Right-wing radio talk show hosts in swing states are warning their listeners about voter fraud and preparing to deny the results of the 2024 election. They've issued a severe warning that massive numbers of illegal immigrants will be voting in the election.
Once again, there is zero evidence to support any of what they are proclaiming.
What is pathetic about the freedom to express opinions on talk shows is the new lack of respect for the truth and facts. Why are talk show hosts allowed to go on the air and speak total nonsense about crucial topics concerning a presidential election? Station management allows talk show hosts to say whatever they want to say; and it becomes the audience, or responsible talk show hosts, to call out the abuses of freedom of expression.
In 2016, Rush Limbaugh answered his own question, “What do you mean elections aren’t rigged?” Limbaugh said, “Of course they are!” Ironically, Trump won that election leaving Limbaugh discredited with his claim that all elections are rigged. No Trump supporters worried about the 2016 election being rigged.
Vicki McKenna, a talk show host on WISN in Wisconsin, expressed her fear on the air about a mass importation of illegal aliens voting. McKenna also warned her listeners about left-wing violence during the voting process. McKenna told her listeners to hold up large signs in Spanish 10 ft. from the polling locations telling all Spanish-speaking people that noncitizens are not allowed to vote in the state of Wisconsin.
Another WISN talk show host, Dan O’Donnell concocted a math equation based on a finite number of ballots that could reasonably be produced and that the limited number would lead to the “fraud margin” of false ballots. O’Donnell also warned his listeners of a “massive epidemic of noncitizens voting” in their state.
Former President Donald Trump commented on a theory promoted by O’Donnell about reported voter fraud in Lancaster, PA and to assume that the Republicans won’t “make the same mistakes that they did in 2020 and just assume that Democrats were going to run an election fairly.” But again, the concerns were promoted with zero evidence to support the claims.
Garret Lewis, a talk show host on KNSY in Arizona, another swing state, claimed the deputy recorder in Pima County “is trying to cover up being caught trying to steal the election.” Lewis said that 218,000 Arizona voters who registered with a driver’s license issued before October 1996 never showed proof of citizenship and that this was a premeditated attempt to steal the election. Again, no evidence.
In the swing state of Georgia, hosts Kim Peterson and Pete Davis were on the air resurrecting the conspiracy theory that “Dominion voting machines are hacked.” The Fox News Channel paid nearly $800 million to settle their case of lying that the Dominion voting machines were flawed and cheated in favor of the Democrats. There was no proof, and the evidence showed that the machines operated properly and honestly.
Radio talk show hosts are not honest just because they have a show. These types of talk hosts are nothing but parrots, repeating what they pick up from MAGAites or from Trump himself. These hosts do not necessarily have original thoughts or opinions; and in the cases of preparing their listeners to deny the results of this election or that Dominion voting machines are cheating, they are bringing back prior conspiracy theories that worked in firing up the Trump base.
On our show on WWL, I only promote the truth and facts; and I take advantage of the opportunity I have to renounce as fraud ridiculous claims that Trump won the election in 2020 and that the 2024 election is already shrouded in voter fraud. How are these hosts allowed to spew absurd claims without requiring any sort of evidence to support the claims?
The aforementioned talk show hosts and their fearmongering proves that you should not believe everything you hear. It is pathetic that so many Americans are willing to believe the lies and misinformation of radio hosts who may appear to be credible just because they are on the air.
I am not perfect, but in my entire career I have never purposely promoted misinformation or blatant lies. It really isn’t that hard to tell the truth.
Remember, many of the right-wing radio talk show hosts are simply repeating what they have been told or they are restating the rhetoric that got people excited in the past.
There should be an understanding that no hosts promote ideas that are not supported by information. If evidence is of no consequence, then we have a society that is rapidly becoming unhinged.
Demand the truth and not the parroting of ideas.