Fox News ices Trump out of live interviews as his rage with the network grows: report
Former President Donald Trump's relationship with Fox News has been deteriorating ever since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Now, according to The Daily Beast, it has grown so hostile that members of the former president's inner circle believe he has been blackballed from giving live interviews on the network altogether.
"In recent months, Trump's inner circle has become increasingly convinced that Fox News is essentially sidelining the former president by restricting live appearances on their network," reported Zachary Petrizzo. "'Trump is not allowed live on Fox,' a Trump operative told The Daily Beast, chalking it up to 'fear' that Trump could level a baseless allegation that could leave the network in a legal mess. A Trump adviser told The Daily Beast a similar story — that the former president isn’t allowed on live air anymore. At the very least, this person said, Fox News prefers to have Trump in a pre-recorded setting. 'Fox sent down word from the top that they don't want to ‘platform’ Trump like they did before,' a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast. 'I find it hilarious. For one, it sounds like something MSNBC would do.'"
However, Fox may have clear legal incentives for operating this way. The network's widespread devotion of airtime to the former president's conspiracy theories about election fraud — particularly those from MAGA-affiliated lawyer Sidney Powell — played a huge role in the billion-dollar defamation suit filed against Fox by election equipment company Dominion Voting Systems, which Fox ultimately settled for nearly $800 million....