For Trump and Fox News, new policies are simply 'common sense'

President Trump's rapid political actions are restructuring the federal government, and for Fox News, they are simply pursuing “common sense.”

The promulgation of “already painful bold measures” is worth it, said a Fox News presenter, to reach “common sense.” The Trump term so far, another fox expert concluded, could be summarized with that simple phrase: it is a “restoration of common sense.”

“Trump is not radical, it is only radically changing to our country to normal,” said Jesse Watters during the Monday episode of “Jesse Watters during stellar schedule.” He said Mr. Trump's plans to “deport migrants” and reduce waste were “all common sense movements.”

The avalanche of “common sense” comments on Fox News echoes the language that Mr. Trump and his new administration have used to justify their policies, many of which have deeply divided the country, the surveys have demonstrated. The administration has deployed the slogan to support a variety of actions, from the prohibition of paper straws to reversal efforts and climate change, and has described its first weeks as a “revolution in common sense.”

“It is easy to do a good job when you act on common sense and you are telling the truth,” said Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, in a recent informative session.

The shared language reflects the deepest ties between the government and the right -wing media, especially Fox News, with much the most popular cable news network in the nation. Almost 20 former Fox News have joined the Administration, even at the highest levels, with former hosts Pete Hegseth assuming the pentagon and Sean Duffy leading the Department of Transportation. Lara Trump, the president's daughter -in -law, has received her own program on the network.

Fox News declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comments.

The suggestion of Fox News and the White House is that the policies of the “common sense” of Mr. Trump are not only the correct ones, but also have broad support among the vast majority of Americans. Surveys have offered a more complicated image.

Trump's efforts to prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI, uniformly divide the country, according to A New York Times and Ipsos survey As of January, before its inauguration: 48 percent want to eliminate these programs, while 47 percent support them.

The same can be said of parts of Trump's Middle East policy. (Mr. Trump has supported the aid for Israel, while 53 percent in the same survey said that the United States was spending too much to support the country). Deporting all illegal immigrants, a cornerstone of Mr. Trump's immigration policy, has a higher support, with 55 percent supporting the idea.

Some of Mr. Trump's other policies are more popular: most Americans, about 80 percent, including two thirds of the Democrats, said that transgender women should not be allowed to compete in women's sports, according to the survey January. (Mr. Trump signed an executive order that except his participation). A larger participation, approximately 87 percent, which supports unauthorized immigrants with criminal record, according to the survey. (Mr. Trump signed a law in January that would deport undocumented immigrants accused of a variety of crimes, from theft to the murder).

Other policies pressed as “common sense” by Mr. Trump and conservative media do not have recent surveys to evaluate their popularity, including the end of the penny and require an identification with a photo to vote.

The “common sense” hug has increased in Fox News, where the term was mentioned almost 500 times in January, according to data from Critical mentionA media monitoring company, an increase of around 200 per month in the previous years.

Some of the Mentions in Fox News come from your account “Common sense department” A segment organized by Trace Gallagher that reacts to the news based on what would dictate the “common sense.”

As Trump moved to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development, which provides funds for humanitarian programs worldwide, protests and democratic legislators exploded celebrated demonstrations in support of the group.

Mr. Gallagher dismissed the failures during a segment highlighting some programs financed by USAID: “Common sense would not describe this as foreign aid, but as a domestic Boondoggy, a multimillionaire Boondoggy.”

Recent surveys show that most Americans, around 60 percent, support to focus on home problems instead of abroad, a change in 2019, when Americans divided evenly into that question. (A survey on foreign aid spending, 2014He also showed that 95 percent of respondents overestimated or did not know how much foreign aid spent. The correct answer: less than 1 percent of the federal budget).

Mark Levin, a Fox News presenter and close ally of Mr. Trump, seemed to recognize the echo between the White House and Fox News when he lifted the president's phrase in his program.

“What Trump is proposing is not radical, it is” common sense, “as he expresses it,” said Levin. “When he says 'common sense', for many of us, it means conservative. Because the conservative is common sense. “

Ruth Igielnik and Christine Zhang Contributed reports.