How Fox News Turned Ben Carson Into A Likely Presidential Candidate
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on September 23rd, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
How Fox News Turned Ben Carson Into A Likely Presidential Candidate
Fox News contributor Ben Carson now claims that he will likely run for president in 2016, capping off a more than year-long campaign by the network to promote his political ambitions. Carson’s potential run continues the seemingly never-ending series of Republicans who have used Fox as a jumping off point for runs for office.
During a September 22 appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Carson told Hewitt that the “likelihood is strong” he will throw his hat in the ring for the Republican nomination in 2016, “unless the American people indicate in November that they like big government intervention in every part of their lives.”
While Carson has repeatedly discussed the idea of running in recent months — often in response to questions about the multi-million dollar “Draft Ben Carson” movement — his comments to Hewitt seem like the strongest indication that he will seek the nomination. (Hewitt concluded based on the interview that it was “Pretty clear he will be running for president.”)
Carson’s assertion that he will likely run once again raises questions about Fox News’ ongoing unethical arrangement with contributors that are planning bids for office. The network has repeatedly given its contributors a megaphone (and a paycheck) while they openly discuss future political plans, only severing their contracts once the employee-candidates file official paperwork.
It’s created a situation where it encourages the network’s stable of future candidates to delay a formal announcement while continuing to benefit from Fox News’ prominent platform, which can amount to millions of dollars of what is essentially free advertising. This ethically shady setup has previously been criticized by current Fox News media reporter Howard Kurtz, who wrote for the Daily Beast in 2011, “The longer candidates stay in the Fox camp, the longer they can utilize the platform of the country’s top-rated cable news channel–and pad their bank accounts to boot.”
And while Carson considers a run, Fox News is happy to help stoke the speculation. Fox News and other conservative media are responsible in large part for helping catapult Carson from a career as a renowned neurosurgeon into his current incarnation as a political bombthrower — with a penchant for spouting nonsense — following a 2013 speech he gave attacking President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Shortly after that speech, he quickly became a media star, with Fox News figures quickly latching onto the idea he should run for president. The day after he delivered his speech, Sean Hannity hosted Carson on his Fox News show, asked him if he would ever run for president, then announced, “I would vote for you in a heartbeat.” The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed titled “Ben Carson for President.” A week later, one of Fox’s news programs dedicated a segment to one of the day’s “top stories,” which was the “buzz” that Carson should run for office.
Following several more months of network personalities fawning over Carson, Fox News inevitably announced that it had hired him in October 2013. Since then, Fox News and Carson have continued to work together to build his political brand and promote the idea that he is a viable presidential contender.
