Appearing on MSNBC's "AM JOY" with guest host Tiffany Cross, Vanity Fair journalist Gabriel Sherman said Donald Trump's chances of staying in office hinge on working with Fox News personalities and should the network turn on him -- specifically as the coronavirus pandemic grows worse -- he stands no chance of being re-elected.
Asked by host Cross if there is "any way to penetrate that layer of ignorance of the Fox News viewer or the Fox News anchor," Sherman said that is the only thing that is keeping the president's re-election hopes afloat.
"You know, what you pointed out is that Fox News is really the last line of defense that Donald Trump has," Sherman explained. "Consistently Donald Trump's approval ratings have been in the low 40s to low 30s. That is largely because that 30 percent core of supporters that are unmovable are the diehard Fox News viewer."
"If Fox News did start reporting the truth and reporting on the carnage that this president has brought, you would see Donald Trump's approval ratings collapse into the teens, I have no doubt about that," he added. "The role of Fox News in this election, as far as Donald Trump is concerned, is to keep that base in line that he needs to win in November."
Adding that the president is seeing his polls slipping," Sherman revealed, "He is reaching out for campaign advice. As we saw over the weekend, clearly the advice from Fox News is to pivot hard to his nativist angry white base. That's the role that Fox News is going to play from now through November.
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