Trump vows to boycott Fox for treating him unfairly
Donald Trump has vowed not to appear on Fox in the near future over what he feels has been unfair treatment towards him.
The Republican presidential frontrunner announced on Twitter that he “won't be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future,” following a series of clashes with the network that culminated with guests on the Bill O’Reilly show which Trump deemed to be overly critical of him.
.@oreillyfactor, why don't you have some knowledgeable talking heads on your show for a change instead of the same old Trump haters. Boring!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2015
Trump took issue with comments made on the show and its decision not to cite a recent poll showing his lead in the presidential race.
.@FoxNews has been treating me very unfairly & I have therefore decided that I won't be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2015The spat follows on from the presidential debate in August when he clashed with Fox anchor Megyn Kelly after she questioned him over his disparaging comments regarding her appearance.
Fox however disputed the turn of events and released a statement saying that “we canceled Donald Trump’s scheduled appearance on The O’Reilly Factor on Thursday, which resulted in Mr. Trump’s subsequent tweet about his ‘boycott’ of FOX News”.
The statement criticised Trump, arguing that “when coverage doesn’t go his way, he engages in personal attacks on our anchors and hosts, which has grown stale and tiresome”. It said the Trump “doesn’t seem to grasp that candidates telling journalists what to ask is not how the media works in this country”.
His relationship with Fox news chief Roger Ailes appeared rocky after Ailes called him to demand he apologise to Megyn. Trump maintained that things were “absolutely fine” however recent events suggests his relationship with Fox has fallen apart.
Trump's absence will unquestionably impact on viewing figures, the 69 year-old draws in audiences whenever he appears on television such as his appearance on CBS’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night which resulted in a 61 per cent increase in viewership week-over-week.