As Donald Trump escalates his attacks against Fox News, hosts of the cable network are rallying behind the former president ahead of the New Hampshire primary, setting their sights on his last major GOP challenger: Nikki Haley.
For years, Trump has wielded the loyalty of his supporters to dominate the network. As the GOP primary appears to nearing its conclusion, the same appears to be happening again.
During a live interview with Trump on January 18, Fox host and Trump political operative Sean Hannity pressed the former president to say that Democrats will skew the New Hampshire primary results by voting for Haley. “We know that nearly 4,000 Democratic voters have switched affiliation to Republican or undeclared — meaning Independent — ahead of the primary,” said Hannity. “And it is believed, for example, one woman who is a co-chair of Nikki Haley's campaign, her own daughter, a Democrat, changed her affiliation from Democrat to Republican to vote for Haley in the primary,” he continued.
On January 22, Fox host Laura Ingraham accused Haley of playing the “victim” for recounting her past experiences of racism due to her Indian heritage. Ingraham suggested that Haley was exaggerating her memories to garner sympathy: “It all sounds very convenient and a little bit odd. And frankly, it sounds like something a liberal would say.”
An hour later, prime-time host Jesse Watters and Fox contributor Kellyanne Conway also took aim at Haley, with Watters speculating that she is only staying in the presidential race for “clout.” Conway also urged Haley’s corporate donors to “get on the right list” by donating to the Trump campaign.
Fox’s influx of attacks against Haley come as Trump ramps up his own attacks against the conservative network. Last week, Trump took to Truth Social to air his grievances against Fox — specifically against Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy. After a segment in which Doocy pushed back on Trump’s false claim that Democrats can vote against him in the New Hampshire Republican primary, Trump called Doocy an “unwatchable RINO” and blamed him for the network’s “Ratings Decline.”
Trump also criticized Fox on January 22 for supposedly favoring other GOP candidates over him, writing on Truth Social “No wonder the Republican base no longer cares about them. It was all about Ron DeSantis, and now it’s the BIRDBRAIN SHOW.” (“Birdbrain” is one of Trump’s many derogatory nicknames for Haley.)
Fox’s editorial strategy of attacking Haley falls in line with the rest of pro-Trump media’s approach, and further proves that the network has no plans to pivot away from fawning coverage of the former president, even after the record Dominion settlement.