The Foreign Minister had announced that she wanted to reach a broad range of Americans.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington In an interview with the controversial US television channel Fox News on Thursday evening, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) urged American citizens to maintain support for Ukraine.
“If Putin were to win,” said Baerbock, “what kind of signal would that be to other dictators in the world?” Baerbock explicitly mentioned Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping in this context. “That’s why Ukraine must win the war.”
The interview took place during her multi-day trip to the USA, which took her to Washington on Wednesday evening after two days in the Texas cities of Houston and Austin.
The appearance on Fox News was controversial. Critics accuse the station of spreading unfiltered right-wing populism and lies to the people. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, long-time Fox star Tucker Carlson spread the conspiracy theory that the USA had bioweapons laboratories there. Carlson has now moved his show to Platform X, formerly Twitter.
However, it was important for Baerbock to also address those Americans who are more difficult to reach. Fox News is the cable channel with the highest ratings in the USA; alongside CNN and MSNBC, it is one of the flagships of American TV news. While CNN and MSNBC often appeal to a politically left-leaning audience, Fox News is aimed more at Republican supporters.
Defense of Ukraine aid
On Thursday morning, Baerbock also met with eight politicians from the Republican Party, including Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican faction in the US Senate. The 81-year-old is considered one of the most important masterminds in US politics.
The most important topic in the talks was US aid to Ukraine. There is concern in Berlin that after next year’s elections, the Republicans in particular could cut back on aid.
>> Read also here: Annalena Baerbock also has to negotiate with US Republicans
“I heard Republican voices who had a lot of questions about support for Ukraine,” said the Green politician on Thursday after the talks in Washington. But she has also heard from many “that it is clear to them how important continued support for Ukraine is for us Europeans, and of course for Ukraine itself.”
Addressing US citizens, she said in an interview with Fox News television on Thursday evening: “I understand the questions about inflation and rising food prices, we have the same discussions in Europe,” said Baerbock. “But we always have to ask ourselves what would happen if we didn’t support Ukraine. The price would be so much higher.”
The interview took place in a sensitive broadcast environment. Just shortly before the conversation, the show was about a lawsuit against Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, for violating firearms regulations. The impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden, which the US House of Representatives wants to initiate against him, a so-called impeachment, were also discussed.
>> Read also here: Impeachment proceedings could harm the US president
Baerbock was not the first German government representative to appear on Fox News. In January 2022, the then German ambassador Emily Haber gave the broadcaster an interview, shortly before the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
Broad audience on Fox News
A distinction must be made between the daytime program, which is characterized by highly professional news production, and the opinion-laden evening program after 8 p.m., which made right-wing conservative spokesmen such as Sean Hannity and Carlson internationally known. During the day, the station focuses more on international reporting than CNN or MSNBC, which is why the interview with Baerbock fits the broadcast concept.
Fox News reaches nearly half of American adults, over 60 percent of Republican supporters, and a diverse audience: whites, blacks and Hispanics tune in in roughly equal proportions. The gender ratio is also almost balanced; there is only a slight excess of male viewers.
In May, Fox News lost nearly a third of its evening prime-time viewers after Carlson left the network. Fox News previously agreed to pay $787.5 million to voting machine manufacturer Dominion in an out-of-court settlement. The channel faced a defamation lawsuit over its coverage of the allegedly rigged 2022 presidential election and Dominion equipment problems.
During the trial, it emerged that well-known Fox hosts, including co-executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, knew the allegations about defects during the 2020 election were false. Nevertheless, Fox continued to spread these falsehoods in order to increase ratings.
More: Why Annalena Baerbock is looking to get closer to the German economy