President Trump Backs Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro After Her Saturday Night Absence
UPDATE: Keeping up the Fox News attack later in the day, President Trump tweeted Sunday that two hosts on the channel appeared to be trained by CNN, his least-favorite news outlet.
“Were @FoxNews weekend anchors, @ArthelNeville and @LelandVittert, trained by CNN prior to their ratings collapse?” Trump posted. ” In any event, that’s where they should be working, along with their lowest rated anchor, Shepard Smith!”
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Smith has been critical of Trump on his show, but there isn’t an apparent motive for the attacks on the others.
EARLIER: President Donald Trump has backed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, calling for her return to the airwaves after her Justice With Judge Jeanine was replaced Saturday night by a rebroadcast of a documentary.
Pirro was apparently punished for her controversial comments on March 9 about the loyalty of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Congresswoman. “Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?” Pirro said on her show. She later claimed her remarks on Omar were meant to start a discussion.
Trump, who has been interviewed by Pirro many times, rose to her defense on Twitter today.
“Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country,” Trump tweeted. “They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well. Fox must stay strong and fight back with vigor. Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don’t give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die!”
The President also called on Fox News to show more support for its hosts.
“Stay true to the people that got you there. Keep fighting for Tucker, and fight hard for @JudgeJeanine,” he said, referring to Fox News host, Tucker Carlson. “Your competitors are jealous – they all want what you’ve got – NUMBER ONE. Don’t hand it to them on a silver platter. They can’t beat you, you can only beat yourselves!”
Fox initially criticized Pirro for her March 9 comments, saying they do not reflect the views of the network. But it declined to say why her show was pulled on Saturday.
“We are not commenting on internal scheduling matters,” Fox said in a statement on Saturday.
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