Trump attacks Fox News host Jessica Tarlov and its polling on midterm election night

Trump's first complaint

Donald Trump spent part of the evening of 3 November, the night of the US midterm elections, watching Fox News and posting about its coverage on Truth Social. His first target was Jessica Tarlov, a Fox co-host and Democratic strategist who appears on The Five. He wrote that he could not stand her voice, said he would switch channels until she was off the air and promised to return later. Axios reported that he also reportedly texted her co-host Greg Gutfeld to complain, and Gutfeld later mentioned on air that Trump had sent him a message about Tarlov. Earlier in the program, Tarlov had argued with Gutfeld that high fuel prices and the cost of living are the main concerns of voters, a point Gutfeld disputed.

Polling, ratings and a CNN poll

Trump then turned on Fox's political polling and, in one post, wrote that it was all hostile:

“Every question is a hit job, and every answer is 'BULLSHIT!'”

About half an hour later he posted that Fox's ratings had fallen because the network was spending too much time covering what he called 'Trump Deranged Dumocrats'. He pointed to a new CNN poll showing his strength among MAGA Republicans, but Axios found that the two CNN polling segments he posted that night were both more than a month old. Fox's ratings had already turned down in October, ahead of the vote, a stretch when pre-election polls pointed to possible Democratic gains. Axios said the decline could suggest some Republican viewers had tuned out.

A long-running rift

Trump's relationship with Fox has been strained this election season and in earlier contests. Axios reported that Fox's coverage of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has caused friction for months, with Republicans worried it was undercutting efforts to portray him as far outside the mainstream. In late October, Trump posted that Fox was devoting too much airtime to opponents of Republican candidates, adding that this was the only reason the race was close, if it was close at all. Trump has repeatedly dined with Fox patriarch Rupert Murdoch and has hired talent from the network, so he has come to expect favorable coverage. Axios also noted that Fox called Arizona early for Joe Biden in 2020, an earlier call that angered Trump's circle.

Leavitt and the silence from both sides

Karoline Leavitt, Trump's former White House press secretary and now a Fox pundit, appeared on the network's election night coverage and said she had just spoken with the president. Axios said neither the White House nor Fox had responded to its request for comment before publication. Separately, in.gr reported that Trump predicted a Republican win by claiming Guam, which had been strongly expected to vote Democratic, was turning red. in.gr reported that this claim came shortly after the Tarlov posts.