This is the bizarre way the Fox & Friends hosts are trying to avoid reporting that Trump tried to fire Robert Mueller

The Fox and Friends hosts want to know "do you even care?"
(Image credit: Twitter/@foxandfriends)

The hosts of Fox & Friends dutifully covered The New York Times' front-page bombshell on Friday, but stopped short of accepting the report that President Trump tried to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller last June. That put the hosts in a bit of an awkward spot, though, seeing as Fox News has independently corroborated the story.

Nevertheless, host Steve Doocy began by telling viewers that "what [President Trump] just told reporters, you're going to want to hear, it's not in the papers," which Media Matters' Matthew Gertz points out is simply because Trump made the comments overnight. But Doocy had set the tone for the morning coverage at Fox News, which focused intently on Trump's claim that the New York Times' scoop is "fake news."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.