Chris Wallace (left), Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier during a GOP Primary Debate in 2016. Fox News called on the DNC to reconsider allowing the network to host one of the DNC's 12 planned debates. | Alex Wong/Getty Images 2020 elections DNC says it doesn't trust Fox News to host a primary debate

The Fox News Channel will not host any Democratic primary debates during the 2020 election cycle, the Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday, saying it doesn't have confidence the conservative-leaning network would responsibly handle such an event.

DNC Chairman Tom Perez issued a statement pointing to a recent New Yorker article and claiming that Fox News 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," Perez said in the statement.

"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," the DNC chairman said. "Therefore, FOX News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates."

COUNTDOWN TO 2020 The race for 2020 starts now. Stay in the know. Follow our presidential election coverage. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The Washington Post first reported the DNC's decision.

Bill Sammon, senior vice president and managing editor at Fox News, later called on the DNC to reconsider allowing the network to host one of the DNC's 12 planned debates.

“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," Sammon said in a statement. "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.”

On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump adopted a more confrontational tone.

“Democrats just blocked @FoxNews from holding a debate“ he tweeted. “Good, then I think I’ll do the same thing with the Fake News Networks and the Radical Left Democrats in the General Election debates!“

Fox News did not host a Democratic primary debate during the 2016 or 2008 election cycles. The network, however, host a town hall in Michigan between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders during the 2016 cycle.

Fox News has been accused of acting as a "state TV" network because of its frequent promotion of the president's policies, as well as Trump and his staff's frequent interviews on the network.

A New Yorker article published this month reinforced that sentiment by detailing the network's cozy relationship with Trump, including how Trump was possibly tipped off about two questions in two separate Republican primary debates during the 2016 election cycle. It also alleged that Fox News declined to publish an article about Trump's alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The DNC has so far granted the first debate in June to MSNBC, NBC News and Telemundo and the second to CNN in July.

This article tagged under: DNC

Fox News