The Democratic convention presents Fox News Channel with a delicate challenge: how to cover a party suddenly enthused about its election chances when much of the network’s audience has a different political viewpoint.
During the Democrats’ first two days, Fox personalities labeled the proceedings as “boring” and riddled with “a lot of hate.” The network emphasized demonstrations outside the arena while many inside speakers went unheard. Presidential nominee Kamala Harris earned nicknames like “the princess” and “comrade Kamala.”
“We’re at the DNC,” Sean Hannity quipped, “so you don’t have to be.”
Fox’s telecast highlighted the challenges of balancing breaking news with partisan commentary, mashing up opinion personalities like Hannity, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and CNN’s Van Jones with reporters, thereby blurring boundaries. During the GOP convention last month, MSNBC interrupted Nikki Haley for a discussion on her perceived self-debasement and ignored Ron DeSantis entirely.
The feel-good Republican gathering attracted the largest convention audience ever for a cable network, boasting a staggering 10.4 million viewers for the opening moments of former President Donald Trump’s acceptance speech, according to Nielsen.
No such numbers are expected this week for Fox, where roughly two-thirds of the audience in a 2024 Nielsen/MRI study identified as Republican. Fox’s audience has shown a tendency to tune out news conflicting with its beliefs, such as the Jan. 6 committee hearings.
Fox had 2.5 million viewers for Monday’s DNC coverage, and 1.7 million on Tuesday, ranking sixth among networks. In contrast, Fox led the GOP convention, with 6.9 million on opening night and 5.4 million on the second night.
Hosts on “The Five,” Fox’s most-watched show, were blunt in setting the stage for the Democrats’ week. “You can’t believe anything the Democrats tell you,” Jesse Watters said. “Everything is a lie. … There is no joy here. The only joy is that Joe’s gone.”
Watters dismissed claims of an improving economy or polls showing Harris gaining on Trump since replacing Biden. Later that evening, he labeled the event boring, comparing it to “a convention your boss makes you go to.” Hannity described the convention as “far-left radical protesters outside and manufactured unity, deception, and lying inside.”
Fox hosts rejected the Democrats’ narrative that Biden’s decision not to seek reelection was a selfless act. Greg Gutfeld remarked, “You had to wrestle this job away from him like it was car keys from a drunk,” and dubbed former President Barack Obama the “Barack-stabber.”
Harris was portrayed as an inexperienced and risky choice. Onscreen messages during Laura Ingraham’s show highlighted this point: “Dems Overconfident in Their Unproven Backup,” “Kamala’s All Vibe, No Substance,” and “Comrade Kamala Fails Econ 101.”
“This is like booking tickets on the Titanic,” analyst Keith Kellogg said.
During most of Hannity’s show on Tuesday, the onscreen camera focused on a nonviolent protest outside the convention. “The convention has been full of a lot of hate,” Hannity stated, “instead of the politics of joy, which you’ve been promised.”
Fox News made room for Democrats willing to appear on its shows, including Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly. Fox reported a 40% increase in bookings of Democrats compared to last year, and its sister business network provided full coverage of convention speeches.
Fox asserted it had the same presence at the DNC in Chicago as it did for the Republican convention. It rejected claims of unwillingness to present the Democrats’ perspective.
Fox aired Biden’s speech in its entirety on Monday night, along with moments like Harris’ short, surprise address during Hannity’s show. Both Barack and Michelle Obama’s speeches were broadcast on Tuesday night. Speeches by Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, unpopular with many in Fox’s audience, were also shown in full. Fox’s Dana Perino noted that Ocasio-Cortez made a great speech, “but it didn’t make any sense.”
Fox anchor Bret Baier praised both Obamas, remarking that the former first lady’s speech was “amazing and got this crowd on their feet.” Lawrence Jones, co-host of “Fox & Friends,” commented, “No matter how inspirational they are, no matter how good the cadence is on the stage, you can’t dip BS in gold and expect the American people to buy it.”
Speeches by figures like Olympics basketball coach Steve Kerr, UAW President Shawn Fain, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth were largely ignored by Fox News Channel. Fox analyst Brit Hume criticized a group of women discussing abortion policy for going on too long, despite the network not airing their remarks.
Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative Media Research Center, noted that Fox programs to its audience similarly to how Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow avoid showing Trump, not because of concerns about lying, but because they don’t want their audience to watch him.
Brian Stelter, author of “Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy,” observed that while Fox recognized the newsworthiness of the convention, it was reluctant to provide an unfiltered view of the proceedings.
“Fox did very little listening and a lot of talking,” he said.
Interestingly, both campaigns made efforts to reach beyond their usual audiences: the Harris campaign ran a commercial on Fox, while Trump advertised on CNN.
Fox’s sensitivity to audience loyalty concerns has been notable. Fears about angering its audience after its 2020 election coverage were cited in evidence presented by Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox, which settled for $787 million.
