The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday announced that Fox News will not host any of the presidential primary debates in the 2019-2020 cycle, citing a recent article in The New Yorker that characterized the outlet as an agent of the White House.
“Recent reporting in the New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and FOX News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates,” said Tom Perez, the chair of the DNC, in a statement. “Therefore, FOX News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates.”
A spokesperson for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The network has not hosted a Democratic presidential debate in more than 15 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This cycle, the network reportedly made an offer to do so.
The DNC has so far announced 12 televised debates, which will begin next June. MSNBC, NBC News, and Telemundo will host the first debate, the DNC has said. CNN will host the second debate, in July.
Prominent conservatives, including several Fox News hosts, have urged the DNC to award the channel a debate.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of MSNBC, NBC, Telemundo and CNBC.
