Podcast #203 - Fox News Coverage of the Iran War is as Chaotic and Muddled as Trump's Mind

Mar 12, 2026

A rundown of Fox News' chaotic, contradictory coverage of the Iran conflict. Clips and critiques of pundit claims about Russia, oil waivers, and intelligence sharing. Analysis of how Trump’s business style shows up in foreign policy and the media’s promotion of misleading narratives. Notable segments on media omissions, legal revelations, and the week’s coverage metrics.

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ANECDOTE

Specific Trump Ventures That Collapsed

Juliet lists Trump's failed ventures such as Trump University, Trump casinos, Trump Steaks, and Trump Vodka as examples of repetitive collapse.
She highlights Trump Taj Mahal's bankruptcy and lawsuits for unpaid contractors as recurring patterns.

INSIGHT

Ego-Driven Decisions Convert Policy Into Risky Bets

The host argues Trump acts on ego, not expert advice, leading to risky uses of U.S. power.
Instead of consulting economists or generals, Trump repeatedly makes unilateral decisions and then uses military force like a business expenditure.

INSIGHT

Woke Military Rhetoric Used To Justify Lethality

Fox pundits promoted a 'woke military' critique to justify harsher military action, which Juliet finds dangerous and misleading.
She connects this rhetoric to calls that minimize war crimes and to commentators like Steven Miller and Pete Hegseth.

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Last week on Fox overpaid television personalities tried to fake their way through a war they didn’t understand. As the president changed the reasons he started the military conflict with Iran the folks at Fox struggled to forge a coherent message about it.

The propaganda machine sputtered and stumbled. The network kept repeating Trump’s mixed messages:

* The war was already over/The war will be over soon/This isn’t a war

* High gas prices are a small price to pay for freedom/Gas prices will drop immediately/Americans don’t care about high gas prices

* There will be no ground invasion of U.S. troops/There might be a short ground invasion of U.S. troops

* We’ve killed their leadership/The new leadership is worse than the old leadership

* Trump is the peace president/Trump has started military conflicts with seven different countries

* This war will bring long-term peace/Every problem in the world is caused by Iran

* Russia is helping Iran/Russia is not a concern/This war is about China

* The U.S. is NOT fighting Iran for Israel/Sean Hannity featured a 21 minute interview with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu

When Fox News hosts weren’t talking out of both sides of their mouths, they were promoting Trump’s lies.

* Americans overwhelmingly approve of Trump’s decision to attack Iran - several polls say otherwise

* Iran was capable of a nuclear attack on the U.S. or Israel - despite no evidence supporting this

* The people of Iran will rise up and take over their government - so far no such movement has formed. It could be because people don’t want to stage a revolution while being attacked by the U.S. and Israel

* Trump’s promises of ‘no new wars’ did not mean he’s an isolationist

In the four years I’ve covered Fox News the past week is the weakest I’ve ever seen the network. Instead of a streamlined well thought out strategy to promote the war the network’s messaging is a sloppy mess full of contradictions.

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