Dem
52
Ties
2
GOP
46
It would seem that the White House and Fox "News" are on the outs right now. Fox, of course, recently fired Trump propagandist Maria Bartiromo because she shared internal Fox communications with the White House. In response, the administration got Fox "News" president Suzanne Scott on the phone to advise her that the termination was "completely unacceptable." Scott responded by... well, not re-hiring Bartiromo. Several White House insiders claim there is substantial anti-Trump sentiment among Fox staffers. This despite the fact that most or all of the Fox primetime lineup—Sean Hannity, Bret Baier, Laura Ingraham, Greg Gutfeld, etc.—unspools a constant stream of pro-Trump messaging.
The day will come when Fox can no longer serve as Trump's personal PR operation. There are shorter-term and longer-term problems here. The shorter-term problem is that Fox does not want to get sued for more election-denial coverage, and the upcoming midterms figure to bring election-denial conspiracies aplenty from the White House and its allies. The longer-term problem is that eventually, Trump will be out of office, or dead, or both. Fox definitely de-emphasized him during the Biden years, and that was despite the possibility that Trump might once again return to power. On Jan. 20, 2029, however, he will be permanently retired. The channel just won't be able to build its programming around everything he says and does anymore.
But while there's a lot of carping going on right now, we don't really think the eventual break is coming especially soon. First of all, the administration has engaged in this kind of chest-pounding before, and nothing came of it. Trump and other administration members (although not Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, interestingly enough) still show up on Fox all the time. Second, Fox and Trump exist in a symbiotic relationship. Trump needs them to get his messaging out, because nobody watches Newsmax or OAN. And Fox needs him because the viewers are nearly all MAGA.
Still, one day, not TOO far off, a change is gonna come. It will be interesting to see when it does, and what it looks like. It will be particularly interesting if Fox-ona non grata Tucker Carlson is successful in his efforts to take control of the GOP. Then what the heck will Fox do?
And ruminating on Fox's least-desired candidate somewhat implicitly raises the opposite question: Which Republican would be Fox's top choice to take over leadership of the GOP once Trump exits, stage left? Our first instinct was Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who most seems to be able to deliver what Fox needs to fill its airtime, and to keep the viewers enraged. However, he might not have a high enough national profile. Possibly J.D. Vance or Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), but they are too obviously phony, and are terribly un-telegenic. Donald Trump Jr. is probably the closest to being a clone of his old man, but Americans, both Republican and Democratic, hate dynasties. Plus, Junior is probably smarter than Senior (low bar to clear), but doesn't have the political instincts. There's Hegseth, but he's apparently on the outs with his former employer (see link above).
Dunno... what do readers think? If you have an opinion as to Fox's preferred 2028 Republican presidential candidate, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com. (Z)