Four years ago, Fox 撸奶社区 precipitated an internal crisis with a that President Joe Biden would beat Donald Trump in the crucial state of Arizona. This year illustrated the difference that four years can make.
Fox 撸奶社区 wasn't the first network early on Wednesday to declare Trump had sealed his victory over Kamala Harris 鈥� upstart 撸奶社区Nation, conservative rival 撸奶社区max and Scripps Networks led the way 鈥� but its ultimate call came nearly four hours before ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and The Associated Press made theirs.
Judging by the cheers that erupted when Fox's call was shown to the Trump faithful gathered at his West Palm Beach victory party, it was a decision that surely was received much better by its viewers than the 2020 call was.
鈥淲hen you don't like how the cake tastes, you're not going to like the recipe,鈥� said Chris Stirewalt, politics editor at 撸奶社区Nation. 鈥淲hen you like the cake, you'll love the recipe.鈥�
Trump, Fox can both claim comebacks on election night
Fox's Bret Baier called Trump's victory 鈥渢he biggest political phoenix from the ashes story that we have ever seen,鈥� and Fox can claim a comeback of its own.
Fox's Arizona call in 2020 infuriated Trump and many of the network's viewers. While it ultimately proved correct, it set in motion and led some Fox personalities to embrace conspiracy theories, which a staggering $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems.
撸奶社区Nation, which used information from the elections forecasting company Decision Desk HQ, made its call at 1:22 a.m. on Wednesday. Scripps and 撸奶社区max, which also use DDHQ, were within a minute of making the same declaration.
At about that time, Baier said that 鈥渨e're not there yet,鈥� but noted there was no path to victory for Harris. Fox made its call at 1:47 a.m.
The AP called the election for Trump at 5:34 a.m. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and the AP all made their calls within a few moments of each other. The AP that Trump had won came after awarding Wisconsin to the former president by determining that remaining uncounted votes from around the Milwaukee area would not be enough for Harris to overcome Trump's lead there.
For 撸奶社区Nation's Stirewalt, his network's early call on Wednesday provided a rich irony. He was politics editor at Fox 撸奶社区 in 2020 and he and a fellow executive, Bill Sammon, following the outcry over the Arizona call 鈥� even though they were proven right.
鈥淚t would be easy to overstate the results and I want to be careful not to do that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 will say this, it is a victory for the way things used to be done and a personal vindication.鈥�
Letting the numbers do the talking
He said Decision Desk HQ and 撸奶社区Nation let the numbers do the talking with their calls. He would not criticize rivals for waiting longer, saying it was a natural reaction to be careful in making race calls following what happened in 2020.
The happiness of some viewers at Fox's call was evident in some . Fox rejects any suggestion that its calls are politically motivated and its decision desk, led by , is widely respected in the industry. Stirewalt called Mishkin 鈥渟uperb鈥� and said 鈥渋t is to Fox's credit that they kept him when they didn't keep Bill Sammon and me.鈥�
A vigorous conservative media ecosystem has built up in recent years to compete with Fox. But the network remains king of the hill, illustrated again Wednesday by the Nielsen company's preliminary ratings of television election night coverage.
Fox averaged 9.7 million viewers for its coverage in the prime-time hours, well above second-place ABC 撸奶社区, which had 5.7 million. 撸奶社区max, Fox's chief rival for conservative viewers, had 947,000 viewers and 撸奶社区Nation had 237,000, Nielsen said.
鈥淚 am extremely proud of our team鈥檚 commitment to delivering the top reporting and analysis to the largest and most politically diverse audience in news,鈥� Fox 撸奶社区 Media CEO Suzanne Scott said of Tuesday night鈥檚 ratings, according to the network.
Trump's complicated relationship with the network also attests to its continued influence. The Republican candidate was a regular guest on its shows during the campaign, particularly the morning 鈥淔ox & Friends,鈥� yet also on social media if he doesn't like something that is said there.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at .
David Bauder, The Associated Press
