Four months after giving Ariel Abergel a warm on-air sendoff when he left the network, the Fox & Friends crew praised their 25-year-old former producer for his role in overseeing Donald Trump’s much-hyped but sparsely attended military parade, insisting he did a “fantastic” job producing the event.
With the president’s parade coming across as a “medium-sized town’s July 4th celebration” while the “No Kings” protests drew millions of demonstrators across the country, the hosts of Trump’s favorite morning show also made sure to draw a contrast between the events and frame the demonstrations as anti-American.
“So, over the weekend, a tale of two different parties,” co-host Ainsley Earhardt noted on Monday morning. “You had all these protests, the ‘No Kings’ protest, all over the country. They were waving Palestinian flags. They had upside-down American flags. Organized by this pro-Palestinian group called Within Our Lifetime, many of them were. They want to abolish Zionism and chant ‘liberation of Palestine.’”
After airing clips of police officers clashing with demonstrators, Earhardt then turned to her colleague Lawrence Jones, pointing out that he co-anchored the network’s uninterrupted coverage of Trump’s celebration. Jones, meanwhile, teed up footage of the president’s speech before doubling down on Earhardt’s remarks.
“I had so much fun,” Jones declared. The Fox News star, however, likely didn’t have as much fun as the seemingly intoxicated guest he interviewed after Trump’s speech, who had to be cut off as she slurred her way through her appearance.
“It was the tale of two parties,” he continued. “The people that like America and want to build up the country, want to celebrate our country’s support for the men and women that lay their lives on the line, and the people that just want to be in the middle of the street with other country’s flags.”
Jones went on to claim that the parade would cause military recruitment “to go up” before gushing that the “production there was so great,” adding that he “can’t wait to see the numbers.” Though the Trump administration has attempted to present an alternate reality where the anti-Trump protests were an “utter failure with minuscule attendance” and the parade drew “over 250,000 patriots,” early estimates assert that the demonstrations pulled in as many as six million people while the Trump event “appeared to fall far short” of the planned 200,000 attendees.
Co-host Brian Kilmeade also appeared to take a shot at other networks for either not carrying the Trump parade or offering split-screen coverage alongside the protests, wondering “how could you be critical” of the message delivered by the administration’s event, which was ostensibly to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday.
“It was so inspirational,” Kilmeade exclaimed, adding that he “loved” the president’s speech.
After the hosts spent a few more moments fawning over the parade and Trump’s address, which included them applauding the troops singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the president, they once again turned their attention to their former colleague’s production skills.
“Great job. Whoever produced it, and I do know somebody very well who produced it, he did a fantastic job,” Kilmeade gleefully stated as Earhardt mentioned “Ari” and the “great job” he carried out.
“He’s a part of our family,” Jones added.
Abergel, who was affectionately described by longtime Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy as “Ari the driver,” left the conservative cable giant earlier this year to take on the role of executive director of America250, the organization that oversaw the military celebration.
“The congressionally authorized festivities, which kick off tomorrow with a Washington parade to honor the Army, are backed by more than $100 million in expected congressional appropriations and are supposed to be a nonpolitical, nonpartisan affair,” The Atlantic reported about Abergel’s appointment. “But Abergel’s new role has prompted concerns even from some Trump loyalists, as well as a backlash among participants who worry that his installation portends a bid by Trump to channel the patriotism surrounding the nation’s semiquincentennial into a celebration of himself.”
The installation of Abergel and other Fox News veterans to the America250 operation is just another example of the symbiotic relationship between the right-wing cable network and the Trump White House.
While the MAGA-boosting channel employs several former Trump administration officials and the president’s daughter-in-law, Trump has hired roughly two dozen ex-Fox News employees to staff up his administration – including former Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon.
