While President Donald Trump has often expressed fondness for Fox News, this wasn’t the first time the president included them in one of his barrage of tweets. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo Media Trump unexpectedly tees off on Fox News

President Donald Trump took swipes at Fox News on Sunday, saying the network known for its conservative bent “is now loading up with Democrats & even using Fake unsourced @nytimes a ‘source’ of information.”

The president’s condemnations were part of a larger attack on one of his favorite targets, the news media, but what was unusual was that Trump lumped Fox News, long his preferred outlet, in with other news organizations. It’s not clear what triggered Sunday’s complaints.


“@FoxNews, who failed in getting the very BORING Dem debates, is now loading up with Democrats & even using Fake unsourced @nytimes as a “source” of information (ask the Times what they paid for the Boston Globe, & what they sold it for (lost 1.5 Billion Dollars), or their old headquarters building disaster, or their unfunded liability?” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“@FoxNews is changing fast, but they forgot the people who got them there!” he said.

…..Comcast (NBC/MSNBC) Trump haters, who do whatever Brian & Steve tell them to do. Like CNN, NBC is also way down in the ratings. But @FoxNews, who failed in getting the very BORING Dem debates, is now loading up with Democrats & even using Fake unsourced @nytimes as…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2019

Trump is known for his persistent criticism of stories and reporters from the New York Times and other news outlets, accusing them of reporting “fake news.”

On Sunday, Trump likened Fox News’ weekend anchors to those of CNN, NBC and MSNBC, including Brian Williams.

“Watching @FoxNews weekend anchors is worse than watching low ratings Fake News @CNN, or Lyin’ Brian Williams (remember when he totally fabricated a War Story trying to make himself into a hero, & got fired. A very dishonest journalist!) and the crew of degenerate Comcast (NBC/MSNBC) Trump haters, who do whatever Brian & Steve tell them to do,” the president said, presumably referring to executives Brian Roberts and Steve Burke.

Later in the evening, Trump pursued an additional line of attack against Fox, assailing them for hiring former Democratic Party official Donna Brazile.

“Impossible to believe that @FoxNews has hired @donnabrazile, the person fired by @CNN (after they tried to hide the bad facts, & failed) for giving Crooked Hillary Clinton the questions to a debate, something unimaginable.“

He added: “Watch the @FoxNews weekend daytime anchors, who are terrible, go after her big time. That’s what they want — but it sure is not what the audience wants!“

Earlier in the day, the president had taken jabs at The New York Times for a new report on a border detention center in Clint, Texas, that chronicled filthy, overcrowded conditions for migrant children.

“The Fake News Media, in particular the Failing @nytimes, is writing phony and exaggerated accounts of the Border Detention Centers,” he said, attempting to counter the report.

We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting on the U.S. Border Patrol's detention centers. Here's how we reported today's front-page article on the squalid conditions at the migrant detention center in Clint, Texas. Read the story here: https://t.co/4TlleeZCTg pic.twitter.com/IrxgOR9EZ1 — NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) July 7, 2019

In response, the New York Times stood firmly behind its article and replied to Trump’s tweet, saying: “We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting on the U.S. Border Patrol's detention centers.”

While Trump has often expressed fondness for Fox News and such Fox personalities as Sean Hannity, this wasn’t the first time the president included the network in a barrage of anti-media tweets.

In the past, Trump has taken aim at Fox’s weekend show hosts, including Chris Wallace, the host of “Fox News Sunday.“ In May, Trump said Fox News had “forgot the people … who got them there.” On June 17, he tweeted: “Something weird going on at Fox.“

Trump has also grown increasingly discontent with Fox News as the network devotes time to town halls with 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. The president took jabs at Fox News in April over the network’s town hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders, and again in May, ahead of its town hall with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

The president was the target of an unplanned attack on Fox News on Sunday. During a live broadcast from France after the U.S. women’s soccer team won the Women’s World Cup, the crowd was heard loudly chanting “F— Trump” behind correspondent Greg Palkot.

David Cohen contributed to this article.

