Fox News says graphic calling Biden a 'wannabe dictator' has been 'addressed'
Fox News drew scrutiny Tuesday night for an on-air graphic that appeared to call President Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator.”
In a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the network said: “The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed.”
The spokesperson did not respond to an email that asked whether there would be any consequences for the staff members behind the text in the graphic, known as a chyron.
Hours after Donald Trump's arraignment, the network night aired a split screen of footage from Biden’s remarks at a Juneteenth event at the White House, and Trump’s speech in New Jersey. The former president addressed supporters at his golf club in Bedminster after he pleaded not guilty to federal charges of mishandling classified documents.
Around 9 p.m. ET, the all-caps text at the bottom of the screen on the network read: “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hit back at Fox News when asked about the chyron during the press briefing on Wednesday.
“So, there are probably about 787 million things that I can say about this, that was wrong about what we saw last night, but I don’t think I’m going to get into it,” she told reporters.
Her comments about “787 million” were in reference to the settlement in April between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News, in which Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit.
Trump's allies have rallied to his defense by echoing his grievances that the indictment was a politically charged move.
A federal grand jury indicted the former president last week for allegedly misleading federal investigators in his attempt to hold on to sensitive material that he knew was still classified. Federal officials accuse Trump of breaking seven laws in the mishandling of more than 100 classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago in August.
The former president faces 37 counts on the seven charges, including false statements, conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of national defense information. Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta was also indicted on six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct and false statements. Nauta has not yet been able to enter a plea and his lawyer, Stan Woodward, has declined to comment on his charges.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the case and has characterized his indictment as a political hit job led by the Biden administration in an effort to undermine his re-election bid. Biden has remained silent about the case.