White House senior counselor Peter Navarro is calling for the Trump administration to reconsider providing officials as guests to Fox News, escalating a dispute fueled by the network’s separation from Maria Bartiromo and its recent clash with the White House over press access.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
WASHINGTON — White House senior counselor Peter Navarro is urging President Donald Trump’s administration to reconsider sending officials to Fox News, expanding his criticism of the network from its programming and personnel decisions to its access to administration officials.
Navarro raised the possibility Wednesday during an appearance with Steve Bannon on “War Room,” which airs on Real America’s Voice, arguing that the administration should examine whether continuing to provide Fox with high-profile guests serves its interests.
“Why are we feeding them talent anymore?” Navarro asked. “Why do we let anybody in this administration go on their network?”
After Bannon pressed him on whether he was proposing that administration officials stop appearing on Fox, Navarro said he wanted the question considered rather than announcing an administration policy.
“I’m calling for that question to be seriously asked,” Navarro said. “Fox has revealed itself to be essentially undermining the Trump administration.”
Navarro then argued that he considers Fox more consequential to Trump’s political movement than networks openly identified by their audiences as less supportive of the president.
“Fox News is much more dangerous to MAGA, much more dangerous to the Republican Party, because they wear our colors when they’re, in fact, helping the other side undermine the president,” Navarro said.
The comments did not amount to an announced White House boycott of Fox. The administration continued making officials and other prominent figures available to the network after Navarro’s remarks, including first lady Melania Trump, who appeared on multiple Fox programs Wednesday.
Navarro’s latest criticism comes amid a broader dispute between the White House and major television networks. Fox joined ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN in suspending White House television pool coverage after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House grounds. The affected organizations challenged those restrictions, while the television networks said independent press access should not depend on whether the administration approves of an outlet’s reporting.
Navarro has also focused much of his criticism on Fox News Media’s Sept. 3 separation from longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo.
Fox announced that Bartiromo was leaving after more than 12 years with the company and thanked her for her work, but its initial public statement did not give a reason for the decision. Fox subsequently described the separation as a “business decision.”
Bartiromo had hosted “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business, “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” and Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” Fox renamed or reassigned those programs after her departure.
Reports following her exit said Bartiromo had shared internal Fox communications with the White House. Navarro later confirmed that Bartiromo sent information to him and that he forwarded it to the White House, but Fox has not publicly said that episode caused her departure.
Navarro began publicly attacking Fox over the matter earlier in September during an appearance on Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports.”
“The bigger story here is, forget about anybody thinking that Fox is a conservative network that’s friendly to MAGA, that’s friendly to Trump,” Navarro told Newsmax.
He accused Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott of limiting coverage of issues he considers important to Trump’s political agenda.
“They’ll feed you some red meat over there — the easy stuff, the trans stuff, stuff like that — but when it comes down to MAGA things, Suzanne Scott gets rid of everybody over there who wants to talk about MAGA issues,” Navarro said.
Navarro cited Bartiromo along with former Fox hosts Tucker Carlson and Lou Dobbs as examples supporting his criticism of the network’s management.
“This was all about talking about Trump issues,” Navarro said during the Newsmax appearance. “You fire people like Tucker Carlson and Lou Dobbs, now Maria Bartiromo. That throws fear into all these other anchors and keeps them in line.”
He added, “It’s like, ‘Don’t talk about kinda Trump stuff,’ right? And we know how that network has not treated Donald Trump very well.”
Fox has not adopted Navarro’s characterization of the personnel decisions. Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has also disputed reports describing her departure as a firing, while Fox has continued to stand by its announcement that she is no longer with Fox News Media.
Navarro’s complaints about Fox have broadened beyond Bartiromo since her departure. His Wednesday remarks targeted the network’s relationship with the administration itself, raising the possibility that White House officials could deny Fox the interviews and guest appearances that form a significant part of political television coverage.
Navarro has not been reported as having authority to impose such a restriction on his own, and the White House had not announced a policy barring officials from Fox as of the latest reporting.
His comments instead represent a public argument from a senior Trump adviser that the administration should reconsider how much access it gives a network that remains one of the country’s largest cable news outlets and has traditionally drawn a substantial conservative audience.
The disagreement also places Fox in an unusual position in its relationship with the administration. Navarro argues that the network’s conservative reputation makes its actions particularly significant to Republican and MAGA audiences, while Fox’s recent participation with other television networks in the White House pool dispute demonstrates that it has joined competitors in challenging some administration restrictions on news coverage.
Original article
Comments