NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� ' interview with Fox 撸奶社区 Channel's Bret Baier on Wednesday is the latest indication that Democrats during are increasingly willing to engage with a network well-stocked with supporters of opponent .
Since the party's convention in August, roughly twice as many Democrats have been on Fox than during the same period in President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, which itself was more often than when Hillary Clinton was the nominee in 2016, according to the network.
Whether to ignore Fox or seize opportunities to change the viewpoints of some audience members has long been a subject of internal debate among Democrats. Biden didn't make a Fox-specific appearance during his campaign. Clinton made one appearance during her primary campaign and another in mid-summer 2016.
鈥淭he vice president, Governor Walz and our campaign believe it is important to speak to all Americans, wherever they are getting their information or entertainment, so they can hear directly from us 鈥� not through a filter 鈥� who Vice President Harris is, what she stands for and what she's running to do,鈥� said Ian Sams, Harris campaign spokesman.
Not just Democrats are seeing the new faces on Fox 撸奶社区
Guess who's noticed?
Trump grumbled feed this week about Sams, who was interviewed Wednesday on Fox by Dana Perino, Tuesday by Martha MacCallum and Monday by Neil Cavuto. Trump said Sams 鈥渧irtually owns the network.鈥�
鈥淚t's not worthwhile doing interviews on Fox because it all just averages out into NOTHING,鈥� he wrote on Truth Social. 鈥淔ox 撸奶社区 has totally lost its way.鈥�
Trump on Wednesday appeared on Fox, hours before Harris, in a pre-taped town hall meeting featuring female voters and hosted by Harris Faulkner.
Baier's interview with Harris was combative, starting with a discussion on immigration and touching on the economy, the Biden administration and polls showing Americans think the nation is on the wrong track. At times they seemed to be talking past each other.
鈥淚'm in the middle of responding to the point you're raising and I'd like to finish,鈥� Harris said at one point.
Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, has appeared two weeks in a row on 鈥淔ox 撸奶社区 Sunday,鈥� which runs on both broadcast and cable. Host Shannon Bream said she was 鈥渁 little bit surprised鈥� when the Democratic campaign reached out prior to his appearance this past Sunday.
鈥淚 think folks are still undecided out there,鈥� Walz replied. 鈥淚 appreciate you. You ask good, hard questions and your viewers get a chance to hear.鈥�
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was something of a 鈥淔ox whisperer鈥� earlier in the campaign, seeming to relish mixing it up with network anchors to the point where he opened his Democratic convention speech by saying, 鈥淚'm Pete Buttigieg and you might recognize me from Fox 撸奶社区.鈥�
California Gov. Gavin 撸奶社区om, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Ro Khanna of California are among the other Democrats who have made multiple appearances.
The Fox guest shots are largely confined to daytime and, like Bream's show, weekend hours. Democrats are seldom seen on prime-time shows hosted by Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld.
While it usually doesn't make sense for a Democrat to go on a network fully committed to their defeat, this is an exception, said Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of 鈥淧od Save America鈥� and former aide to President Barack Obama. 鈥淎 Democrat going into enemy territory is a great way to get attention and soft Republicans and Republican-leaning independents is a top target for her campaign,鈥� he said.
Fox also argues that it has more independent and Democratic viewers than most people think. Its audience size alone makes it tough to ignore: Fox's share of the cable news audience is more than CNN and MSNBC combined in all of the swing states except Nevada.
What Harris was facing in Fox's Bret Baier
Baier hosts a 6 p.m. news hour on Fox and, with MacCallum, generally co-hosts most of Fox's big news events. 鈥淚 would expect what you pretty much get with Baier: strong, tough questions with aggressive follow-up. In a word: fair," wrote Tom Jones in the Poynter Institute journalism newsletter on Wednesday.
Yet Baier is also keenly aware of the network's audience, sometimes to his detriment. Court papers in a for spreading false stories about an elections technology firm after the 2020 election that Baier privately urged Fox's controversial 鈥� and ultimately correct 鈥� call of Biden's win in Arizona be overturned.
Trump that he would have preferred a more hard-hitting journalist conduct the Harris interview, saying Baier 鈥渋s often very soft on those in the 'cocktail circuit' Left.鈥�
In the days before his interview with Harris, Baier to tamp down suspicions expressed by some Fox viewers.
鈥淣o doubt she already has the list of questions. I don't trust him,鈥� wrote one user on X, which Baier retweeted with an answer: 鈥淣o one has the questions. Except me.鈥�
To others who suspected the interview might be edited, he insisted it would be taped at 5:30 p.m. Eastern 鈥� the time the Harris campaign gave for the interview 鈥� and shown in its entirety on his show shortly after.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at .
David Bauder, The Associated Press
