Fox News anchor Bret Baier challenged Donald Trump on live television after the president criticized the network’s midterm election polling, which had projected major Republican defeats.
The exchange unfolded shortly after midnight ET, when Baier asked Trump whether he had concerns about “candidate quality” following the losses of Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton and South Carolina nominee Darlene Graham, both of whom had received his support.
Trump said he had “no choice” but to back Paxton before turning his attention to Fox News’ polling operation. “The Fox polls are terrible,” he said, urging the network to find a better pollster.
Baier immediately pushed back, telling the president that the night’s election results were, in fact, largely consistent with the forecasts Fox News had published.
Fox’s final midterms polls, published November 1, had projected that Democrats would gain control of the House of Representatives—a prediction that ultimately proved correct.
The Fox News forecast also labeled the Senate race a toss-up, with Democrats eventually winning control there as well.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier corrected President Trump live on air after Trump criticized the network’s election polling.
Trump attacked Fox News’ election forecasts even though they had accurately predicted a Democratic takeover of the House.
Fox News had also described several races in traditionally Republican states, including Kansas and Texas, as too close to call. Democrats went on to secure historic victories in both contests.
Even after Baier pointed out the similarity between the projections and the final results, Trump continued criticizing Fox’s polling.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Trump replied when Baier challenged his claim.
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He then argued that Fox’s polling involving him had been inaccurate for 12 years, insisting that the network had repeatedly underestimated his support.
“I shouldn’t say this,” Trump added, before comparing his standing with the support once recorded for Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. He claimed that while he had enjoyed substantially higher numbers, Fox had portrayed him as unpopular.
Trump returned to his central criticism, saying Fox News needed a new pollster because he believed the network’s surveys had consistently produced the wrong conclusions.
President Trump, pictured in Washington, DC, on Monday, said he was open to working with Democrats after the Republican Party’s midterm losses.
Trump told Baier that he still supported Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, pictured delivering his concession speech late Tuesday after losing to Democrat James Talarico in a historic defeat.
Baier also questioned Trump about “candidate quality” after South Carolina Senate hopeful Darlene Graham lost her race to a Democrat.
‘But I don’t care, it doesn’t matter.’
Trump previously told Fox News he’d accept the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections, which saw Democrats take control of Congress and make deep inroads in multiple deep-red states.
The humbled president also told The New York Times that he was open to working with the Democrats, saying: ‘We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them.
‘We’ll probably work something out.’
The president earlier said that he blamed his unpopular invasion of Iran in February for the Republican party’s drubbing at the ballot box.
He insisted that he did not regret the bombing, which saw Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed in an air strike.
Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a body of water through which approximately 25 percent of the world’s seaborne oil passes.
That saw sharp rises in gas prices and the general cost of living.
Trump swept to a huge victory in 2024 by vowing to tackle price spikes under the Biden administration, while also promising ‘no new wars.’