Living in the World Roger Ailes Created
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THE NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016 N A27 DAVID BROOKS cause of the investigation into her email. I PAUL KRUGMAN sincerely doubt we would have had Don- ald Trump without Roger Ailes. I was one of the original panelists hired The by Mr. Ailes for “Fox News Watch,” a The weekly media-analysis program. For many years, we felt free to criticize Mr. Murdoch and Fox News along with other Death media outlets, I believed, because Mr. Siberian Ailes and “the second floor,” where he ruled, liked our little show. We got surpris- Of the Party ingly good ratings, and the program Candidate helped add credibility through favorable CLEVELAND reviews from media critics. If elected, would Donald Trump be On the surface, this seems like a normal In addition, for two years, I also de- Vladimir Putin’s man in the White Republican convention. There are balloon fended the mainstream media against Bill House? This should be a ludicrous, out- drops, banal but peppy music from the O’Reilly and the conservative media critic rageous question. After all, he must be a mid-1970s and polite white people not Bernard Goldberg on “The O’Reilly Fac- patriot — he even wears hats promising dancing in their seats. tor” in a weekly segment that Mr. O’Reilly to make America great again. But this is not a normal convention. called “Weekdays With Bernie and Jane.” But we’re talking about a ludicrous, Donald Trump is dismantling the Republi- Some of my family and friends (and cer- outrageous candidate. And the Trump can Party and replacing it with a per- campaign’s recent behavior has quite a sonality cult. The G.O.P. is not dividing; few foreign policy experts wondering it’s ceasing to exist as a coherent institu- just what kind of hold Mr. Putin has over tion. the Republican nominee, and whether The only speaker here who clearly un- I sincerely doubt we that influence will continue if he wins. derstands this is Ted Cruz. He under- I’m not talking about merely admiring stands that the Trump phenomenon is would have had Donald Mr. Putin’s performance — being im- probably not going to end the way a nor- pressed by the de facto dictator’s mal candidacy ends. It’s going to end cata- Trump without him. “strength,” and wanting to emulate his strophically, in November or beyond, with actions. I am, instead, talking about indi- the party infrastructure in tatters, with ev- ery mealy mouthed pseudo-Trump ac- cations that Mr. Trump would, in office, tainly some of my colleagues in academia) commodationist permanently stained. actually follow a pro-Putin foreign policy, Some rich children are careless that thought I was crazy to be on Fox. But I was at the expense of America’s allies and her way; they break things and other people proud of “Fox News Watch,” and I own self-interest. have to clean up the mess. thought, like others there, that I had an im- That’s not to deny that Mr. Trump I’m not a Cruz fan, but his naked ambi- portant role to play, that someone should does, indeed, admire Mr. Putin. On the tion does fuel amazing courage. As the Re- defend the news media to the millions of contrary, he has repeatedly praised the publican Party is slouching off on a suicide viewers of Mr. O’Reilly. He usually let me Russian strongman, often in extrava- march, at least Cruz is standing athwart have my say. gant terms. For example, when Mr. Putin history yelling “Stop!” When the Trump In 2009, I left Fox News Channel out of published an article attacking American train implodes, the docile followers who concerns over the demagogy of Glenn exceptionalism, Mr. Trump called it a are now booing and denouncing Ted Cruz Beck and my sense that debate was less “masterpiece.” will claim they were on his side all along. valued now that Fox News was a power- But admiration for Putinism isn’t un- It’s been gruesomely fascinating to see house and executives had discovered, to usual in Mr. Trump’s party. Well before the Trumpian acid eat away the party of their surprise, I heard, that unilateral crit- the Trump candidacy, Putin envy on the Lincoln and T.R. and Reagan. icism of President Obama boosted ratings. right was already widespread. A normal party has an apparatus of pro- Fox goes after its enemies, and I was For one thing, Mr. Putin is someone fessionals, who have been around for a nervous about telling my reasons for leav- who doesn’t worry about little things like while and can get things done. But those ing, although I did, on