Fox News Anchor Rebukes Donald Trump’s Over Criticism Of Network: “It Is Called ‘Fair And Balanced,’ Mr. President”
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Your World anchor Neil Cavuto devoted a segment at the close of his show Thursday to addressing President Donald Trump’s anti-Fox News comments, telling the president, “My job is to cover you, not to fawn over you or rip you, just report on you, to call balls and strikes on you.” Watch the video below.
“It is called ‘fair and balanced,’ Mr. President,” Cavuto added, “yet it is fair to say you are not a fan when the balance includes stuff you don’t like to hear or facts you don’t like to have questioned. You are only human, I get that. Who likes to be corrected? But you are the president. It comes with the job — just like checking what you say and do comes with my job.
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“After all,” he continued, “I am not the one who said tariffs are a wonderful thing. You are. I am not the one who said Mexico would pay for the wall. You did. Just like I am not the one who claimed that Russia didn’t meddle in the 2016 election. You did. I am sorry you do not like these facts being brought up, but they are not fake because I did. What would be fake is if I never did.”
Trump on Wednesday tweeted, “Fox isn’t working for us anymore.” In an interview with Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio on Thursday, Trump said, “I’m not happy with Fox.”
Fox News has been silent on Trump’s comments, but some of its personalities have spoken out. Brit Hume tweeted, “Fox News isn’t supposed to work for you.”
But Cavuto went much farther than merely saying that Fox News is independent of Trump’s presidency. He went through a litany of Trump’s erratic remarks and false denials.
Cavuto noted that the president said he liked his then-Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, until he didn’t; denied that he had plans to fire Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, then he did; and called Chinese President Xi Jinping an “enemy” last week but a “great leader” this week.
He also cited a series of other instances that Trump has denied or dismissed, including payoffs to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her, and Trump’s order to then-White House Counsel Don McGahn that he fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The latter claim was included in Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Fake is when it is wrong, Mr. President, not when it is unpleasant,” he said.
He said that, while Trump may have a point in complaining about negative media coverage, he can’t equate that with denying facts.
“You are entitled to your own point of view, Mr. President, but you are not entitled to your own set of facts,” he added.
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