The most recent tirade by President Donald Trump against Fox News has become embarrassing since it has been leaked that officials from the White House and Republican operatives had been secretly pressuring the network regarding its coverage of a Democratic senatorial candidate.
As part of the behind-the-scenes campaign effort, Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate in Michigan, has made appearances on Fox, which has made it more difficult for the Republicans to present him as politically extreme, according to Axios.
On Tuesday, White House officials raised their complaints directly with Fox regarding the interview given by anchor Martha MacCallum to El-Sayed. Furthermore, senior Republican operatives had also contacted the network's producers and executives in August to object to the favorable remarks made by host Jesse Watters.
On Tuesday, Trump publicly criticized the network, charging it with giving Democrats preferential treatment.
"Fox is promoting the Dumocrats, not the Republicans and MAGA. They have totally lost their way!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. He also charged MacCallum with giving a "softball interview" and objected to Fox not providing adequate coverage of his campaign rallies.
However, among Republicans, there is concern that Fox News is helping El-Sayed reach moderate voters in his campaign against Republican Mike Rogers.
Jason Roe, a strategist with the Michigan Republican Party, admitted there was a problem, stating that Fox was giving El-Sayed a "favor".
"It's only helping him reach center-right voters," Roe said. "But they are in business to make money, and he attracts eyeballs."
The frustration can be traced to El-Sayed's win in the Democratic primary, where Watters had praised the candidate for having defeated the party establishment, a comment which later appeared in El-Sayed's campaign television advertisement.
Watters then gave another surprise compliment.
"I actually like Abdul. I probably shouldn't like him, but I do," Watters said.
Fox reports that El-Sayed's appearance on Watters' show in August attracted nearly 3.4 million viewers. At the same time, Jay Wallace, president of Fox News Media, brushed off Trump’s comments, expressing the network's readiness to interview candidates that its audience might disagree with.
"Someone didn't necessarily like that," Wallace told Axios, apparently referring to Trump. "But that's what we do."
The New Republic's Greg Sargent expressed criticism, saying that the frustration of the Republicans came about because voters were given the chance to hear El-Sayed directly. "Translation: Don’t let voters learn the truth about this guy; it’ll make it harder for us to beat him!" he wrote.
Sargent called the apparent intention to limit such exposure "deeply humiliating" for Trump and his allies. Fox also mentioned that Rogers had been invited by Watters to take part in his show but had not replied.
The disagreement occurs while both candidates are vying for the vacant Senate seat in Michigan ahead of the November 3 midterms.
