Fox News’ Howard Kurtz had an interesting discussion on Tuesday with the National Review’s Jonah Goldberg about what it meant to be a conervative #NeverTrumper.
Kurtz asked Goldberg why he couldn’t support the President when he got something right, to which Goldberg responded he most certainly could. The problem, as Goldberg sees it, is that Trump supporters expect everyone to get on board with EVERYTHING that Trump does… and he just can’t bring himself to do it. Conservatives should fight for conservative values, even if it means fighting back against a GOP President.
Howard Kurtz: Jonah Goldberg has been a fierce critic of Donald Trump since the campaign and he is still feeling the backlash. He writes every day I’m criticized because of my coverage of President Trump even if I include praise or beneficial context. A Fox News Contributor and senior editor of national view joins me now. You say your criticism of Trump has changed your situation at Fox.
Jonah Goldberg: I’m fine with the position of fierce critic, but praised him when I thought it was his due, that is my job. When I started criticizing Donald Trump when he got more popular on the right, one of the most things that I discovered was how many people were mad at me for not living down to their expectations. There are a lot of pundits on the right who think their job is to be a cheerleader for their team. That is not my job. My job is to tell the truth as I see it, and that is gotten a lot of people angry.
Howard Kurtz: So in terms of financial impact, giving speeches, appearances on TV, you think you have taken a hit?
Jonah Goldberg: I don’t think there is a conspiracy on Fox. I used to be on CNN. Television news tends to have a format for the base. If you are a Democratic administration, you have conservatives criticizing it and liberals defending it. If a Republican administration the other way around, I am sort on the grey area on this, because I don’t follow the talking points of the Trump boosters or certainly don’t follow the talking points of the insane left. So sit creates this weird space I have never been in before where I don’t have a team where I used to.
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