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Possible tipping point? People calling into right-wing talk shows to vent at DOGE rampage [1]
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Date: 2025-02-26
James Carville seems to think that Democrats should rely on a “rope-a-dope” strategy to beat Trump. With all due respect, James, there have been a lot of signs of late that suggest it’s time to get the anvils ready. The latest comes from Media Matters, which compiled a breathtaking mashup of callers venting their frustration at the Department of Government Efficiency’s mass firings on one of the last forums where you’d expect to see this happen—right-wing talk radio.
For instance, several callers asked Sean Hannity to speak out against the rash of firings orchestrated by Elon Musk. Hannity twisted himself into a pretzel trying to defend them, telling one caller that “there will be other opportunities” for veterans who got hit by the DOGE meat-ax, and told another complaining about the effects on “rank and file” agents that said agents faced “hard questions … in terms of their priority and whether they challenged some of their higher-ups.”
When another caller who identified himself as a staunch Trump supporter asked Hannity for advice on how to make “life decisions” after the firings, Hannity claimed that the focus all along was on “limiting the bureaucracy.” The caller responded by pointing out that if Musk wanted to cut $2 trillion, “you would have to eliminate everything, the entire federal government.” When another caller whose child had cancer expressed concern about the loss of funding for cancer research, Hannity harrumphed that most cancer research happens in the private sector.
Hannity isn’t the only one. Podcaster and Salem Radio morning drive-time host Chris Stigall was recently blasted by a federal worker who thought Stigall was showing “disrespect and disregard” for him and his colleagues. Stigall’s response? “If you work for the federal government, you need to grow up, respectfully. When Brian Kilmeade left the curvy couch for his afternoon radio show, he was greeted with a caller who was angry that Trump was trying to “bribe” people with DOGE dividends.
DOGE wasn’t the only target here. When a listener called into Clay Travis and Buck Sexton to complain about Trump’s recent slagging of Ukraine, Travis harrumphed, “How do you think this should end?” Alex Jones took a call from someone who pointed out Trump was “lying” about birthright citizenship, while Mark Levin took a call from someone fearing for the status of his fiancee, an immigrant from Ukraine.
Media Matters president Angelo Marrone sat down with The Bulwark’s Tim Miller to talk more about the growing outrage on right-wing radio, principally anger about DOGE. Watch here.
Remember, folks—in this day and age, most people listening to right-wing radio are among the most diehard of the diehards. So if you’re hearing this kind of talk there, the ground may be shifting.
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