Fox News reporter admits Pentagon has 'credibility gap' under Trump
Trump’s information shutdown at the Pentagon is abnormal, and even Fox News is admitting it.
A Fox News reporter reported Thursday that under Trump, the Pentagon has completely shut off the flow of information. The abnormal policy has created a “credibility gap” with America’s allies, according to Fox’s Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
Earlier in the day, a Pentagon spokesperson made a brief, 90-second announcement about developments with Iran. The department had originally claimed it was a press briefing, but no questions were allowed.
The Pentagon has not had a press briefing in over a year. The last one was held on May 31, 2018.
Griffin and Fox anchor Melissa Francis discussed the press lockdown on Thursday.
“What do you make of the fact that they didn’t take any questions?” Francis asked. She noted that reporters could be heard asking questions before and after the presentation, without a response, and asked whether that’s normal.
“There’s nothing normal about the way this Pentagon press corps has been treated in the last two years,” Griffin said. “We used to have regular briefings.”
She noted that the Pentagon used to allow officials like the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretary of defense, and other senior leaders in the briefing room to take questions.
“We have not had a formal briefing in that briefing room for over a year. It’s very unusual the way that they are presenting information, they’re expecting the press to simply report on the information without taking questions,” Griffin added. “It’s leading to a great deal of frustration and it is leading to a credibility gap both with the press and as well as with allies.”
It puts a fine point on how bizarre Trump’s directives at the key agency have been to have his allies at Fox News admitting the damage it has caused.
Since taking office, Trump has made changes to how the military operates, like handing off real-time decision-making to generals, then evading responsibility when lives are lost.
Trump’s clampdown on information at the Pentagon helps him avoid accountability for decisions made as commander in chief. American soldiers and interests are in harm’s way, but reporters are unable to ask basic questions about logistics and the use of force.
Now, even his home team at Fox News has to admit there’s “nothing normal” about what is going on.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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