If there is a bad take coming from the Washington Post's op-ed pages, you can guarantee the author is either Jennifer Rubin or fedora enthusiast Max Boot and Monday's op-ed was Boot's time to shine.
In an op-ed titled, "Trump couldn’t have incited sedition without the help of Fox News," Boot argues for the Federal Communications Commission to essentially deplatform Fox News since he blames the network for the riot at the Capitol building:
"To its credit, Fox News acknowledged that Joe Biden won. But, reports Media Matters for America, “in the two weeks after Fox News called the election for Biden, Fox News cast doubt on the results of the election at least 774 times.” According to NPR, Fox Business host Lou Dobbs said Trump’s opponents in the government were guilty of “treason” and that it would be “criminal” for Republicans to recognize Biden’s victory. Fox News host Mark Levin told viewers: “If we don’t fight on Jan. 6 on the floor of the Senate and the House — and that is the joint meeting of Congress on these electors — then we are done.”
"The pro-Trump insurrectionists were listening."
When sharing his article on Twitter, Boot said, "Biden needs to reinvigorate the FCC to slow the lies and sedition from Fox and other right-wing broadcasters."
Biden needs to reinvigorate the FCC to slow the lies and sedition from Fox and other right-wing broadcasters.
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) January 18, 2021
Or else the terrorism we saw on Jan. 6 may be only the beginning, rather than the end, of the plot against America.
https://t.co/gf4lMXAqgU
Putting his non-sensical argument aside, one of the main problems with his call for the FCC to basically shut down Fox News is that the FCC does not regulate cable news, as only broadcast networks are under FCC jurisdiction.
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Fox New's Brit Hume called out Boot's massive mistake.
How it started (me in 2017) How it's going (2021) pic.twitter.com/NBdzYgcwFn
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) January 19, 2021
Who’s going to tell him that the FCC regulates the broadcast airwaves but not cable. https://t.co/9bzCLKSKCy
— Brit Hume (@brithume) January 19, 2021
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