CNN. Mr. Beck criti- international law when he decides to in- people might as well not exist. This has cized me, but Fox’s public relations de- vade a country. He’s “what you call a been the most shambolically mis-run con- MATTHEW HOLLISTER partment was mercifully quiet. “They leader,” declared Rudy Giuliani after vention in memory — with a botched V.P. must have liked you,” a knowledgeable Russia invaded Ukraine. unveiling, a plagiarism scandal, listless Fox observer told me, “or else they would It’s also clear that the people who glee- audiences most of the time, empty seats have put out a press release wishing you fully chanted “Lock her up” — not to midway through prime time, vote-count- Living in the World well battling your mental demons.” mention the Trump adviser who called ing strong-arm tactics, zero production While I was on “News Watch,” I com- for Hillary Clinton’s execution — find creativity, no coherent messaging and a muted back and forth from Washington, much to admire in the way Mr. Putin complete inability to control the conversa- D.C., to New York every Friday for our deals with his political opponents and tion. Roger Ailes Created taping. I rarely saw Mr. Ailes outside of a critics. By the way, while the Secret Serv- A normal party is united by a consistent ice is investigating the comments about belief system. For decades, the Republi- friendly lunch he held about once a year as a young man he had hated seeing some- with the regulars and producers of our executing Mrs. Clinton, all the Trump can Party has stood for an American-led By Jane Hall one bullied. “I see myself as a ‘corner campaign had to say was that it “does not international order abroad and small-gov- show. man,’ ” he said, “the guy in the ring, coach- agree with those statements.” ernment democratic capitalism at home. There never was any doubt, though, HEN I first met Roger ing the boxer to throw his best punches.” And many on the right also seem to That capitalist ethos at least gave Republi- that he was in charge of every detail. I Ailes in 1993, I was work- have a strange, rather creepy admiration cans a future-oriented optimism. Three years later, Rupert Murdoch heard that he would call down to the con- ing for The Los Angeles for Mr. Putin’s personal style. Rush Lim- Trump is decimating that too, along hired Mr. Ailes to create the Fox News trol room if he didn’t like the way some- Times. I was surprised baugh, for example, declared that while with the things Republicans stood for: W Channel. The pugilistic network became one’s makeup and hair had been done. by how engaging he was talking to President Obama, “Putin prob- NATO, entitlement reform, compassion- an absolute reflection of Mr. Ailes’s signifi- I was always grateful to the Fox stylists ate conservatism and the relatively open and how much he seemed to enjoy debat- cant skills as a producer, his eye for talent for making me look decent after I’d gotten ably had his shirt off practicing tai chi.” movement of ideas, people and trade. ing a newspaper reporter. I was there to and opposition-research-style public rela- up at 5 a.m. and left a toddler at home to fly All of this is, or should be, deeply dis- There’s no actual agenda being put in its interview Mr. Ailes about CNBC, NBC’s tions. It is an empire he created that to New York. They shushed me when I turbing; what would the news media be place, just nostalgic spasms that, as David cable business channel, which he had just shapes much of our political discourse to- asked them, kidding, to give me those saying if major figures in the Democratic been hired to run. day. On Thursday, Mr. Ailes, 76, an- seemingly enhanced lips one anchorwom- Party routinely praised leftist dictators? The move raised questions in my mind nounced that he is stepping down as chair- an had. Watching Fox over the years, I But what we’re now seeing from Mr. about the ethics of a news network hiring man and chief executive of Fox News cringed when I saw many professional Trump and his associates goes beyond Donald Trump’s a former Republican strategist. Mr. Ailes, amid allegations of sexual harassment. women in short skirts and fitted tops, po- emulation, and is starting to look like after all, had helped teach Richard Nixon Fox News did not invent political polar- sitioned in ways that seemed designed to subservience. acid bath hollows how to use television in 1968 and helped ization in Congress and the country. But it highlight their legs, sitting next to an old- First, there was the Ukraine issue — George H.W.