Trump amped up his war with Fox News by insulting their output during a Fox News interview

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Trump amped up his war with Fox News by insulting their output during a Fox News interview
Donald trump coronavirus briefing March 2020 Fauci

Carlos Barria / Reuters

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Donald Trump listens to a briefing at the White House on March 3, 2020.

  • President Donald Trump continued his simmering feud with Fox News, insulting the network on one of its own programs during a phone-in to Sean Hannity.
  • The president had been attacking his Democrat rivals, when he moved to bash the media instead - claiming that even outlets like Fox are "all on their side."
  • Host Sean Hannity chuckled approvingly when Trump mocked the channel's "Fair and Balanced" slogan.
  • Trump has repeatedly hit out at Fox during his presidency, which he has characterized as insufficiently loyal to him and his party.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump fired another salvo in his ongoing war with Fox News late on Wednesday, attacking the network's coverage during a call-in to one of its own shows.

During a phone interview with present Sean Hannity, Trump said that the channel had gone "politically correct" and took the chance to riff on his "difficulties" with its output.

Trump was attacking leading Democrats when he pivoted instead to air his grievances with the media.

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Speaking about Joe Biden's tendency towards gaffes, Trump said he'd "never seen anything like it" and added that Bernie Sanders has "got his own difficulties."

However, he said, "the media is all on their side." This segued into an attack on "all but a little bit" of the media.

Trump praised some Fox staff - including hosts Lou Dobbs and Mark Levin. He also spoke approvingly of radio host Rush Limbaugh, whom he mistakenly described as one of the "great people" who works for Fox.

He then went on to cite his "difficulties" with Fox News.

"I have my own little difficulties with [Fox News] if you want to know the truth," he said.

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"They put people on that I think are inappropriate and say very very false things, and people don't challenge them. I think they're trying to be very politically correct - or 'fair and balanced,' right, is the term, fair and balanced."

Hannity gave an encouraging snicker at Trump's jab at Fox News' "Fair and Balanced" tagline.

Sean Hannity

SnapStream

The president was speaking to Sean Hannity, pictured here on another occasion, on Hannity's show on Fox News on March 4 when he ended up complaining about Fox News.

"But I think they hurt themselves if you want to know the truth," said Trump.

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It's the latest volley in an ongoing tit-for-tat war between Trump and the network, which is being replaced in his affections by the more flattering One America News Network.

In February, Trump called on Fox News to "finally get a competent Polling Company", three days after the network reported on a poll of its own viewers that saw the president losing to his most likely 2020 opponents, reported The Washington Post.

It's not the first time Trump has been disappointed by Fox News coverage. In June 2019 he accused the channel of pushing "fake news" when it reported polls that put him at a disadvantage, as Business Insider reported.

In a December 2019 tweet, Trump also slammed Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace for his coverage of the Ukraine scandal that led to his impeachment.

Wallace responded on his show by accusing the president of a "direct sustained assault" on press freedom.

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Trump's latest comment about the network becoming "politically correct" echoes fears he expressed in summer 2019 that it was becoming too "liberal", as Business Insider reported.

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