President Donald Trump unloaded on Fox News for giving Democrats favorable exposure ahead of the midterm elections, accusing the network of promoting Republican opponents while neglecting his campaign rallies. He singled out Martha MacCallum’s treatment of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and questioned the network’s priorities. In a subsequent post, Trump directed supporters to Right Side Broadcasting Network for his Kansas rally. “FoxNews is trying too hard to be Politically Correct!” he wrote.
The criticism appeared in Truth Social posts on October 6th and October 19th, as Trump campaigned for Republicans heading into November. His earlier message focused on El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee facing Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan. MacCallum’s interview with El-Sayed aired on “The Story,” putting the Senate race at the center of Trump’s complaints about Fox’s election coverage.
“FoxNews spends more time covering the Jihadist and Dumocrat candidates than they do the good old fashioned Republicans, the people that have saved America, and are making it great again,” Trump wrote. He directly criticized MacCallum’s handling of El-Sayed. “All they talk about is Dumocrat Jihadists like El-Sayed, with his softball interview by Martha MacCallum, and the like. She never interviews me like that.”
Trump also challenged the network’s coverage the morning after his events, accusing Fox of leaving an opening for competing broadcasters to attract his supporters. In the same October 6th post, he wrote, “They don’t show my record breaking Rallies the morning after, but others do, and that’s what MAGA is watching.” The message followed an earlier complaint about “Fox & Friends” and its coverage of Republican rallies in Ohio, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma.
In his earlier message, Trump warned that viewers would abandon the network if it continued passing over his campaign events. The National News Desk reported his demand: “Our people want to see our Rallies, and reports on our Rallies, on FoxNews, or they will very quickly stop watching.” In a separate October 6th post, he also criticized Fox for interviewing Nebraska independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn, who was challenging Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.
MacCallum interviewed Rogers later on October 6th, following Trump’s posts. Fox’s October 7th listing for “The Untold Story with Martha MacCallum” subsequently featured both Michigan candidates in an episode titled “Michigan Candidates Face Off On The Story.” The 34-minute program covered foreign policy, costs and healthcare as the candidates competed for votes ahead of November.
Watch part of Trump’s Kansas rally here where he warns of a Democrat victory:
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Trump returned to the subject on October 19th, broadening his criticism beyond the individual interviews he’d previously identified. In his October 19th post, he wrote, “Fox spends more time defending Dumocrats, and putting on their views versus their Republican opponent, than at any time in the History of FoxNews.” He continued: “It’s ridiculous! FoxNews is trying too hard to be Politically Correct!”
The president named the broadcaster he wanted supporters to watch for his Kansas appearance that day. RSBN advertised coverage of the rally that included Trump’s speech, the speakers appearing before him and interviews with attendees. Trump closed his message with an endorsement of its broadcast: “Watch my big Kansas Rally today on RSBN. Great early coverage! President DJT”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.