Donald Trump is currently on trial in Manhattan for the crimes he allegedly committed when he paid off Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election. He has to attend criminal proceedings—and sit in a chair, and not attack the judge or witnesses or other people involved—because that is how these things work. He also can’t decide on a random Tuesday that he’d rather play golf than show up, and he’s not allowed to bring his own space heater to warm up his section of the courtroom—because, again, that’s not how any of this works. Most people understand that these very basic rules are standard for anyone on trial for allegedly committing a bunch of crimes, and that they’re really just…not a big deal. But according to at least one Fox News anchor, the rules are clear evidence that the former president is being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, the likes of which this country has never seen.
On Monday, for example, anchor Jesse Watters declared that Trump is receiving “similar” treatment to terrorists imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay. And he was serious! “I call it pure evil,” Watters told his audience. “So they’ve taken away his freedom of speech. And now they’ve taken away his freedom of movement. So he has to sit there, all week, for six weeks, and if he says anything, they’ll throw him in jail. If he leaves, they throw him in jail. That’s crazy.”
“I think they bought a million-dollar soccer field for the people in Gitmo,” he added. “I don’t know if Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was able to visit his son for his high school graduation, but it’s similar. They’re freezing him to death, they’re putting him in a meat locker. He said it’s, like, 45 degrees in there, and they’re putting his life in danger. They’re telling the entire world, all the whackos, this is where the former president’s gonna be, at this date, at this time, surrounded by high rise buildings…it’s disgusting.”
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It feels pretty silly to fact-check anything that anyone on Fox News ever says, but just a few things of note:
- Trump’s freedom of speech hasn’t been taken away; he’s just not allowed to attack any potential witnesses, among other key figures, in the trial.
- Requiring a defendant to be present for his criminal trial is not taking away his “freedom of movement.”
- Trump’s treatment is actually not “similar” to the treatment of people at Gitmo, that is unless Gitmo prisoners are allowed to fly home to their Palm Beach resorts on the weekends.
- “They’re freezing him to death, they’re putting him in a meat locker.” No notes here; we just wanted to repeat those words for emphasis.
Incredibly, that was not all Watters had to say last night about the supposed injustices Trump is facing. In an amazing moment of unintended hilarity, the Fox News at one point began prescribing a regimen for Trump—and came off sounding like he was giving directions to the pet-sitter taking care of his elderly dog:
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