Larry King Asks Richard Schiff: 'Did Fox News and the Right Wing Create Trump?'

March 31st, 2016 10:04 PM

On Thursday night’s Politicking with Larry King, the liberal pundit asked West Wing actor Richard Schiff what he thought about Donald Trump and his popularity. After discussing how Trump was a larger-than-life character like Citizen Kane, King asked Schiff: “Do you think it’s Fox News and the right-wing that created Trump?”

Schiff, who campaigned for Joe Biden, didn’t take the bait though. Bypassing the easy partisan answer, Schiff surprisingly blamed the media instead.


RICHARD SCHIFF: I think a lot of it has to do with the media’s starvation for any kind of big news, any kind silly news, stupid news, angry news, and so Trump feeds that desire and that need so easily that uh I think the media created it.

See the full transcript from Politicking with Larry King March 31 below: 

LARRY KING: Do you think it’s  Fox News and the right wing that created Trump?

RICHARD SCHIFF: Um, I--

KING: I mean he’s always been around. What created the Donald?

SCHIFF: Well that’s a good question, I’m not sure I’m equipped to answer that. Um, uh but I think a lot of it has to do with the media’s starvation for any kind of big news, any kind silly news, stupid news, angry news, and so Trump feeds that desire and that need so easily that uh I think the media created it.

SCHIFF: Um but you know it's almost like uh, when we take out these dictators that we originally put in there in the first place. And then we’re surprised that--- One of the things that Trump talks about which is not inaccurate. We, we we are surprised by the chaos.

SCHIFF: I remember how Democrats were so excited by the fact that the Tea Party was splitting the Republican party. And well now, Democrats are going to take over! But you know, you got to be careful what you wish for when, when a known entity opposition, you know, breaks apart like that. And the Tea Party took it this way and Trump has come in through the middle of that schism, hasn’t he?