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At the end of March, Donald Trump was concerned about the numerous inquiries opened by House Democrats against him and his sanctuary, and by the forthcoming release of the long-awaited report of Special Advocate Robert Mueller on Russian electoral interference and the possible obstruction of Trump by Russia. Justice.
In the midst of all this, another question weighed heavily in the president's mind: was Fox News, his favorite organ of the conservative media and pro-Trump messaging, sufficiently subordinate to him?
"Keep an eye on it," Trump began to tell assistants, according to two people directly aware of his directive, during conversations about what was going on behind the scenes at Fox, and if there was any reason to believe it. worry even for the future. less positive coverage of any democrat.
For any casual observer of Fox News or the Fox Business Network, this may sound like a hilarious and irrational fear. The networks' prime time bands are packed with Trump's virulent defenders, and some of Fox's biggest names, such as Pete Hegseth, Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, and Rupert Murdoch, to name only a few. some have long served as a sounding board, phone friends and informal advisors to the president.
But in private, President Trump had raised these issues of institutional loyalty, from time to time, since at least the middle of last year. Several people who have heard him say that he sees it more as a gutcheck than a loss of self-confidence, is another indication that Trump may interpret the smallest deviations as slight or treasonous.
His suspicions were again exacerbated on a Sunday morning last month, shortly after the suspension of Fox host Jeanine Pirro, Trump's friend and loyalist.
"Keep fighting for Tucker [Carlson]and fight hard for @JudgeJeanine, "wrote the president on Twitter on March 17." Your competitors are jealous – they all want what you have, NUMBER ONE. Do not give it to them on a silver platter. They can not beat you, you can only fight!
At that time, Media Matters published uncharted audio excerpts from Carlson making various repulsive comments, such as the defense of statutory rape and the appellant "semi-literate primitive monkeys", and Pirro was briefly suspended by Fox for anti-Muslim comments regarding Representative Rep. Ilhan Omar. (D-MN).
A few hours after posting this tweet, however, the president was back online, attacking in a different corner of Fox News. "Have the @FoxNews weekend anchors, @ArthelNeville and @LelandVittert, been trained by CNN before the collapse of their rankings?", He tweeted on Sunday. "Anyway, that's where they should be working, as well as their lowest scoring anchor, Shepard Smith!"
It was about the time of this tweet that the president started asking his relatives to monitor the chain, to "keep an eye" on the suspicions of dissension in the ranks and to make him report on any disturbing situation. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this story.
For those who have worked for Trump, such behavior is not so surprising.
At the start of his 2016 presidential race, recalled Sam Nunberg, Trump's former political advisor who had worked at the beginning of the campaign, has personally complained several times of several Fox personalities, including Dana Perino. , Megyn Kelly. (even before the public tiff starts with his questions at a Republican primary debate), and Fox Business Network star Neil Cavuto.
He felt particularly hurt and kept a mental note of Fox's talent on the air, which he felt had sidelined his run in the elections. Trump often used the same five words to express his disappointment to an otherwise friendly network host:I am very surprised by you. "
Nunberg said he was occupying the office of the future President Trump Tower in May 2015, a month before the launch of the campaign, while Trump was on the phone for an interview with Cavuto. At the end of their live chat, the businessman turned politician felt that Cavuto was not taking his presidential ambitions seriously and spending too much time harassing him for his finances. According to Nunberg's recollection, it was Trump's "scornful beginning of Neil."
After Trump hung up on the phone, he looked up at his staff in his office and said, "What's that mess? We will not do it anymore, "according to Trump's former advisor." Yeah, why was he such a jerk? "Nunberg remembered responding to his boss at the time.
Of course, the president was not able to fully assert his grudge because Cavuto co-organized the primary debate on the Republican party organized by Fox Business Network in November 2015. And Trump even sits for a face cordially with Cavuto immediately after this event, during which the future president congratulated Cavuto, saying: "You did a really nice job" and "a great job".
"When I was [on the campaign]Part of our strategy was to get around Fox News, "Nunberg told the Daily Beast on Wednesday. "The president wanted to get all the coverage possible and saturate the media … This is a topic I talked to Trump about at the start of the campaign. The president has decided not to attend Fox News primary or their rules. "
He added, "We did not think Fox News was looking for him, but we did not think they would prefer Donald Trump to be the candidate at that time, especially when you had people like Karl Rove and Dana. Perino. the station. In the end, Fox News would have to make a commercial and political decision to address him. It's something that the President has discussed with me [during the primary]. "
But in the years that followed, and even after becoming president, Trump did not stop to keep an eye on who, at Fox, remains or not faithful to him and his cause. This week, Trump has accumulated even more dust, apparently referring to himself and Fox News as "us".
"So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on @ FoxNews. Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the "public" were very smiling and kind. Very strange, and now we have @donnabrazile? Tweets the president on Tuesday, in the aftermath of 2020, the Democratic presidential candidate and Socialist Democrat Bernie Sanders took part in a public meeting organized by the Fox.
Tuesday night, the subject still bothered Trump.
"Many Trump fans and boards were outside the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now flourishing (thanks Trump chairman) of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders," the president said. on Twitter The "fans" are excluded. "Big complaints not to be left cluttered with Bernie fans."
Trump concluded his tweet with a rhetorical question: "What's going on with @ FoxNews?"
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