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.
Megyn Kelly Confirms Deadly COVID Vax Reporting – Read the Bombshell ’10 Out of 96 Reported Child Deaths Were Vax-Related’ Memo Here
Picture Perfect Troll: Trump Adds His Birthday to List of Dates for Free Nat’l Park Admission and Cuts MLK Day, Juneteenth
SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent
US deports more Iranians, Islamic republic says
DC police chief resigns amid Trump pressure and crime data manipulation probe
Crime rings, hackers join forces to hijack trucks nationwide, fueling major holiday shipping security fears
White House Joins Musk in Striking Back at European Union Regulation: ‘An Attack on All American Tech Platforms’
Pete Hegseth Announce Festive New Christmas Celebration for the Pentagon
Report: 48 More Christians Slaughtered in Nigeria, Hundreds of Homes Destroyed
Trump-linked companies and family crypto ventures take a hit in second term
FBI’s renewed push in DC pipe bomb case shows how fresh eyes can change a stalled investigation
Marine who was killed in vehicle training accident at California base identified
Police say criminal illegal alien injured 4 officers in Nebraska gas station shootout
NYC mayor-elect tells residents how to resist ICE agents knocking at their door in new video
Oklahoma trooper helps deliver newborn on highway shoulder: ‘The baby is coming!’
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.”
Megyn Kelly Confirms Deadly COVID Vax Reporting – Read the Bombshell ’10 Out of 96 Reported Child Deaths Were Vax-Related’ Memo Here
Picture Perfect Troll: Trump Adds His Birthday to List of Dates for Free Nat’l Park Admission and Cuts MLK Day, Juneteenth
SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent
US deports more Iranians, Islamic republic says
DC police chief resigns amid Trump pressure and crime data manipulation probe
Crime rings, hackers join forces to hijack trucks nationwide, fueling major holiday shipping security fears
White House Joins Musk in Striking Back at European Union Regulation: ‘An Attack on All American Tech Platforms’
Pete Hegseth Announce Festive New Christmas Celebration for the Pentagon
Report: 48 More Christians Slaughtered in Nigeria, Hundreds of Homes Destroyed
Trump-linked companies and family crypto ventures take a hit in second term
FBI’s renewed push in DC pipe bomb case shows how fresh eyes can change a stalled investigation
Marine who was killed in vehicle training accident at California base identified
Police say criminal illegal alien injured 4 officers in Nebraska gas station shootout
NYC mayor-elect tells residents how to resist ICE agents knocking at their door in new video
Oklahoma trooper helps deliver newborn on highway shoulder: ‘The baby is coming!’
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.
