Final answer:
Father Charles Coughlin criticized the New Deal and gathered support through his weekly radio show, where he had millions of listeners. Option B is Correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
Father Charles Coughlin, a Detroit priest known as the "Radio Priest," gathered support for his criticisms of the New Deal primarily through a weekly radio show. By the mid-1930s, Coughlin's broadcasts reached an audience of tens of millions, leveraging the power of the airwaves to spread his controversial messages.
Initially, he supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal but later turned against it, arguing that it fell short in defending labor, enacting monetary reform, and nationalizing key industries. He used his platform to advance his own views on social justice and to create the National Union for Social Justice.
Coughlin's influence peaked as he built a following with his fiery oratory against communism, the banking system, corporate greed, and later, with openly anti-Semitic rhetoric, leading to a decline in his popularity.
His criticism of the New Deal and accusations against Roosevelt for allegedly conspiring with international bankers captivated countless listeners who sought alternatives to the economic policies of the time.
As radio listenership grew, so did the political power of the medium, previously harnessed by politicians like Presidents Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover, and most famously, by Roosevelt with his "fireside chats." Unfortunately, Coughlin's increasingly extreme viewpoints eventually alienated many of his supporters and led to his departure from the airwaves.