Trump Threatens Retaliation After DNC's Move Against Fox

DNC has banned Fox News from hosting party's 2020 debates
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 7, 2019 1:53 AM CST
Updated Mar 7, 2019 6:46 AM CST
DNC Bans Fox News From Hosting 2020 Debates
Fox News Channel anchor Chris Wallace, substituting for Bret Baier, interviews Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Democratic National Committee has banned Fox News from hosting any of the party's 2020 debates, saying the network is "not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates." DNC Chairman Tom Perez said the decision was made after a New Yorker report on the network's extremely close relationship with President Trump, reports the Washington Post. The party wants to expand its electorate and "reach all voters," Perez said in a statement, but the "inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration, and Fox News" made it an unsuitable partner for the primary debates.

Fox—which didn't host any Democratic primary debates in 2016, but hosted town hall meetings with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders—had sent proposals to the DNC to host one of the 12 primary debates scheduled so far, the Guardian reports. Fox said in a statement that it hoped the DNC would reconsider the decision, which would affect respected anchors like Chris Wallace, Bret Baier, and Martha MacCallum, Mediaite reports. Trump, meanwhile, threatened to retaliate on the network's behalf. "Democrats just blocked @FoxNews from holding a debate," he tweeted. "Good, then I think I’ll do the same thing with the Fake News Networks and the Radical Left Democrats in the General Election debates!" (More Fox News stories.)

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