An exclusive report alleges Fox News has stopped conducting live interviews with Donald Trump, a decision that could be detrimental to his political ambitions – or the network that has long profited from them.
Beginning during the 2016 presidential election, Trump and Fox News enjoyed a mutually beneficial and highly profitable relationship. These days, the de facto leader of the Republican Party has a strained relationship with the conservative cable news behemoth.
And members of the former president’s inner circle believe Fox is intentionally snubbing his campaign by scrapping live interview appearances.
Frustrated with the perception of being consistently left out, several Trump advisers reached out to The Daily Beast to voice their concerns.
“Trump is not allowed live on Fox,” claimed one insider to the Beast. Executives reportedly “fear” a baseless claim from the GOP front-runner could lead to new legal trouble for the network.
Another confidant shared a similar story, saying the network has made clear it strongly prefers pre-recorded interviews:
“Fox sent down word from the top that they don’t want to ‘platform’ Trump like they did before,” a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast. “I find it hilarious. For one, it sounds like something MSNBC would do.”
After a lengthy hiatus last year, Trump re-emerged on Fox News in March, but in a diminished capacity in a string of interviews with Fox hosts and anchors including Sean Hannity, Bret Baier, and Larry Kudlow. Gone are the days when Trump could simply call in live and share his stream of consciousness.
A search by reporters at The Daily Beast suggests that the last time Trump phoned into a Fox News program on live TV was in April 2022.
Fox settled a record-setting lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems the following year after a judge found the network deliberately suppressed fact-checks and other evidence to refute Trump’s disproven election claims.
The report continues:
In August, The New York Times reported that, before the first GOP presidential debate, Fox News executives pitched Trump on why he should attend their debate during a dinner at his Bedminster golf club. Trump played footsie with the idea of attending the debate, but ultimately never showed.
As Trump runs for president a third consecutive election—this time, with court appearances taking up much of his schedule—a direct line to Fox and its audience would be a convenient arrangement for him. But after Trump has made a sport of trashing Fox News, as well as that $787 million Fox News settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox doesn’t seem interested in actively promoting Trump—at least not during the primary.
Representatives for Fox News declined requests for comment. A Trump campaign spokesperson similarly refused to offer an on-the-record response.
Still, a Trump adviser cautioned that Fox News, already on thin ice with significant elements of the MAGA base, was hurting itself more than anyone:
“Trump and his supporters are the lifeblood of Fox’s business, so they’re shooting themselves, not in the foot, more like in the face.”
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