President Trump's rapid fire policy action is restructuring the federal government, and in Fox News they are simply pursuing “common sense.”
It is worth enacting “bold, sometimes painful measures,” the Fox News host said to reach “common sense.” Another Fox critic concludes Trump's term could be summed up in that simple catchphrase. It is “recovering common sense.”
“Trump is not radical. He's fundamentally changing our country as normal,” Jesse Watters said on Monday's episode of “Jesse Watters Primetime.” He said that Trump's “plan to expel immigrants and reduce waste is a “all common sense move.”
The flood of “common sense” comments on Fox News reflects the language Trump and his new administration used to justify his policies. The administration deployed slogans to support a range of actions, from banning paper straws to efforts to curb climate change, describing his first few weeks as a “common revolution.”
“It's easy to do a good job when you're acting on common sense and telling the truth,” said White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt at a recent briefing.
The shared language reflects the country's most popular cable news network, the deep relationship between government and right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Nearly 20 former Fox News alumni have joined the administration, including the highest level, with former host Pete Hegses leading the transportation division by the Pentagon and Sean Duffy. The president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, received her own show on the network.
Fox News declined to comment. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The proposal from Fox News and the White House is that Trump's “common sense” policy is not only correct, but also has widespread support among the majority of Americans. Polling provided more complicated photos.
Trump's efforts to ban diversity, equity and inclusion, known as the DEI, have been reported to be that 48% of votes before taking office, according to a New York Times and Ipsos poll from January. 47% of programs are supported.
The same can be said about some of Trump's Middle Eastern policies. (Trump supports Israeli aid, but 53% of the same survey say the US is too much to support the country.) All illegal immigration, which is the basis of Trump's immigration policy, is , has a majority. Support, 55% support the idea.
Some of Trump's other policies are more popular. A January poll said trans women should not be allowed to compete in women's sports. (Trump has signed an executive order banning participation.) A larger share of around 87% supported deporting immigrants who are not permitted by criminal history, polls found. (Trump signed a law in January to deport undocumented immigrants charged with various crimes, from shoplifting to murder.)
Other policies promoted as “common sense” by Trump and the conservative media have no recent polls to assess their popularity, such as ending Penny or asking for photo IDs to vote. .
The embrace of “common sense” has skyrocketed on Fox News, with the term being mentioned nearly 500 times in January, according to data from media surveillance company Crital Merest.
Some of the references to Fox News come from “Common Sense Department.” This is a segment hosted by Trace Gallagher, which responds to news based on what “common sense” directs.
Protests broke out as Trump moved to dismantle the US International Development Agency, which funds humanitarian programs around the world, and Democrats held rally to support the group.
Gallagher rejected FRACA during the segment by highlighting several programs funded by USAID.
A recent poll shows that the majority of Americans (about 60%) focus on issues at home rather than overseas, a transition from 2019 when Americans split evenly into the question. I support that. (The poll on foreign aid spending from 2014 also showed that 95% of respondents were overestimated or that they were not sure whether the US spent on foreign aid. Correct answer: Less than 1% of the federal budget. )
Fox News host and Trump's intimate ally Mark Levin appeared to be aware of the echo between the White House and Fox News when he raised the president's catchphrase on the show.
“What Trump is proposing is not radical, it's “common sense,” as he said,” Levin said. “When he says 'common sense', for many of us, it means conservative. Because conservatives are common sense. ”
Ruth Igielnik and Christine Chan contributed the report.