Fox & Friends guest unwisely compares Trump to King Lear

President Trump is no stranger to Shakespearean comparisons, but they're usually not as favorable as the simile Howie Carr shared on Fox & Friends.

The conservative radio host appeared on Trump's favorite morning show Tuesday, where co-host Steve Doocy asked him this month's trending question: Do you believe the media is the enemy of the people?

"They're not the enemy of the people, but they are the enemy of the president," Carr responded, and asserted that Trump's attacks on the press are just responses "to the insane attacks against him." Former President Barack Obama deserved hate after blocking Fox News from a presidential interview, Carr said, but Trump is "like King Lear: a man more sinned against than sinning."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Carr's comparison invites a quick refresher on the full plot of Shakespeare's King Lear. The titular monarch is growing old and wants to split his kingdom between his three daughters — or two sons and a favorite daughter, if you will. One might also hear Carr's comparison and note the similarities between Lear's descent into madness and the recent charge from a former top aide that Trump is "mentally declined."