"People who think Sanders supporters go to Donald Trump are smoking dope": Geraldo Rivera clearly didn't get the Fox News memo about wooing Sanders fans

Martha MacCallum touted the possibility all night via West Virginia exit polls, whereas Rivera — not so much

Published May 11, 2016 12:59PM (EDT)

Geraldo Rivera (Credit: Fox News)
Geraldo Rivera (Credit: Fox News)

The message clearly came down from on high that Fox News anchors need to create the impression that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is a viable alternative to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and for most of Tuesday's election coverage, the party line was successfully communicated.

Martha MacCallum stood in front of West Virginia exit poll results for what seemed like hours, speaking about how "the dissatisfaction of the white male voter" will lead many current Bernie Sanders supporters to flip to Donald Trump. The exit polling in question was not performed by an independent pollster, but by Fox News itself, just in case anyone thought it might have in some way reflected reality.

According to their polling, one out of three West Virginia Democrats said they would "stay home" if Hillary Clinton were the nominee, while another third said they would vote for Donald Trump. If those numbers seem suspicious to you, you're not alone -- on Hannity later, Geraldo Rivera had some strong words both for the candidate Bernie Sanders and the cooked numbers Fox News wanted to sell viewers.

"He’s so annoying," Rivera said, according to Raw Story's David Edwards. "This guy is so annoying."

"Your mic is hot!" host Sean Hannity shouted. "What are you saying?"

"That [Sanders] is so annoying," Rivera replied. "And that people who think that his supporters go to Donald Trump are smoking dope."

Watch the entire segment below via Fox News.


By Scott Eric Kaufman

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