Fox News’ propagandists aren’t terribly interested in the contents of the Republican tax and spending bill, which passed Congress on Thursday, or on the devastating impacts it might have on their viewers. But they know that President Donald Trump wants it to pass, and so they’re greasing the skids with their viewers to help it over the finish line. 

MAGA media revolves around Trump and his desires, but its personalities tend to be more invested in waging the culture war than in the nitty-gritty of policymaking. With regards to the Republican bill, Fox hosts have tended to be supportive of the bill while not dwelling on it. 

Throughout the week, right-wing media personalities continuously pointed out problems with the bill, only to then advocate for its passage. Newsmax host Rob Finnerty called the bill “highly average mediocre,” The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro acknowledged the bill had a lot of “pork,” and Newsmax’s Rick Santorum said the bill is “not incredibly fiscally sound.” 

Republicans hoped to pass the bill quickly in order to minimize the grueling political damage caused by enacting legislation that is wildly unpopular — and likely to become more so as the public finds out what is in it. Fox’s job in this pursuit is to ensure that viewers remain placid about the impact of the bill before it passes. The messaging dilemma for Trump supporters is that bumper-sticker claims of the bill being “great for the working class” and working to “reform Medicaid” won’t hold up to scrutiny. 

With the bill’s final passage, the goal of MAGA media will pivot from telling viewers that the legislation needed to pass to hiding its role in those crushing impacts.