The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that they are not allowing Fox News to host any Democratic presidential debates this election cycle, citing the network’s alleged “inappropriate relationship” with President Donald Trump. DNC Chair Tom Perez released a statement indicating that he wants the Democratic message to reach as many voters as possible, but also claiming that Fox is “not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate.” “I believe that a key pathway to victory is to continue to expand our electorate and reach all voters. That is why I have made it a priority to talk to a broad array of potential media partners, including Fox News. Recent reporting in the New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates. Therefore, Fox News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates.” Perez’s decision is based on reporting in the New Yorker that alleges Fox News has become a propaganda outlet for the Trump administration and no longer operates as a news outlet. (RELATED: NYT Reporter Says Fox News ‘Is Not A News Network) The Democrats will host their first primary debate on NBC in June and their second on CNN in July, according to CNN’s Brian Stelter. Fox News Senior Vice President Bill Sammon slammed the DNC’s decision in response, stating, “We hope the DNC will reconsider its decision to bar Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, all of whom embody the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism, from moderating a Democratic presidential debate.” “They’re the best debate team in the business and they offer candidates an important opportunity to make their case to the largest TV news audience in America, which includes many persuadable voters,” Sammon added. Fox White House Correspondent John Roberts noted that the network hosted a presidential debate during the general election in 2016. . @DNC excludes @FoxNews from hosting a Democratic debate. Considering Chris Wallace moderated a PRESIDENTIAL debate, that seems a little short-sighted — John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) March 6, 2019 Garrett Haake, an MSNBC correspondent, also criticized the decision. “Not sure how declining to have a debate on Fox News squares with @TomPerez oft-repeated adage about Dems needing to take their message absolutely everywhere & to everyone,” Haake argued. Not sure how declining to have a debate on Fox News squares with @TomPerez oft-repeated adage about Dems needing to take their message absolutely everywhere & to everyone. — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) March 6, 2019 A number of Fox News anchors and other media professionals similarly called out Perez and painted the decision to bar Fox from hosting debates as short-sighted and unfair. That’s really a shame. When it comes to fairness – our news product speaks for itself. We will continue to cover this 2020 race fairly & will continue to invite Democrats- Republicans & Independents on to talk about key issues & substance with our very large viewing audience https://t.co/z0TdftcVmz — Bret Baier (@BretBaier) March 6, 2019 Our large audience deserves to hear ALL the candidates who are running for the Presidency of the United States. We welcome them all, with our continued commitment to fair, professional journalism. I hope the #DNC will reconsider this decision. https://t.co/Hhep0b2nJK — Martha MacCallum (@marthamaccallum) March 6, 2019 I don’t know if I totally buy this. While there was new interesting stuff in the Mayer piece (Cohn/AT&T, Ailes/Fox debate q’s), a lot of it was summarizing info about the Trump-Fox relationship that’s been out there, and I imagine the DNC already knew. https://t.co/S9lkqgk9UJ pic.twitter.com/PAfmFiTLSn — Max Tani (@maxwelltani) March 6, 2019 Would be easy to send Chris Wallace, Bret Baier, Harris Faullkner … https://t.co/5Wvv4dcgbk — David Martosko (@dmartosko) March 6, 2019 And if you aren’t prepared for tough questions/subjects in a primary debate, how will you handle the general? https://t.co/2tc8RGdbhE — Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) March 6, 2019 As The Hill’s Joe Concha points out, Fox News is routinely the highest-rated news network on cable, meaning the lack of debate on the network severely limits the visibility of 2020 Democratic candidates. Follow Amber on Twitter<doc-sep>According to a report in HuffPost, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will not partner with Fox News to broadcast any of the party's debates during the 2020 election cycle. DNC chairman Tom Perez made the announcement on Wednesday, pointing to new reports alleging that the network is too closely tied to figures in the administration of President Donald Trump to be capable of providing unbiased coverage of the party's primary debates. The announcement by Perez comes on the heels of an extensive report published in The New Yorker titled "The Making Of The Fox News White House: Fox News Has Always Been Partisan, But Has It Become Propaganda?" In it, Jane Mayer outlines the various ways reporters for the media organization are uncomfortably cozy with White House staff and administration officials. Perez cited the article's disclosures, saying that they led him and the DNC to the conclusion that Fox News, due to its apparent close relationship with Trump – who is after all the probable Republican candidate for president – is incapable of covering the debates that will determine who will be his opponent in the 2020 general election in a non-partisan manner. "Recent reporting in The New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates," Perez said. He added that therefore Fox News will not be a "media partner" in the upcoming primary debates. Vice President Mike Pence appearing on 'Fox and Friends' in December 2016. It's no secret that Trump has long had a close relationship with Fox News, dating back to his days as a reality television star. He was first given a regular spot on the network's morning show Fox and Friends all the way back in 2011, and he routinely called in to the show throughout the 2016 election cycle, which gave him a platform to espouse his views on how the other networks' reporting was "fake news," networks like CNN, the first outlet against which he used that epithet. However, Trump's well-known hatred of CNN could lead to trouble; Mayer's article alleged he directed the Justice Department to block AT&T's attempt to acquire Time-Warner, the company that owns CNN, which was presented as retaliation for the network's reporting on him. Fox News' senior vice president and managing editor Bill Sammon responded to the situation. "We hope the DNC will reconsider its decision to bar Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, all of whom embody the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism, from moderating a Democratic presidential debate. They're the best debate team in the business and they offer candidates an important opportunity to make their case to the largest TV news audience in America, which includes many persuadable voters."<doc-sep>“I believe that a key pathway to victory is to continue to expand our electorate and reach all voters,” said Perez in his statement to The Washington Post. “That is why I have made it a priority to talk to a broad array of potential media partners, including Fox News. Recent reporting in the New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates. Therefore, Fox News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates.”<doc-sep>
The Democratic National Committee has barred Fox News from hosting its presidential primary debates, prompting the network to urge the party to reconsider. “We hope the DNC will reconsider its decision to bar Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, all of whom embody the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism, from moderating a Democratic presidential debate. They’re the best debate team in the business and they offer candidates an important opportunity to make their case to the largest TV news audience in America, which includes many persuadable voters,” Fox News Senior Vice President Bill Sammon said in a statement. CNN ACCUSED OF STACKING AUDIENCE VS. BERNIE SANDERS IN TOWN HALL EVENT Earlier in the day, DNC Chairman Tom Perez announced the party would not allow Fox News to host primary debates, claiming they would not be “fair and neutral” forums for the candidates. “I believe that a key pathway to victory is to continue to expand our electorate and reach all voters,” Perez said in a statement to The Washington Post that cited a critical article in The New Yorker. “That is why I have made it a priority to talk to a broad array of potential media partners, including Fox News. Recent reporting in the New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates. Therefore, Fox News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates.” While some Fox News Channel opinion hosts have come under fire for ties to the Trump administration, Wallace, Baier and MacCallum are anchors from the news division who have been praised for their handling of past debates. In 2016, Wallace moderated a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. FOX NEWS DOMINATES MSNBC, CNN ACROSS THE BOARD DURING FEBRUARY Reacting to the DNC’s decision, Baier tweeted Wednesday, “That’s really a shame. When it comes to fairness - our news product speaks for itself. We will continue to cover this 2020 race fairly & will continue to invite Democrats- Republicans & Independents on to talk about key issues & substance with our very large viewing audience.” The DNC announced last month that NBC News will host the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 election cycle in June. Back in 2016, the Republican National Committee famously pulled out of a planned NBC News Republican primary debate after a similar event on CNBC was criticized for allegedly unfair questions.