Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:48 pm
After abandoning Marco Rubio, Fox News will host a debate where they will be powerless to stop the GOP from crumbling under Trump.
Audio of Sarah Jones and Jason Easley discussing the Trump/Fox chaos:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
New York Magazine reported that Fox has bailed on Trump:
According to three Fox sources, Fox chief Roger Ailes has told people he’s lost confidence in Rubio’s ability to win. “We’re finished with Rubio,” Ailes recently told a Fox host. “We can’t do the Rubio thing anymore.”
Ailes was already concerned about Rubio’s lackluster performance in GOP primaries and caucuses, winning only one contest among the 15 that have been held. But the more proximate cause for the flip was an embarrassing New York Times article revealing that Rubio and Ailes had a secret dinner meeting in 2013 during which the Florida senator successfully lobbied the Fox News chief to throw his support behind the “Gang of 8” comprehensive immigration-reform bill. “Roger hates seeing his name in print,” a longtime Ailes associate told me. “He was appalled the dinner was reported,” the source said.
Fox News formerly could be counted on to save the Republican Party, but as the debate tonight will likely demonstrate, Fox is powerless to stop Trump. Megyn Kelly and company will definitely try, but if the network has given up on Rubio, it is a sign that Fox News may unload both barrels on Donald Trump in a last ditch effort to deny him the delegates that he will need to clinch the nomination.
The Republican Party is crumbling, but there may be little that Fox News can do to save the GOP from Trump.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
