2020 Democrats are reportedly “flocking” to Fox News to participate in the network’s town hall events, the next of which will feature Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the network announced Wednesday.
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Monday night town hall event on Fox News was the most-watched town hall of the 2020 campaign thus far, according to The Daily Beast. More than 2.5 million viewers tuned in for the event, compared to CNN’s recent town hall with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), which attracted 1.95 million viewers.
On the night of the town hall, rival network MSNBC had 1.44 million viewers, while CNN had just 913,000.
The event was described as a “ratings smash,” but that isn’t stopping the Democratic National Committee from refusing to partner with Fox News for any 2020 debates. In fact, during a Monday morning interview on Fox News, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said he wouldn’t reconsider the decision.
“Here is why we won’t do that. Because I don’t have faith in your leadership at Fox News at the senior levels,” Perez told anchor Bill Hemmer. “I have great respect for Bret and for Chris and for you, but you’ve demonstrated, above your pay grade, they don’t trust your own listeners and so they feel like they have to put the thumb on the scale.”
The DNC announced in March that “Fox News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates,” saying the “network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates.”
Several candidates, however, are sidestepping the DNC’s decision by joining Fox News for town halls.
“Fox News Channel continues to produce highly informative and respectful town hall events, delivering record viewership and providing a platform to all candidates. We are incredibly proud of the entire team and look forward to hosting Senator Klobuchar for our next town hall,” Fox News Executive Editor Jay Wallace said in a Wednesday statement.
Klobuchar’s town hall is scheduled for May 8, while South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is reportedly in talks with the network to appear at a town hall.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
