One down, many to go…
Longtime Fox News anchor Shepard Smith who has been one of the network’s most vehement critics of President Trump will soon be drawing his paychecks elsewhere.
In an announcement that sent shockwaves throughout the anti-Trump media, the network confirmed that Friday’s episode of “Shepard Smith Reporting” would be his last after an ugly spat with fellow Fox employee Tucker Carlson.
Smith had been with Fox for so long that it was actually a staunchly conservative network when he hired on but with the genius Roger Ailes now deceased and Rupert Murdoch having ceded control to his liberal sons, it now seems like a watered-down version of CNN.
He had been drawing criticism and alienating viewers with his increasing hostility toward Trump, the promulgation of conspiracy theories and cheerleading for impeachment and the feud with Carlson saw his meltdown reach critical mass.
The anchor himself announced his departure on-air and got in several thinly-veiled shots at the POTUS.
Full video: Shepard Smith's final sign off from Fox News pic.twitter.com/5fgyM81Gbj
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) October 11, 2019
Via Reuters, “Fox News veteran Shepard Smith quits; hopes ‘facts will win the day'”:
Shepard Smith, the chief news anchor of Fox News and a sometime critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, abruptly quit the network on Friday after 23 years.
In an unexpected on-air statement at the end of his daily “Shepard Smith Reporting” show, Smith said he had asked to leave the conservative-leaning cable news network, which is the most-watched in the United States.
His farewell message ended with the hope that “the truth will always matter.”
“Recently I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News. After requesting that I stay, they obliged. Under our agreement I won’t be reporting elsewhere, at least in the near future,” Smith said.
“Even in our currently polarized nation, it’s my hope that the facts will win the day, that the truth will always matter, that journalism and journalists will survive,” Smith said.
Smith, who was also managing editor of the network’s breaking news unit, has been one of the few senior journalists on Fox News to criticize Trump.
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The frequent target of Smith’s faux news was quick to attribute his departure to bad ratings or “some other less important reason” that has yet to be disclosed.
Is he leaving due to bad ratings, or some other less important reason? https://t.co/XBr7xVgarc
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2019
HMMM..
NBC Reporter Claims That Shepard Smith Was Escorted Out By Security, Fox News Reportedly Denies https://t.co/ATaUtSft9A
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 11, 2019
Despite getting his digs, Trump took the high road and wished Smith well.
Watch President Trump's reaction to Shepard Smith leaving Fox News:
"It was probably because of bad ratings." pic.twitter.com/NvT056IVj3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 11, 2019
While Smith won’t be immediately moving to one of the competing anti-Trump propaganda networks, it is a certainty that he would be warmly welcomed by his fellow Dem activists at CNN and MSNBC.
Like James Comey, Michael Cohen, Anthony ‘The Mooch’ Scarmucci and others who were once despised by the left, Smith became a hero of the so-called Resistance within minutes of the announcement.
Bad day for those who respect and value factual, courageous reporting. You will be missed, @ShepNewsTeam.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 11, 2019
News that Shepard Smith is leaving Fox News is a bombshell in the world of television journalism. Smith has been a pro and a straight shooter as a reporter and anchor. His departure suggests a bigger story, but I wish him well in his future pursuits.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) October 11, 2019
I've been working on a book about Fox/Trump for months. My sources on the news side of Fox have unanimously pointed to Shep Smith as a role model. So what happened? Here's what my reporting has found so far…https://t.co/ctKmmwrUL0
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 11, 2019
“Even in our currently polarized nation, it’s my hope that the facts will win the day, that the truth will always matter, that journalism and journalists will thrive.” –@ShepNewsTeam https://t.co/hUfF4Kmzgn
— Evan McMullin (@EvanMcMullin) October 11, 2019
“A former Fox News staffer who has recently been in touch with Smith said that the spat with Carlson was the last straw and that Smith had grown frustrated in recent months by the repeated attacks on the news division by other opinion hosts.” https://t.co/CsduhvH7s1
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) October 12, 2019
Regardless of what happened, I want to congratulate @ShepNewsTeam for leaving fox. No matter how much he tried to make Fox real journalism stead of propaganda, it leant credibility to evil liars. If you have a barrel full of garbage & add a teaspoon of gold, it’s still garbage.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 12, 2019
Can’t resist. Never can see Shepard Smith without thinking of his town full of secrets https://t.co/XgCyWvvYa8 pic.twitter.com/wg4k50ribo
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) October 12, 2019
NEW: A Fox insider told The Daily Beast that Smith was sick of being attacked by colleagues with evening shows and asked for a way out of his contract. An effort was made to appease him, the insider said, but he ultimately decided to leave Fox behind https://t.co/58bvcjBYeh
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 12, 2019
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There has been speculation that Smith’s departure may have been triggered over his trashing of regular guest and former U.S attorney Joe diGenova who blasted another Trump hater Judge Andrew Napolitano as a fool.
Smith used his show to blast diGenova as repugnant and was then ripped to shreds by Carlson – who regularly blows him away in the ratings.
Make no mistake though, even without the Never Trumper masquerading as a newsman, Fox has been cultivating a stable of others who also never accepted the 2016 election including former DNC boss Donna Brazile who was fired from CNN after it was discovered that she gave debate questions to Hillary in advance.
Like the now repugnant Drudge Report which has declared war on Trump, Fox is just another piece of the Democrat-Deep State propaganda machine and the raw desperation to prevent the president’s imminent reelection has driven the rats to shed their masks only weeks before Halloween.
