On Wednesday, after the Fox News Christmas tree burned down, Dean Obeidallah had a moment. Several of them, in fact. Obeidallah, for the u...
On Wednesday, after the Fox News Christmas tree burned down, Dean Obeidallah had a moment. Several of them, in fact.
Obeidallah, for the unfamiliar, is a SiriusXM radio host and an MSNBC contributor who went viral last month for suggesting, in a piece for MSNBC, that cable providers offer packages that didn’t include Fox News, citing what he claimed was misinformation and hate from the network, which he said was being underwritten by its carriage fees.
“It’s infuriating that on some level you and I are complicit in the toxic fodder being peddled on Fox News by helping fund its content,” he wrote. “If you want Fox News, then you should pay a monthly fee to watch it like you do with HBO. The rest of us who don’t want to subscribe to Fox News should not be forced to pay a premium fee for a channel we want nothing to do with.”
Obeidallah isn’t the only one waging a war on Fox News and conservative media. Big Tech and its allies have been trying to starve sources like The Western Journal of revenue by demonetization or threats of it. You can help us in our fight by subscribing here.
So, after going viral last month for suggesting Fox News was peddling misinformation, Obeidallah hopped on Twitter on Wednesday to suggest the alleged arson of the Fox News Christmas tree in the early hours of the morning was a false-flag hoax.
“People are saying that Fox News Jussie Smolletted the Fox News Christmas tree,” Obeidallah tweeted, referring to the alleged hate-crime hoaxer whose fate is currently in the hands of a Chicago jury. “Any one else hearing that? #AskingForAFriend.”
As Fox News reported, the 50-foot tall tree outside of Fox News’ New York City headquarters in Midtown Manhattan — decorated in a red, white and blue theme — was set ablaze shortly past midnight. No injuries were reported and authorities were able to put out the fire before it spread beyond the tree.
In an earlier tweet, Obeidallah had expressed this line of thinking not-so-explicitly: “I worked for years literally next door to Fox news and I can’t recall any night leaving and not seeing a guard outside Fox News -or several-and even an NYPD police car parked outside Fox. Plus video cameras,” he tweeted.
“With all that, how did person have time to light artificial tree?”
Dean Obeidallah, the “jet fuel doesn’t burn hot enough to melt steel beams” nutter of the Fox News tree fire.
If the MSNBC contributor has any serious information about the Fox News tree-burning being an inside job — and not just irresponsible “people are saying” nonsense — he should probably get to the New York Police Department, since they have the wrong guy.
According to The New York Times, Craig Tamanaha, 49, was arrested and hit with seven counts of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, arson and other charges. NYPD officers saw him running from the location when they arrived at the scene. Tamanaha was apparently homeless and had previously been arrested in March for smoking the synthetic cannabinoid K2, which is known to induce psychosis.
As for those security guards who Obeidallah implied were curiously absent, they allegedly observed a man — now believed to be Tamanaha — scaling the tree before the fire started. (Or is that just what Fox News wants you to think? See, Dean Obeidallah has you there!)
I’m sure this’ll come as a shock to all who are reading, but this wasn’t the only noxious thing Obeidallah tweeted about the alleged arson.
“Thoughts and prayers to the Fox News Christmas tree that was forced to stand outside a place that spews white supremacy and fascism. Perhaps the tree spontaneously burst into flames to save itself from having to see Tucker Klansman. #WarOnChristmas,” one tweet read.
“I’m sincerely concerned with a Christmas tree that celebrates the birth of Jesus forced to stand in front of a place that spews hate. Fox News is everything Jesus opposed,” Obeidallah added.
“Republicans LITERALLY more upset with the Fox News Christmas tree burning down than with four children being killed in a Michigan High school. #VILE,” another read.
As #VILE as this may all have been, conspiracy theories regarding the alleged arson are next-level lunacy, something that might even induce Alex Jones and Oliver Stone to put together an intervention for Obeidallah. It’s one thing to make “thoughts and prayers” quips about the tree-burning from the left as if it’s still 2015, but it’s quite another for a cable-news contributor to indulge prima facie delusions as if they were totally within the realm of normal human response.
But please, tell us again about how Fox News peddles misinformation, Mr. Obeidallah. After all, you seem to know a whole lot about spreading it.
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