Topline
Fox News’ president and chief executive officer met with former President Donald Trump just hours after his third indictment on Tuesday, urging Trump to participate in the network’s first GOP presidential debate, multiple outlets reported—as Trump hints that he may sit out the debate and publicly feuds with the conservative network.
Former President Donald Trump participates in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre on … [+]
Key Facts
Trump dined with Fox News President Jay Wallace and CEO Suzanne Scott at his Bedminster golf club while the executives attempted to persuade him to participate in the debate later this month, which Trump has publicly considered skipping.
The Times reported Trump did not commit to participating in the debate at the dinner but said he hadn’t made a decision and would “keep an open mind.”
The dinner was scheduled prior to Trump’s third indictment—this time for his attempts to stay in office despite losing the 2020 election, leading up to the January 6 Capitol riots—which came shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday night.
Key Background
Trump’s relationship with Fox News has been complicated since he left office, and the former president has launched attack after attack on Fox News in recent months. In February, Trump nicknamed Fox the “RINO Network” after court filings in a defamation lawsuit against Fox News were released that showed hosts and executives rejected Trump’s 2020 election fraud theory in private text messages and emails. He also criticized Fox for the amount of airtime it’s giving his top Republican presidential opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying the network was “promoting Ron [DeSantis] so hard and so much there’s not much time for Real News.” Days later, he criticized Fox News chairman Rupert Murdoch for “aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA” after Murdoch said he wished the network took a harder stance in denying Trump’s election claims. In June, Trump posted on Truth Social complaining that Fox wasn’t covering his campaign and achievements but wanted him to show up for their debate, adding “Sorry FoxNews, life doesn’t work that way!!!” Trump faced a “soft ban”—in which Fox had no on-air interviews with him—from September 2022 until late March, though he came back to the network after his New York indictment for hush-money charges.
Tangent
Trump’s dinner with Fox was preceded by a meeting with the Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who met with Trump at Bedminster recently to encourage him to participate, a Trump adviser told CNN, though Trump didn’t commit to attending then, either. McDaniel said on Fox News in late July that she thought it would be “a mistake not to do the debates, but that’s going to be up to him and his campaign.”
What To Watch For
The first GOP presidential debate is scheduled for August 23 in Milwaukee. Though Trump hasn’t decided if he will attend, he has qualified, along with six other candidates who say they’ve met the requirements: DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.