Fox News calls Biden 'wannabe dictator,' Trump 'president' during broadcast

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Fox News dubbed US President Joe Biden a "wannabe dictator" as it aired his White House address late Wednesday while also referring to just-arraigned ex-President Donald Trump as the nation's "president."

Onscreen text displayed under split-screen footage of Biden speaking on the South Lawn of the White House and Trump speaking at his New Jersey golf club read: "Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested."

The footage aired at the end of the 8 p.m. broadcast of Fox News Tonight, the conservative cable network's primetime news show, on the same day Trump pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal charges related to his alleged retention of classified documents after he left office.

While the network has never shied away from its conservative messaging, the use of "wannabe dictator" was strikingly forceful.

Moments earlier, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade segued to a speech Trump delivered at his Bedminster golf club, calling him the US "president."

"This is the president of the United States about to address a crowd of reporters, and also the first time after being indicted on federal charges, first time in history," Kilmeade said as chants of "USA, USA" erupted from the crowd ahead of the speech.

Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination for presidents, far surpassing the popularity of all other candidates, according to multiple opinion polls.

He vowed that should he be reelected to a second term next year he will "appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family."

"When I am reelected, and we will get reelected -- we have no choice; we are not gonna have a country anymore -- I will totally obliterate the deep state," he told supporters.

Earlier in the day, Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts brought by federal prosecutors.

He became the first former US president to face federal charges when he was indicted by a grand jury last week in the state of Florida. He faces separate state charges related to his business dealings in New York.

Trump maintains the case against him is politically motivated, a charge denied by special counsel Jack Smith who was tapped by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to independently carry out the federal probe into Trump’s post-presidency retention of classified documents.