Thursday, August 29, 2019
NEW YORK (AP) — The one constant with President Donald Trump's increasingly frequent attacks on Fox News has been the network's refusal to respond, even as the president complains that "Fox isn't working for us anymore."
In recent days, however, some Fox personalities like Bret Baier, Juan Williams and Brit Hume have ceased looking the other way.
Fox is stocked with pro-Trump commentators like Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro and Laura Ingraham, and the president is a frequent viewer. He speaks up when he sees things that displease him, with news anchor Shepard Smith, chief White House correspondent John Roberts, commentator Williams, contributor Donna Brazile and network pollsters all targeted this summer. He groused Wednesday that news anchor Sandra Smith offered "zero pushback" in an interview with Democratic communications director Xochitl Hinojosa.
One tweet Wednesday cut to the very heart of the network's existence.
"The new Fox News is letting millions of great people down," he wrote. "We have to start looking for a new News outlet. Fox isn't working for us anymore."
Fox's official response? There was none.
Current Fox executives declined comment for this story. They're not necessarily alone; NBC News doesn't respond to tweets, either. Some who've heard the president's complaints liken it to a basketball coach "working the refs," and the best stand stoically while getting an earful. There's a concern that responding just gives Trump's commentary more attention, and that Twitter attacks are simply the white noise of this administration.