Trump Blasts Fox News on Election Night, Says Veto Is His ‘Ultimate Power’
President Donald Trump spent the early hours of election night attacking Fox News on Truth Social, while telling another network he is ready to wield the veto if Democrats take Congress.
“I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto,’” Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News before polls closed, Fox News reported, when asked about a Democratic majority.
Trump suggested the threat would push Democrats to negotiate. “Historically, you veto for a couple of months, and then they come and say, ‘We’ve got to make a deal,’” he said.
He also credited his late campaign swing. “I did 29 days, 33 of these things, and they were all massive rallies,” Trump told CBS, according to Fox News.
CBS News reported that Trump welcomes the nickname “Mr. Veto” to describe his approach to Democrats if they win a majority in the House or Senate.
Trump also pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Slaughter v. Trump, which let him fire a Democratic Federal Trade Commission member. “You can do a lot,” he said of the presidency.
Turning Off Fox
Hours later, Trump turned on Fox. He wrote that he was watching the network’s pre-results coverage but could not stand Fox co-host and Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov’s voice.
“DUMB AS A ROCK, but it’s the voice that gets me,” Trump wrote, according to TheWrap. “Have to go somewhere else until that LOSER is off the air — I’ll be back later!”
About an hour later, he attacked the network’s polling. “The Fox News Poll, always the worst, is so insulting with the questions they ask,” Trump wrote, calling every question “a hit job.”
In a third post, reported by the Daily Caller, Trump said Fox ratings were “way down (27%!)” because the network spends too much time covering “Trump Deranged Dumocrats.”
He also questioned why Fox Corp. donates to Democrats, naming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Reps. Jamie Raskin, Ted Lieu and Pete Aguilar, along with Democratic campaign committees.
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged on a Monday earnings call that Fox News ratings had declined year over year, saying viewers were watching less TV overall, according to the Daily Caller.
Axios noted that Trump has dined repeatedly with Fox patriarch Rupert Murdoch and hired talent from the network, and has come to expect favorable coverage Fox has not always provided this cycle.
Axios also reported that former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, now a Fox pundit, appeared on the network’s election coverage and said she had just spoken with the president.
TheWrap said a Fox representative did not immediately respond to its request for comment. Trump has repeatedly criticized the network this fall, including over its rally coverage in October.
The posts came as Republicans lost closely watched Senate races in North Carolina and New Hampshire, results the Associated Press called earlier in the evening.
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