Fox News reporter John Roberts calls Hillary Clinton a 'shadow president,' confusing everybody

Trump takes questions
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nobody loves talking about Hillary Clinton more than the nighttime pundits on Fox News. But during a press conference on Monday, it was a Fox News reporter, John Roberts, who asked President Trump about the woman who beat him by nearly 3 million votes and still managed to lose the election. Specifically, Roberts asked Trump about Clinton's comments Sunday that the NFL players kneeling during the national anthem are assuming "a reverent position ... to demonstrate in a peaceful way against racism and injustice in our criminal system," not protesting "our anthem or our flag."

Trump was happy to answer at length. "I mean, honestly, it's that thinking," he began, "that is the reason she lost the election." On Twitter, Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama and current cohost of the Pod Save America podcast, said "asking Trump to comment on what Hillary said about the NFL is a stupid, clickbait question and a wasted opportunity to push him on real issues. Do better." Roberts pushed back, leading to a fight about Fox News doing "free PR" for Trump and treating Clinton as a "permanent Fox News boogieman" (Vietor), versus Clinton remaining "relevant to the discourse" because she "has not yet left the stage" (Roberts). Then Roberts tried to end things:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.