Republican impeachment fervor hits peak with Biden
Beneath the pressure and encouragement of right-wing media outlets and their broader electorate, Republicans have resolutely voted to launch impeachment investigations against President Biden, despite a scarcity of substantial evidence to suggest any criminal misconduct.
The choice to proceed with an impeachment probe may not come as a surprise to concerned observers of the tainted media ecosystem where the Republican base primarily gathers its information. The impeachment against Biden has long been a fever dream in right-wing circles, with calls for an investigation predating Biden's White House tenure.
While mainstream news agencies have dedicated extensive resources to reporting on the high-risk criminal trial against the former President and his allies who allegedly sought to undermine democracy, the right-wing media spectrum has accentuated a distinctly contrasting narrative. Their audience, in turn, has seen a radically different storyline - one rife with constant developments.
In the show "Upside Down," Biden is presented as an unrepentant criminal involved in illicit foreign business dealings, potentially posing a threat to national security. The show has integrated dark and sinister rhetoric, cultivating the impression that the President is an outlaw on the run from justice. "The Bidens are like 'The Sopranos' without a shred of humor," quipped Laura Ingraham on her Thursday evening show. Hannity, meanwhile, has been consistently advocating for a decade that the Bidens are corrupt to the core.
However, these conspiracy theories are seldom reported on by reliable news organizations (although they'll get brief mentions in the evening news). The relentless rants against Biden from right-wing media personalities have had genuine consequences for society and government.
Although there is no concrete evidence of misconduct, the incendiary rhetoric has inflamed Republican sentiments. According to a survey published by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist this week, a surprising 78% of Republicans favor impeachment proceedings against Biden, compared to just 24% of Democrats and 45% of independents.
As the impeachment investigation progresses, conservatives are clamoring for their representatives to take action. Politicians who have publicly backed Biden's impeachment attempts have been lauded on Fox News and other right-wing media channels as heroic leaders in the fight against the supposedly sinister forces of corruption.
The demand for action has become more urgent since the impeachment effort was green-lit. The right-wing media sphere is now exerting intense pressure to directly charge the President, with Trump promising a vengeance tour and his online propaganda machine ready to aid him.
"The lack of compelling evidence is immaterial," noted Charlie Sykes, editor of the conservative anti-Trump publication Citadel. "The pressure from the right-wing entertainment community will be enormous and merciless without Trump's demands and his right-wing megaphone for amplification.", thus making impeachment possible.
Enrichment Insights:
Despite right-wing media's relentless drumbeat of misinformation, their efforts to push the impeachment of President Biden faced challenges. Investigations by both Democratic and Republican-controlled committees found no evidence of illegal activities involving the Bidens.
John Solomon's widely criticized reporting on Hunter Biden's financial dealings with a Ukrainian energy company (Burisma) provided the primary basis for the right-wing media's impeachment push. However, multiple legal, financial, and media probes ultimately proved the story false.
The truth began to emerge once Solomon's sources were identified and exposed as either non-existent or discredited. In some cases, details from Solomon's articles were traced to published works, further weakening the foundation of the right-wing media's claims.
