Brian Stelter's coverage of California recall election results is exactly what you'd expect

Sarah D | 9:55 AM on September 15, 2021

Want the latest on the aftermath of the California recall election? Turn to CNN … ‘s Brian Stelter, who’s been focused like a laser on Fox News’ coverage.

Here's a thread about how the anti-Newsom talk show "Fox & Friends" is handling Newsom's victory this morning. Overall tone: California is in trouble, Dems are weak, but it's no surprise Newsom won since "Big Tech donated tens of millions of dollars to the anti-recall effort."

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2021

We’re so far beyond parody at this point, we’ve completely lost sight of the original line.

"Turns out he had a mountain of money behind him," co-host Steve Doocy said, as if the donations were a surprise that no one knew about yesterday. Ainsley Earhardt read aloud the same list of $ donors during all 3 hours of the show.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2021

"Fox & Friends" didn't feature any pro-Newsom voices today, but it did host a panel of small business owners who said things like "I think small businesses are devastated" by the recall's failure and "I think we will see a lot of businesses leave the state now."

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2021

One wonders if Fox fans feel misled by the network's recall coverage: The California-in-the-dumps narrative, the recall cheerleading, the constant interviews with Larry Elder. It was similar with Trump last year: His reelection was portrayed as the most likely outcome, until 🤷‍♂️

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2021

This morning Doocy said things like "we should not be surprised that Gavin Newsom pulled it out in the last week or two," citing corporate donations, Biden's visit, and the Dems' inherent advantages in CA. As for Elder, "he did well, even though he finished short."

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2021

Notable: No "rigged" lies on "Fox & Friends" today. Doocy: "There was some suggestion, by Larry Elder and others, there could be some shenanigans, some fraud like that, but as we just heard him say, 'We do not finger-point, we do not blame.' NO claims of fraud in his speech."

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2021

Brian finds it very notable that “FOX & Friends” isn’t pulling a CNN and questioning the results of an election.