A factually incorrect Fox News report about the man who drove a pickup truck into a New Orleans crowd early New Year’s Day morning, killing 15 people, has fueled a new round of anti-immigrant rhetoric from Donald Trump and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
The suspect, 42-year-old veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was reportedly inspired by the terrorist group ISIS. Fox News then reported that morning that he crossed into the United States from Mexico at the border crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas.
This is not true.
According to a video that Jabbar posted online, he was born in Texas, where he lived before traveling to Louisiana to pull off the attack.
But after the Fox News report was released, Trump posted a message on Truth Social claiming that the news validated his years of fearmongering over immigration and attacking immigrants.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” he wrote.
In a follow-up post, Trump added, “Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership. The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. They are incompetent and corrupt, having spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself.”
And he later posted, “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!”
Echoing Trump, Republican Hawley cited the attack in his argument that Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, who has oversight over immigration issues, “needs to be called to testify before the Senate immediately.”
Hawley also wrote a letter calling for a hearing addressed to Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, who will chair the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the new Congress. In the letter, Hawley cites “news reports” that “indicate that the truck in the attack may have recently crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.”
Meanwhile, Fox has retracted its false story and admitted that the truck it had cited crossing into the United States from Mexico was not the vehicle used by Jabbar.
Neither Trump nor Hawley have thus far released any posts reflecting the fake narrative they promoted. In fact, Trump posted another message Thursday morning blaming “the Biden Open Border’s Policy.” President Joe Biden has no such policy.
This episode is a prime example of the feedback loop that has existed between Trump and Fox News for years. Trump is an avid viewer of the network and frequently amplifies its misinformation. He also surrounds himself with advisers and others who regularly appear on Fox, and the network in turn amplifies Trump’s falsehoods to its audience, closing the loop.
Arguably, the most dangerous cycle occurred when Fox pushed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, arguing that Democrats and Biden had rigged the election and robbed Trump of a reelection victory. As a result of these lies, Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop the certification of the election.
Now, as Trump heads into the White House for a second term, Fox News stands ready to help him lie to the world—again.
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