Trump Blames Fox News for Ratings Decline on Election Night
Donald Trump used Truth Social on November 3 to accuse Fox News of giving Democrats too much airtime and causing its audience to shrink. He claimed the network’s ratings had fallen 27% and argued that its coverage, rather than his own standing, was responsible for the decline.
Trump said his popularity among Republicans remained high, citing figures he attributed to a CNN poll. He also criticized Fox’s polling and asked how Fox Corp. could be providing financial backing to Democratic politicians and organizations, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and several Democratic campaign groups. He provided no figures to support the funding allegation.
Nielsen data showed Fox News’ total-day audience was down 27% in October from a year earlier, while the network remained the most-watched cable news channel. Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp.’s CEO, linked the decline to viewers watching less television overall. As early returns came in, Republicans lost Senate contests in North Carolina and New Hampshire, both by substantial margins.
Trump Targets Fox as Ratings Fall and Republicans Lose Senate Races
Donald Trump’s election-night attack on Fox News put the network’s coverage, not his own political standing, at the center of his explanation for its shrinking audience. On Truth Social on November 3, he blamed Fox for spending too much time on Democrats and said its ratings had dropped 27%.
Trump also insisted that his popularity among Republicans was strong, citing figures he attributed to a CNN poll. He criticized Fox’s polling and alleged that Fox Corp. was supporting Democratic politicians and organizations, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and several campaign groups, without giving figures for the claim.
The audience decline was real: Nielsen data showed Fox’s total-day viewership was 27% lower in October than in the same month a year earlier. But Fox remained the most-watched cable news network, and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said viewers were watching less television overall. Early returns also brought Republican losses in closely fought Senate contests in North Carolina and New Hampshire. Trump’s effort to cast the network as the cause of its own ratings problem did not change those results.
Trump Rebukes Fox as Network Ratings Slide 27%
Donald Trump called out Fox News on November 3, accusing the conservative network of devoting excessive airtime to Democrats and pushing viewers away. He said its ratings had fallen 27% and argued that Fox’s coverage, not his own popularity, was to blame.
Trump cited figures he attributed to a CNN poll to argue that support for him among Republicans remained strong. He also attacked Fox’s polling and questioned the company’s financial support for Democratic politicians and organizations, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and several campaign groups. He offered no figures to substantiate that allegation.
The ratings decline is reflected in Nielsen data: Fox’s total-day audience was down 27% in October from a year earlier. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the cause was viewers watching less television overall, while Fox remained cable news’ most-watched network. Early election returns showed Republicans losing closely fought Senate contests in North Carolina and New Hampshire, sharpening the stakes of a night when Trump was focused on the network’s treatment of him.
Reported by Raw Story, Salon, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, MSNBC.
