The midterms have Fox News between a rock and a hard place: Election Night has been called “the Super Bowl for cable news,” as networks deploy countdown clocks and panel after panel of analysts. Because of its symbiotic relationship with Donald Trump, however, Fox News could experience a postgame hangover. Recent rating declines indicate that Trump-weary viewers and disaffected fans appear less inclined to watch their “team” lose. Fox News patriarch Rupert Murdoch, now 95, has always been a pragmatist when it comes to his beloved network and serving red meat to its audience. Yet as Trump’s act appears to have grown tired, even in the eyes of millions who voted for him, the network may be entering a perilous new phase.
Although Fox briefly distanced itself from Trump immediately after the 2020 election, the network scrambled back into his arms when MAGA loyalists tuned out, triggering a ratings slump and an internal panic that disgruntled Trump supporters would gravitate to other right-wing networks like Newsmax.
Fox’s daily audience has dropped a stark 27% over last year in October, its worst monthly performance in almost three years.
As it turned out, Newsmax’s inroads were short-lived, though Fox talents’ promotion of Trump’s 2020 election lies later led to a nearly $800 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Nevertheless, since then the cable news leader has generally sought to stay in Trump’s good graces. The favorable coverage, unsurprisingly, has included the parade of Fox alums in and out of the administration. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro are among more than two dozen personalities tapped by Trump, while former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly inked a contributor deal with Fox after exiting the job.
As many others have discovered, though, anything less than total fealty is insufficient for Trump, who has lashed out at Fox as his poll numbers have waned. With the president doing less “winning” than he claims, supporters seem to be averting their gaze. Fox’s daily audience has dropped a stark 27% over last… https://www.ms.now/opinion/fox-news-midterm-election-ratings