Awkward silence: Trump-a-Palooza a ratings flop for Fox News

President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One en route to the U.S. following his official visit with President Xi Jinping in China, May 15, 2026

President Donald Trump has vowed to increase enthusiasm for the Republican Party and its affiliates for the upcoming midterm elections, yet a recent report reveals that the pro-Republican Fox News network did not benefit at all last night.

"President Trump has long been a marquee draw on television, with Fox News viewers in particular often showing up in droves to watch his fiery and grievance-filled speeches," reported The New York Times' Michael M. Grynbaum on Thursday. "But the president’s 105-minute stemwinder on Wednesday in Dallas, at an unusual midterm convention meant to stoke Republican enthusiasm before November, did not appear to generate the usual Trump Bump."

He added, "An average of 2.5 million people tuned in to watch Mr. Trump between 9 and 11 p.m. Eastern on Fox News, one of the few major TV networks that aired his remarks in full. It was more or less an average prime-time audience for Fox News, based on the most recent quarterly statistics."

This is not the first occasion on Wednesday in which Trump's administration proved to be bad news for Fox News. Speaking to MS NOW's Ari Melber, Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro blasted Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott for firing host Maria Bartiromo after the latter shared with Navarro a corporate memo requiring the news team to not perpetuate Trump's dishonest claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

"There was no expectation of confidentiality," Navarro told Melber. "There was an expectation that the White House would be informed,' continuing that "basically, what Suzanne Scott should have done when the White House contacted her was apologize and acknowledge that it was disrespectful to the president and to people in this country — not to have that network even talk about the address."

Navarro further attempted to diminish Fox News' brand among Trump supporters.

"There's this misconception among viewers on the right and left that somehow that Fox is a conservative messenger and supports Donald Trump and. Fox in a heartbeat will tell you about transgender stuff and illegal aliens rape and killing as well they should," Navarro told Melber, then insisting that "there's certain guardrails they put up. Election integrity is one that you mentioned."

There were also signs of the midterm convention's flopping by the numerous shots on Wednesday night showing empty seats at a stadium that Trump insisted would be packed. He also received embarrassing responses from the crowd, which though usually enthusiastic for him gave a notably tepid response when he tried to convince them that he had made America less of a "laughingstock" than before he took office. It has recently made news that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has defeated Trump both in the court of public opinion and in getting the better of trade negotiations.

"It's not just Mr. Carney, he is the expression of something that he knows as a politician is now a very popular view in Canada," Dr. Richard Wolff, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts, told AlterNet earlier in September. "He's not going to be held to blame because this or that difficulty happens. If he can show, as he often can, that the United States' hostility, tariff policy number one, is the root cause, then he gets a pass. The kind of anger that might often be addressed to a politician won't be, because they correctly perceive that the problem is something else. And so they appeal to the politician when he comes up with solutions or attempted solution to keep workers' needs in mind."

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