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A Donald Trump-run TV network is probably not going to last.
But it’s probably going to happen, said former Obama speechwriter and podcast pundit Jon Favreau on the latest episode of Recode Media with Peter Kafka.
“[With] Ailes’ departure, Fox [News] is in a weird transition,” Favreau said. “Believe it or not, there’s a big segment of the viewership and audience out there that thinks Fox is not conservative enough. The Breitbart world will have some sort of television venture, and maybe Trump will be involved with that.”
In case you can’t tell, Favreau, who co-hosts The Ringer’s podcast “Keepin’ It 1600,” expects a Hillary Clinton victory on Nov. 8. But he said the Trump campaign has done as well as it has because Trump’s team paid very close attention to the anger of Fox and Breitbart fans.
“He’s parroting what the far-right media has been talking about for the last eight to 10 years,” Favreau said. “That’s his platform.”
On the new podcast, Favreau added that he hopes future elections will return to the usual arguments over policy, as opposed to the inflamed rhetoric of 2016. Even as a Democrat, Favreau said, he wants the “never-Trumpers” within the GOP to win out and advance a less Breitbart-y candidate, to give the left wing some “healthy opposition.”
But he doesn’t think that’s going to happen.
“I’m pretty worried that it will be a ‘smarter Trump,’” Favreau said. “I’d like to think that’s not true, though. It’s funny — even though the never-Trump people’s preferred candidate would probably give our next candidate a lot more trouble, I’m pulling for them. I don’t want to lose an election, but at the same time, what we have gone through in 2016 is so awful because of Donald Trump. I don’t want to see that happen again.”
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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
