President Donald Trump slammed Fox News late July 7.
Fox has in general been reliably pro-Trump but in recent months has been shifting to the center after years of being openly conservative. As part of the shift, the network hired Donna Brazile, former head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), in March.
In a series of missives posted on Twitter, Trump first criticized Fox’s weekend anchors, saying watching them “is worse than watching low ratings Fake News CNN, or Lyin’ Brian Williams (remember when he totally fabricated a War Story trying to make himself into a hero, & got fired. A very dishonest journalist!) and the crew of degenerate ..Comcast (NBC/MSNBC) Trump haters, who do whatever Brian & Steve tell them to do.”
The president appeared to be referring to Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, and Steve Burke, CEO of NBC Universal Media.
Another example of Fox shifting from the right is how it has joined the likes of the Washington Post and CNN in publishing stories that rely exclusively on stories from The New York Times that are based in full on anonymous sources.
A number of articles from media outlets that are openly anti-Trump relying on anonymous sources have proven false in the past several years but the method is still favored by some political reporters.
Watching @FoxNews weekend anchors is worse than watching low ratings Fake News @CNN, or Lyin’ Brian Williams (remember when he totally fabricated a War Story trying to make himself into a hero, & got fired. A very dishonest journalist!) and the crew of degenerate……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2019
…..Comcast (NBC/MSNBC) Trump haters, who do whatever Brian & Steve tell them to do. Like CNN, NBC is also way down in the ratings. But @FoxNews, who failed in getting the very BORING Dem debates, is now loading up with Democrats & even using Fake unsourced @nytimes as….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2019
…a “source” of information (ask the Times what they paid for the Boston Globe, & what they sold it for (lost 1.5 Billion Dollars), or their old headquarters building disaster, or their unfunded liability? @FoxNews is changing fast, but they forgot the people who got them there!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2019
Impossible to believe that @FoxNews has hired @donnabrazile, the person fired by @CNN (after they tried to hide the bad facts, & failed) for giving Crooked Hillary Clinton the questions to a debate, something unimaginable. Now she is all over Fox, including Shep Smith, by far….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2019
….their lowest rated show. Watch the @FoxNews weekend daytime anchors, who are terrible, go after her big time. That’s what they want – but it sure is not what the audience wants!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2019
“Like CNN, NBC is also way down in the ratings. But Fox News, who failed in getting the very BORING Dem debates, is now loading up with Democrats & even using Fake unsourced NY Times as a ‘source’ of information (ask the Times what they paid for the Boston Globe, & what they sold it for (lost 1.5 Billion Dollars), or their old headquarters building disaster, or their unfunded liability?” Trump said.
The president said that Fox seemed poised to leave behind the viewers who have helped propel them to the top of the cable rankings, before criticizing Brazile, the former DNC head, noting that Brazile was caught giving presidential debate questions to Hilary Clinton before a debate between Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
“Fox News is changing fast, but they forgot the people who got them there! Impossible to believe that Fox News has hired Donna Brazile, the person fired by CNN (after they tried to hide the bad facts, & failed) for giving Crooked Hillary Clinton the questions to a debate, something unimaginable,” Trump said.
“Now she is all over Fox, including Shep Smith, by far their lowest rated show. Watch the @FoxNews weekend daytime anchors, who are terrible, go after her big time. That’s what they want—but it sure is not what the audience wants!”
Fox had not responded to Trump’s criticism as of early Monday, nor had Brazile.
Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well. Fox …..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
….must stay strong and fight back with vigor. Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don’t give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die! Stay true….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
….to the people that got you there. Keep fighting for Tucker, and fight hard for @JudgeJeanine. Your competitors are jealous – they all want what you’ve got – NUMBER ONE. Don’t hand it to them on a silver platter. They can’t beat you, you can only beat yourselves!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
Trump regularly critiques news outlets and reports through his Twitter account and has criticized Fox in the past.
After the network removed Judge Jeanine Pirro in early March for comments she made about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Trump urged Fox to return Pirro to the air.
“Bring back Judge Jeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against Fox News hosts who are doing too well,” Trump wrote at the time.
“Fox must stay strong and fight back with vigor. Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don’t give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die! Stay true to the people that got you there. Keep fighting for Tucker, and fight hard for Judge Jeanine. Your competitors are jealous—they all want what you’ve got—NUMBER ONE. Don’t hand it to them on a silver platter. They can’t beat you, you can only beat yourselves!”
