United States Senate, but it is also setting up a trial of sorts in conservative media.

Smerconish is “talking about the conservative media, where some cracks have recently appeared in the president’s firewall.”

Arguing that conservative media is “the glue of the GOP,” determining the direction of the party and its base, Smerconish explained why a change in how right-wing media covers the Trump administration could mean trouble for the president.

“In the last 30 years, the triumvirate of talk radio, Fox News, and the Drudge Report have supplanted the conventional Republican Party apparatus,” he said.

“That is why it’s significant that at both Fox News and the Drudge Report, there have been signs of discontent with the president,” the host added.

To illustrate his point, the journalist noted that the influential right-wing news aggregation website Drudge Report is becoming increasingly critical of Trump, reporting that a relatively high percentage of Republican voters is now in favor of impeachment, and sharing news stories about conservative anchors abandoning the president.

“So is Drudge doing it because he has soured on Trump, or because he is sensing a change in his readership?” Smerconish asked, concluding that neither option is good for the commander-in-chief.

“Either way, it’s not good for the president,” he said.

Smerconish’s assessment is congruent with reports that allege FOX News is starting to turn its back on Trump.

According to reports, the conservative network is scrambling to deal with impeachment, and some of its most prominent faces are becoming increasingly worried that the House inquiry will damage the president, and have a major impact on his re-election chances.

Furthermore, FOX News management — including CEO Lachlan Murdoch — is reportedly looking for a way to re-position itself as Republican voters move away from Trump.

According to a recent poll, the public opinion on impeachment has dramatically shifted over the past two months, with 51 percent of the electorate now in favor of both impeachment and removal.