Democratic National Committee rejects Fox News for primary debates
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) will not allow Fox News to televise any of its primary debates, with chairman Tom Perez citing a recent article in The New Yorker which details the ties between the channel and the Trump administration.
"I believe that a key pathway to victory is to continue to expand our electorate and reach all voters," Perez said in a statement first reported by The Washington Post. "That is why I have made it a priority to talk to a broad array of potential media partners, including Fox News. Recent reporting in the New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates. Therefore, Fox News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates."
The article by Jane Mayer in The New Yorker revealed that Mr. Trump may have been tipped off to some questions in the 2016 Republican primary debates by Fox sources, including by former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. The article also said that Mr. Trump receives advice from Fox News personalities Sean Hannity, Pete Hegseth and Lou Dobbs.
Mr. Trump tweeted on Wednesday night about the debates. "Good, then I think I'll do the same thing with the Fake News Networks and the Radical Left Democrats in the General Election debates!" he wrote.
Mr. Trump has often praised Fox News personalities and TV shows, especially the morning show "Fox & Friends." Fox News' former co-president, Bill Shine, is now the deputy chief of staff for communications at the White House.
Fox News senior vice president Bill Sammon said in a statement to the Post that he hoped the DNC would reconsider the decision to not to allow Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum -- three widely respected journalists -- to host a primary debate.
"They're the best debate team in the business and they offer candidates an important opportunity to make their case to the largest TV news audience in America, which includes many persuadable voters," Sammon said.
So far, the DNC has awarded rights to only CNN and NBC to hold two of the 12 announced primary debates, which begin in June.
