Trump says Fox News gives too much airtime to Republican candidates' opponents

Left · 2On Sunday 25 October, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Fox News was "spending far too much time putting on the OPPONENTS of Republican Party Candidates". 1 2 Left · 1He added that these candidates were being "blurred out" by the media, that "Fox is doing little to help", and that this was "the only reason this Race is close, if it is indeed close". He did not say which race he meant. 1 Left · 1Raw Story noted that the post went up the day Trump travelled to Port Huron, Michigan, to rally for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is in a tight race with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. 1

Left · 1Raw Story also reported that Rogers had a difficult interview that morning on NBC's "Meet the Press". Moderator Kristen Welker confronted him with his 2012 comments about working with "moderate" members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and he twice declined to say whether he considers himself a MAGA Republican. 1 Left · 2The Guardian, on 28 October, placed the post in a pattern. It said Trump had long criticised Fox's non-partisan polling and had recently complained that the network did not air enough of his midterm rallies. It also said he had repeatedly objected to Fox interviewing Democratic candidates. 2 1 Left · 1In other Truth Social posts, Trump said Fox was featuring Democratic candidates "to be Politically Correct". He also attacked its coverage of El-Sayed, including what he called a "softball interview" by Martha MacCallum, and said "Fox is promoting the Dumocrats, not the Republicans and MAGA". 2

Left · 1The Guardian said allies echoed the criticism. Laura Loomer said Fox should be "exposing jihadists…not platforming them". Peter Navarro, a senior counselor, urged supporters to "turn Fox off" and said the network was "trying to destroy the signature piece of the Trump agenda", meaning the tariff plan. In July, Steve Bannon said of the Murdochs, "they hate Trump, they hate Maga". 2 Left · 1The Guardian also set out how close Trump and Fox remain. Fox sends a reporter to each rally and aired more than an hour of the Michigan rally. Larry Kudlow interviewed Trump on Fox for nearly 25 minutes on the Sunday morning, and Fox anchors Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt held their wedding rehearsal dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Trump attending. 2 Left · 1Chris Stirewalt of NewsNation, a former Fox News political editor, told the Guardian that if Republicans do badly in next Tuesday's midterms the president would be "chippy" but that the "symbiotic relationship goes both ways". 2