Three days after former President Donald Trump tore into his Fox & Friends pals, seemingly widening the Fox News-Trump rift, his one-time morning besties have begun to practically beg the ex-president to love them again.
During Monday’s broadcast of Fox’s flagship morning show, the hosts discussed a straw poll from right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA’s latest conference that showed Trump received 79 percent support as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee. Co-host Steve Doocy, however, cautiously noted that other recent polls showed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—a figure conservative media has increasingly rallied around as a Trump alternative—edging out the former president.
“So, it’s like the young people who are activists at that event like the former president but, looking at these other polls, different answer,” Doocy added.
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Obviously watching his favorite morning show that day (like every other day ending in Y), Trump quickly took to his social media platform Truth Social to rage about this apparent betrayal from his typically loyal sycophants.
“@foxandfriends just really botched my poll numbers, no doubt on purpose. That show has been terrible—gone to the ‘dark side,’” Trump blustered, adding that the hosts spent too little time on his “big Turning Point Poll victory” while focusing on “outlier” polls.
“Actually, almost all polls have me leading all Republicans & Biden BY A LOT. RINO Paul Ryan, one of the weakest and worst Speakers EVER, must be running the place,” he fumed, referencing Ryan’s spot on Fox Corp’s board of directors.
The online rampage from Trump, who had spent the past decade-plus as Fox & Friends' favorite guest and most loyal viewer, apparently hit the hosts hard. On Thursday morning, they spent much of the broadcast kissing up to the MAGA overlord.
Once again discussing polls, this time the hosts spotlighted a CNN survey that finds 75 percent of Democrats don’t want President Joe Biden to run in 2024. Doocy, though, also pointed out that the same poll shows 55 percent of GOP voters do not support Trump as the Republican nominee.
Brian Kilmeade quickly stepped in to make sure Trump knew that not only did these numbers not come from Fox News, but that the poll was likely wrong.
“If the former president is watching, you should know, those are just the numbers you [Doocy] are relaying. You didn’t come up with those numbers,” the Trump loyalist breathlessly added.
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Doocy noted for one very specific VIP viewer that the show was discussing the poll because it was “fascinating,” prompting Kilmeade to snark about CNN being “right as often as Halley’s Comet comes by.”
With Doocy wondering if they’d just spent “the last four minutes” on something that’s “not accurate,” colleague Ainsley Earhardt reiterated that the poll was from CNN, a frequent target of Trump’s and one he’s currently threatening to sue.
“I’m just saying, Donald Trump is watching—if Donald Trump is watching, just let him know we didn’t come up with that number,” Kilmeade exclaimed. “That’s what the poll said.”
Elsewhere in the show, the curvy-couch trio gushed over the former president’s golfing prowess in a naked appeal to his enormous ego.
After reporting that Trump is playing in a pro-am tournament at this week’s Saudi-backed LIV Golf event at Trump’s Bedminster resort, each host took turns heaping praise on the ex-president.
“I know he’s the greatest golfing president ever,” Kilmeade beamed.
“Athletic!” Earhardt added.
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Doocy concluded.
The LIV tour, meanwhile, has been beset by controversy over accusations that it’s just an attempt by the Saudi government to “sportswash” away the regime’s human-rights abuses, potential state involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks, and the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Despite 9/11 families protesting the event, Kilmeade has long defended the tour and applauded the Saudis holding events at Trump’s golf courses.
In the end, Trump has railed against Fox and his morning pals many times before, only to come back in the end. And so—let's face it—he’s not going to stop watching Fox & Friends anytime soon. No need to grovel so hard.
