Attention-seeking right-wing network Newsmax blasted conservative news giant Fox News on Monday for abandoning Trump supporters by “going woke,” pushing a “climate change agenda,” and being too nice to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
For the better part of a year now, Newsmax has actively courted MAGA viewers by portraying Fox News as overly critical of former President Donald Trump. And while Newsmax did make some viewership gains after disgruntled Trump fans abandoned Fox over its accurate 2020 election call, it still only attracts a small fraction of Fox News’ massive audience.
The small pro-Trump outlet, for its part, has continued on its mission to peel off Fox News viewers whenever it sees an opportunity. While that has become more difficult as Fox has increased its conservative opinion programming in recent months, Newsmax appears undeterred.
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Beginning with its early-morning programming on Monday, Newsmax devoted at least one segment on each of its shows to criticizing Fox News for “facing more backlash following a series of recent controversies.”
The supposed controversies in question consisted of Fox News anchor Chris Wallace—long a favorite target of Trump’s and MAGA media—dubbing Psaki “one of the best press secretaries ever”; Fox launching a new weather service that executives promised would cover climate change; Trump getting angry at Fox News for running “anti-Trump commercials”; and Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto urging viewers to get vaccinated.
In a news clip that ran several times throughout the morning and afternoon, Newsmax correspondent Mike Carter noted that Fox News “often says it sports a variety of perspectives” before contrasting Wallace’s remarks about Psaki with Fox News star Tucker Carlson describing the press secretary as a “grouchy little flack.”
“So which is it—best ever or grouchy little flack?” Carter asked sarcastically.
As for the launch of Fox Weather, Carter noted that “hard-left NPR gleefully reported” that the owners of Fox News “acknowledge climate change at a corporate level” while an on-air graphic blared: “Fox News Rolls Out New Weather Channel Pushing Climate Change Agenda.”
Carter also brought up a recent Trump statement in which the ex-president blasted Fox News for airing a critical ad against him. The commercial that drew Trump’s ire was created by progressive PAC MeidasTouch, which purchased the ad space through a local cable news provider. It wasn't aired nationally and the group didn't go through Fox News ad sales.
The correspondent then added that “Trump was already displeased” that Fox’s Decision Desk was bringing back Arnon Mishkin, the analyst who angered Team Trump over his early and correct 2020 election projection that Joe Biden won Arizona. (It wasn’t the first time Newsmax or Trump have whined about Fox retaining Mishkin.)
“This has conservatives wondering if Fox is making a permanent hard-left turn,” the Newsmax reporter concluded.
The network also held multiple panel discussions across its programming on the claim that Fox News was running too far left.
“What do you think Fox is up to? Is this just a coincidence where you have a lot of people and they’re out there going to say different things, or do you think there’s some sort of guiding idea behind this?” Newsmax anchor Bob Sellers asked conservative pundit Melanie Collette at one point.
“I think they are moving left,” Collette responded. “I think that the people who are going to inherit Fox News are bound and determined to move Fox left. I think it’s a big mistake on their part, but I think it brings about a huge opening in the market for Newsmax!”
Newsmax host Eric Bolling, who spent nearly a decade at Fox News before his 2017 ouster following sexual harassment allegations, also took aim at Fox during his afternoon show. Alleging that the network “abandoned conservatives,” Bolling fumed that “you’ll see hypocrisy everywhere” when you turn on Fox News.
After slamming Fox for “too enthusiastically” calling the election for Biden and Wallace over his treatment of Trump at the 2020 presidential debate, Bolling then took issue with Fox’s stringent vaccine policy.
“Fox hosts rage against vaccine mandates, yet they work for a company that demands their employees get vaccinated or get tested,” Bolling groused. “Their broadcasts are all about that. While their evening shows are anti-mandates, you turn on daytime and you see Neil Cavuto saying the exact opposite.”
Bolling went on to air a clip of Cavuto, who is immunocompromised and recently contracted COVID-19, crediting the vaccines for his mild diagnosis while imploring viewers to get their shots.
“I daresay, people who experience this and have seen loved ones who’ve been affected by this or having died from this are not judging the wisdom of mandates. They’re wishing they got vaccinated and they didn’t. Don’t let that happen,” the veteran Fox News anchor said on Sunday.
“Not so sure about that, Neil,” Bolling snarked. (Dick Farrel, a former anti-vaccine Newsmax host who died of COVID-19, urged friends to get vaccinated on his deathbed.)
“Think about what Fox is doing, though. It’s brilliant,” Bolling added. “Everything they truly believe is aired in the middle of the day when everyone’s at work. Then people get home from work and watch evening commentary hosts say the complete opposite of what they reported just hours prior.”
