Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade grew incredibly defensive on Thursday morning when former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe noted that President Donald Trump has Fox News on his side, claiming that Trump “doesn’t have the whole network.”
Discussing former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign on Trump's favorite morning show, Kilmeade asked Plouffe why the suddenly resurgent candidate didn’t have a better fundraising foundation and staff during the early days of the race. Plouffe, after touting Biden’s recent momentum, quickly pivoted to taking shots at the incumbent. And, in turn, Fox News.
“Trump has this network,” the ex-Obama adviser said. “He has his unofficial campaign chairman Vladimir Putin. He has billions of dollars. He is a brilliant marketer.”
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Kilmeade, meanwhile, grumbled that it was “not right” to invoke the Russian leader in that manner, prompting Plouffe to reply: “Listen, [Trump] got help last time.”
The pro-Trump Fox host went on to defend Fox News, insisting that the entire channel wasn’t completely in the tank for the president.
“He doesn’t have the whole network,” Kilmeade exclaimed. “Every show here is different. And if you talked to him last night on Sean Hannity, is he not happy with this network.”
Kilmeade was referring to Trump’s interview with close pal Sean Hannity on Wednesday night in which the president once again groused that he’s unhappy with some of the programs and commentators at Fox News for not showing him sufficient loyalty and obsequiousness. Last month, the president went so far as to suggest Fox fire anchor Neil Cavuto over a segment that was critical of his 2016 debate performances.
“This is his happy place,” Plouffe shot back. “It’s like his own political Westworld.”
Kilmeade fumed that the president “knows it’s the number one channel in America” and Fox News beats every other network “no matter the format.”
“This is not a debate,” Plouffe retorted. “This is the news media, media outlets should hold the powerful to account, not the account to the powerful.”
