"Fox isn't working for us anymore": President Trump promises to find a new outlet
President Trump was not happy with Fox News on Wednesday, tweeting "Fox isn't working for us anymore" while "America's Newsroom" aired on the network. In the tweets, Mr. Trump did not hide his displeasure with some of Fox's 2020 election coverage — and he suggested the whole network should just "go left," saying he'd win without their help.
Mr. Trump's rage was at first directed at host Sandra Smith, who was interviewing DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa.
"Just watched @FoxNews heavily promoting the Democrats through their DNC Communications Director, spewing out whatever she wanted with zero pushback by anchor, @SandraSmithFox," the president wrote. "Terrible considering that Fox couldn't even land a debate, the Dems give them NOTHING! @CNN & @MSNBC are all in for the Open Border Socialists (or beyond). Fox hires 'give Hillary the questions' @donnabrazile, Juan Williams and low ratings Shep Smith. HOPELESS & CLUELESS! They should go all the way LEFT and I will still find a way to Win - That's what I do, Win. Too Bad!...."
But Mr. Trump wasn't done. "I don't want to Win for myself, I only want to Win for the people. The New @FoxNews is letting millions of GREAT people down! We have to start looking for a new News Outlet. Fox isn't working for us anymore!" he wrote in a third tweet.
@DonnaBrazile refers to former DNC chairperson and current Fox contributor, Donna Brazile, who came under fire in 2016 when WikiLeaks revealed emails indicating she gave Hillary Clinton's team a heads-up about presidential debate questions.
Mr. Trump also called out Juan Williams, a Fox News political analyst, who recently wrote an op-ed for The Hill titled "The real reason for Trump's attack on me."
"When Trump tweeted out last week that my political analysis of him was 'nasty,' 'pathetic' and 'wrong,' it led to an instant stream of vile comments via email and on my social media feeds," Williams wrote in the op-ed.
Williams says Trump "is engaged in a coordinated attack on every journalist's ability to hold him accountable, call out his lies and critique his failed policies."
In his tweets on Wednesday, the president also named Shepard Smith, another Fox News anchor who is often critical of the Trump administration.
This is not the first time Mr. Trump has taken issue with Smith. Earlier this month, he tweeted that watching CNN, which he calls "fake news," is better than watching Smith's Fox News show.
In that tweet, Mr. Trump alleged Smith's show was the lowest rated on Fox News. "Actually, whenever possible, I turn to @OANN!" the president wrote, referring to the right-wing One America News Network that has published conspiracy theories.
In Wednesday's Twitter rant, Mr. Trump did not mention OANN, but he floated the idea of a new outlet now that Fox News "isn't working for" his administration anymore.
Mr. Trump's Twitter gripe was quickly rebutted by the channel's senior political analyst, Brit Hume. "Fox News isn't supposed to work for you," Hume wrote. By contrast, several Fox News prime-time hosts, in particular Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro, have been vocal supporters of Mr. Trump, and he frequently returns the favor by tweeting about their shows.
And despite his Twitter barrage, Fox News remains the president's go-to network for giving interviews. He had another one scheduled Thursday morning with Fox News Radio's "The Brian Kilmeade Show" — his 61st interview with Fox News since taking office. No other network has had more than seven.
While Mr. Trump said he does not need Fox News, there has long been a close relationship between the network and the Trump White House. The White House has not held a press briefing since March, but former press secretary Sarah Sanders regularly appeared on the network before her departure in June. Fox News announced last week that Sanders had been hired as a contributor.
There are other connections between Mr. Trump's former staffers and Fox News: Former White House communications director Hope Hicks is now the chief communications director for Fox Corporation, former deputy press secretary Raj Shah currently serves as a senior vice president at Fox Corporation, and Mr. Trump's former communications director, Bill Shine, previously was a Fox News executive.
-Mark Knoller contributed reporting.
