Fox News apparently ignored warnings about President Donald Trump's fury at the network as it booked a progressive candidate for a series of interviews, drawing mockery, according to a new report.
Over the last week, Fox News interviewed progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, whom Trump has described at rallies as a "communist." Trump has also taken shots at Fox News both at rallies and on his Truth Social platform over the interviews.
"Fox is promoting the Dumocrats (sic), not the Republicans and MAGA. They have totally lost their way!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Axios reported Thursday that Fox News decided to platform El-Sayed despite the repeated warnings of GOP operatives who said the move would infuriate the president. Those warnings stemmed from a recent comment host Jesse Watters made about how likable El-Sayed is, the report added.
"Senior GOP operatives repeatedly contacted Fox producers and executives in early August, warning that El-Sayed could use favorable commentary from host Jesse Watters to cast himself as moderate," the report reads in part.
Those warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears, especially inside the Fox News c-suite.
"Someone didn't necessarily like that," Jay Wallace, Fox News president, told Axios, referring to Trump. "But that's what we do."
The report sparked immediate backlash online.
"Trump is so frustrated that Abdul is going everywhere and talking to everyone ... and he's trying to stop it," El-Sayed's campaign said in a statement.
"Another sign [Republicans] know they're losing," Emily Singer, a senior reporter at Daily Kos, posted on X.