The Democratic National Committee has scheduled 10 debates thus far for the 2020 presidential election campaign, which is already in full swing. Not surprisingly, CNN and MSNBC/NBC/Telemundo have been awarded two of those debates airing this summer, which could ultimately feature somewhere in the range of 20 candidates and therefore may be split up into two debates or more per location.
But when faced with the decision of whether to award a primary debate to Fox News, the top-rated channel on basic cable, the DNC decided to play to its base than expand the voter net in rejecting the network.
In a Wednesday afternoon statement, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said he had held conversations with Fox News about potentially allowing the network to host a primary debate. But he said a story published in The New Yorker about the network's alleged ties with the Trump administration prompted the committee to end the Fox consideration.
“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 said.
The decision by Perez comes after some Democratic candidates have appeared on the network. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) appeared on anchor Bret Baier's "Special Report," in February, for example.
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05.06.2025