Former President Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh wave of criticism aimed at Fox News, following reports that he is contemplating skipping the first Republican presidential primary debate hosted by the network.

On Thursday morning, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to express his frustrations, stating, “Why doesn’t Fox and Friends show all of the Polls where I am beating Biden, by a lot. They just won’t do it!” In his post, Trump also accused Fox News of selectively using unflattering images of him, particularly one that he referred to as the “big ‘orange'” one. He implied that the network’s actions mirrored his 2016 experience and concluded with a pointed statement: “And then they want me to debate!”

According to a CNN report, Trump’s intention is not to participate in the upcoming Republican presidential primary debate hosted by Fox News. Instead, he is reportedly considering alternatives, such as making call-ins to other cable shows during the debate or engaging in a one-on-one interview with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox star who was let go by the network earlier this year.

Throughout 2023, Trump has been vocal in his criticism of Fox News, accusing the network of showing bias against him and displaying favoritism towards his closest rival in the GOP primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump’s complaints have extended to Fox News’ ratings, which he claims have plummeted due to the network’s failure to address topics he deems significant.

In a June interview with chief political correspondent Bret Baier, who is set to co-moderate the upcoming debate alongside Martha MacCallum, Trump referred to Fox News as a “hostile network.” He defended his potential decision to skip the debate, arguing against providing an opportunity for the network to criticize him further. Trump later remarked that  Baier had been “nasty” in the interview.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)