There has been increasing acrimony between the president and his once-beloved news network, but at least one show has remained loyal

It hardly makes headlines when Donald Trump lashes out at the media – his repeated refrains of “fake news” and “enemy of the people” have become so familiar it’s almost possible to tune them out. But heads were turned on Sunday night when Trump turned his ire to Fox News, tweeting that panelists discussing the recent government shutdown had “even less understanding of the Wall negotiations than the folks at FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC!”

Fox News attack dog Tucker Carlson turns on Trump: 'I don't think he's capable' Read more

Was it a sign that the president’s relationship with the network was straining? In the weeks before the partial government shutdown it certainly seemed as if the network was more keen on goading Trump than pleasing him.

With the exception of his favorite show. While other Fox shows and personalities were disappointed with Trump ending the shutdown without wall funding, Fox & Friends broadly remained loyal to the president they helped elect. The shutdown fight exposed a split between Fox’s flagship morning show and much of the rest of the network, which reflects Trump’s longstanding special relationship with Fox & Friends.

Fox & Friends did warn that he would “look like a loser” by funding government without wall money, part of a week of pro-shutdown rhetoric that included co-host Steve Doocy saying “the Democrats will win everything they want” and “the swamp wins” if Trump refused to shut down the government, attacking him when he appeared to be softening his stance.

Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) Fox & Friends insists Trump is failing his base by not shutting down the government: Many people are saying "hold on a second, you told us that you weren't afraid to shut down the government, that's why we like you. What happened? You just gave in right away?" pic.twitter.com/AFfilzminx

The change in tone from Trump’s favourite show might have received more media attention if it hadn’t come the same week Ann Coulter called him “gutless”, which dominated headlines. Spurned by his friends and prodded by Fox & Friends, Trump shut down the government.

Once the shutdown began, Fox & Friends initially supported Trump, blaming Democrats and supplying him with images to paint a propagandistic picture of a dangerous threat from migrants. Correspondent Griff Jenkins reported on another caravan. Host Ainsley Earhardt paraphrased Trump’s argument: “You deserve to be able to go to sleep at night and not have to worry about being killed by an illegal immigrant.”

Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) Ainsley Earhardt: The government shutdown is “an inconvenience,” but “you deserve to be able to go to sleep at night and not have to worry about being killed by an illegal immigrant.” pic.twitter.com/BiYK6tCiw8

The hosts cherry-picked outlier polls to reassure Trump he had public support in the shutdown fight; host Brian Kilmeade cited one poll to claim that “nothing’s changed” since the shutdown began, even though two other polls showed record-high disapprovals. Fox & Friends also suggested that it was Democrats who would suffer politically for their opposition to wall negotiations during the shutdown. Doocy speculated that even if “moderate Democrats” couldn’t vote on wall funding, perhaps voters would “start to blame the Democrats” for the shutdown. Overall, despite Kilmeade’s occasional frustrations that everyone, Trump included, proved “incapable of getting something done”, Fox & Friends stuck by Trump.

However, once the shutdown ended, many Fox News commentators outside of Fox & Friends started to criticise Trump. Tomi Lahren, who hosts a show on Fox’s on-demand platform Fox Nation, tweeted that Trump “allowed Nancy [Pelosi] to walk all over him”. Tucker Carlson suggested that Trump’s “weakness” on the shutdown had “eroded” his popularity while Lou Dobbs declared the shutdown fight a victory for Pelosi.

Other rightwing media personalities joined the fray. Ann Coulter tweeted: “Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: as of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.” The Daily Caller and Breitbart also attacked Trump for “caving” to Pelosi.

Yet stuck between backing their No 1 fan and supporting their colleagues, the Fox & Friends crew ignored the brewing feuds and focused on inflating Trump’s ego. Kilmeade reassured Trump through the TV that his defeat was not a defeat: “I don’t know if you lose this round at all. And if you do, I think people should understand, that’s what’s called politics.” Kilmeade encouraged Trump to “almost ignore people” in media and “just do what he knows is best” to get wall funding. Doocy similarly said that it was “early” to say that Trump surrendered.

Fox & Friends groomed and coddled Trump for years in a way that no other Fox programming ever did; their symbiosis simultaneously stroked Trump’s ego while filling Fox airtime with entertainment. That best friendship, it seems, is powerful enough to endure the longest government shutdown in history. But can it endure fractures at Fox News? Only the coming weeks will tell.

Bobby Lewis monitors Fox News for Media Matters in America, a progressive not-for-profit