Donald Trump VS Fox News: the end of a beautiful love story?
The president has recently sharply criticized the conservative channel, which is nevertheless a great ally of its policy. In question: polls which are unfavorable to him.
It is a spat that shakes the media landscape across the Atlantic: the bickering between Donald Trump and Fox News, the leading news channel in the United States. One of the channel's star presenters, Bret Baier, responded on Monday during his program to the president, who accuses the channel of having cited a poll which is unfavorable to him: "the polls correspond with what we see in society, Mr. President, "slipped the journalist, before offering Donald Trump an interview to explain himself:" Fox has not changed: we have a section dedicated to information, and a section dedicated to opinion."
A relationship that has grown strained in recent months
"My worst polls have always come from Fox News. There is a problem with Fox News at the moment I tell you, and it is far from rejoicing", recently blurted Donald Trump, interviewed by the media Sunday, after that a poll commissioned by the channel gave the 45th President of the United States the loser in 2020 against Democratic figures including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris or Joe Biden.
Would the love affair between Donald Trump and Fox News be over? This month, he pinned down one of his presenters, Shep Smith, saying that "even CNN, the fake news specialist, is better." In July, he was already cursing a poll, which showed him losing to Biden. And in April, the president vilified the Conservative channel for hosting a chat room with Bernie Sanders. Same reaction when Fox News gave the floor to Democrat Pete Buttigieg in May: "Hard to believe that Fox News is wasting airtime giving Mayor Pete a voice" "
Fox News poll: pic.twitter.com/BLWeOrs95I
— Danny (@ScooterTrash10) August 19, 2019
_ "_ Donald Trump has a relationship that can be described as symbiotic with Fox News. He considers that it is his channel, that it is at home," said Nicole Bacharan, historian and political scientist specializing in the United States. “Almost everywhere in the White House there are screens, and one of them is always hooked up to Fox News. And it is very easy to know what times the president is watching, because he reacts on Twitter, by calling the channel and intervening directly in the programs. He really feels at home, totally approved. And when he is not, he takes it very, very badly: he considers Fox News a bit like his Pravda and therefore he considers himself personally betrayed. "
Journalists versus columnists
"Donald Trump has absolutely unwavering allies at Fox News," emphasizes Nicole Bacharan. "I am thinking in particular of Sean Hannity, who has a show that lasts an hour every day and who has become, de facto, an advisor to Donald Trump. Moreover, they speak to each other directly, generally every day. opinion, Fox News editorial is extremely favorable to him. "
But the political scientist qualifies: "there are also journalists who, when there are facts, such as polls, will tell the real figures. And it is true that they are not in favor of Donald Trump with a view to the next presidential election: Trump has also _sent his team responsible for polls to the White House_, which gave him unpleasant information, "recalls Nicole Bacharan.
A new, more conservative rival
Long favorite of the president, Fox News could therefore be dethroned by a small news: One America News Network (OANN). A channel launched in 2013 only, which wants to be younger and more to the right than the already very right-handed Fox News. "As soon as possible, I plug into OANN," the chairman tweeted. Channel founder Robert Herring was quick to pin Donald Trump's praise on his Twitter account, tagging "the president's favorite channel."
One America News has officially launched a live 24/7 uninterrupted news feed on Facebook. Now you can watch the president's favorite news outlet anytime, anywhere in the world!
— Robert Herring (@RobHerring) August 9, 2019
Go to our Facebook page to become an @OANN supporter: https://t.co/SLlS0ErCrP pic.twitter.com/dpfHGxHfzW
"Donald Trump has granted citizenship to really marginal channels. He goes very frequently to evangelical, Christian, very conservative channels, which formerly had no right to enter the White House," notes Nicole Bacharan. "Now _ he's not going to be able to get long-lasting angry with Fox News_, because it's still the channel of millions of daily viewers who roughly votes Donald Trump."
Rival channel CNN, Donald Trump’s favorite television scapegoat, did not fail to return to the argument, with humor. In his column called "The Ridiculist", journalist Anderson Cooper quipped: "How is the relationship between the president and Fox News going to evolve? I have no idea, but I must tell you that I have already bought my ticket! "
