Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is declining to participate in a Fox News town hall, a move that comes after a number of her fellow 2020 Democratic competitors have agreed to engage with the network’s audience.
“I love town halls. I’ve done more than 70 since January, and I’m glad to have a television audience be a part of them. Fox News has invited me to do a town hall, but I’m turning them down—here’s why,” she wrote Tuesday morning in a series of tweets. “Fox News is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists—it’s designed to turn us against each other, risking life & death consequences, to provide cover for the corruption that’s rotting our government and hollowing out our middle class.”
Warren charged that the network “balances a mix of bigotry, racism, and outright lies with enough legit journalism to make the claim to advertisers that it’s a reputable news outlet.” She said that participation in a town hall on the network sends a signal that it is appropriate to still buy ads on the cable channel, which hosts a primetime lineup of overtly pro-Trump hosts who engage in bigoted and conspiratorial rhetoric—something she doesn’t want to encourage.
Wild video shows speedboat crash after flying through air at popular Arizona lake
Former Army Intel Analyst Learns Fate for Feeding China National Defense Information
Bloc Quebecois seeks French alternative to Canada’s ‘artificial country’
Over 100 illegal immigrants arrested in Colorado Springs massive underground nightclub raid
Single Wolf Can Cause Six-Figure Harm to Ranching Operations: Shocking Study
Indiana Lt Gov slams Democrats’ ‘DEI, radical revisionist history’ on Three-Fifths Compromise
Defunding DEI: Here’s how the Trump administration has undone Biden’s very prized programs
‘Expect wait times’: Trump admin signals no exceptions after Kentucky asks for REAL ID extension
Left-wing DA forcing prosecutors to consider ‘racial identity’ in plea deals
Rancher Sees His Dog Leading Strange Boy, Days Later the Faithful Hound Is Being Showered with Gifts
Former Biden Mouthpiece Gets Major MSNBC Promotion at Expense of Rachel Maddow
Trump’s First 100 Days: Gitmo took early role in deportations prior to El Salvador prison deal
Longtime NFL Player Makes It Official: He’s Running for Congress as a Republican
SCOOP: Dolly Parton symphony concert heads to DC’s Kennedy Center in event ‘no one will want to miss’
Nine people killed after car plows into Vancouver street festival crowd: Police
Fox News is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists—it’s designed to turn us against each other, risking life and death consequences, to provide cover for the corruption that’s rotting our government and hollowing out our middle class.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 14, 2019
“A Democratic town hall gives the Fox News sales team a way to tell potential sponsors it’s safe to buy ads on Fox—no harm to their brand or reputation (spoiler: it’s not),” she said.
Throughout her time on the trail thus far, Warren noted that she has held town halls in 17 states and Puerto Rico, with press and voter questions at each.
“I’ve done 57 media avails and 131 interviews, taking over 1,100 questions from press just since January,” she said. “Fox News is welcome to come to my events just like any other outlet. But a Fox News town hall adds money to the hate-for-profit machine. To which I say: hard pass.”
Wild video shows speedboat crash after flying through air at popular Arizona lake
Former Army Intel Analyst Learns Fate for Feeding China National Defense Information
Bloc Quebecois seeks French alternative to Canada’s ‘artificial country’
Over 100 illegal immigrants arrested in Colorado Springs massive underground nightclub raid
Single Wolf Can Cause Six-Figure Harm to Ranching Operations: Shocking Study
Indiana Lt Gov slams Democrats’ ‘DEI, radical revisionist history’ on Three-Fifths Compromise
Defunding DEI: Here’s how the Trump administration has undone Biden’s very prized programs
‘Expect wait times’: Trump admin signals no exceptions after Kentucky asks for REAL ID extension
Left-wing DA forcing prosecutors to consider ‘racial identity’ in plea deals
Rancher Sees His Dog Leading Strange Boy, Days Later the Faithful Hound Is Being Showered with Gifts
Former Biden Mouthpiece Gets Major MSNBC Promotion at Expense of Rachel Maddow
Trump’s First 100 Days: Gitmo took early role in deportations prior to El Salvador prison deal
Longtime NFL Player Makes It Official: He’s Running for Congress as a Republican
SCOOP: Dolly Parton symphony concert heads to DC’s Kennedy Center in event ‘no one will want to miss’
Nine people killed after car plows into Vancouver street festival crowd: Police
In mid-April, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) participated in a Fox town hall in Pennsylvania, which was a ratings success and an opportunity to showcase how some of his staple issues like Medicare for All resonated with an audience in a state President Trump narrowly captured in 2016.
Following his appearance, a number of 2020 candidates eager for their own hour of free air time have been in talks with the network about doing their own town halls. Already Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has been featured in one of her own, and Fox has scheduled events with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
Democrats have been grappling with how to best handle the large audience Fox commands with some thinking it is essential to directly engage. In 2018, Warren appeared on the network three times, primarily to discuss legislative work and the introduction of new bills.
The Democratic National Committee banned Fox from hosting one of its primary debates—after a New Yorker article revealed the network’s cozy relationship with President Trump—but signaled early on that it was up to the individual campaigns as to how they wanted to execute their own media strategies. The view from Warren’s camp is that all the campaigns will make their own choices on when and how to engage.
Story cited here.
