President Donald Trump went after Fox News on Sunday, accusing the network of giving his Republican rallies too little attention while providing airtime to political opponents. He singled out Fox & Friends and Jessica Tarlov. Trump also criticized the network over Maria Bartiromo’s departure. He warned that MAGA viewers could abandon Fox if its coverage continued to disappoint them.
The dispute followed Trump’s Saturday, October 3rd, campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, where he appeared in support of Senator Jon Husted and Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy. The event was part of his effort to rally Republican voters ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans are working to keep control of Congress and Trump urged his supporters to vote for the party’s candidates even with his own name absent from the ballot.
Trump opened by complaining about Sunday morning coverage of the Ohio appearance and recent rallies in Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma. He described the events as packed and enthusiastic, saying thousands had wanted to attend. In his account, the crowds showed the Republican Party’s strength and resolve. He argued that Fox should give viewers a much fuller look at those popular gatherings.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said other networks were giving the rallies favorable attention and argued that his supporters wanted to see the popular and topical events covered on Fox. He warned that viewers would quickly stop watching if the network failed to deliver that coverage. Trump said he was already turning the channel off himself.
Trump accused the network of giving his opponents airtime without enough pushback. “Fox spends more time talking to Communists, Socialists, and Dumocrats, often without rebuttal,” he wrote. He said MAGA was unhappy with that approach before turning directly to Tarlov, the Democratic co-host of “The Five”. Trump called her “stupid Jessica Tarlov” and complained about her presence and that of others on the network.
The president questioned who was making Fox’s programming decisions and linked his criticism to Maria Bartiromo’s departure. He accused the person responsible for her exit of penalizing her for complaining about restrictions on covering him. Trump praised Bartiromo and predicted she would become even more successful. He treated her departure as another grievance against the network’s management during the election campaign.
Watch Trump’s October 3rd rally in Ohio here:
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Fox News Media announced on September 3rd that it had parted ways with Bartiromo after 12 1/2 years. The network thanked her for her work and wished her well in her next chapter. Her weekday Fox Business program, Mornings With Maria, was renamed Mornings with Fox Business, with rotating anchors taking over. Fox also announced that rotating personalities would host Sunday Morning Futures, beginning with former Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz.
Trump closed his post with a warning about what he believed the dispute could cost Fox. He demanded coverage of his movement’s events and predicted the network could end up with ratings comparable to CNN or MS NOW if it continued giving attention to his opponents. He claimed Fox had suffered during a previous clash before an election. “That can happen again!” Trump wrote.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.