new york
CNN
—
According to a forthcoming book, President-elect Donald Trump’s team received advance questions from a Fox News anchor at an Iowa town hall last January from network insiders, but this was not a journalistic decision. constitutes a serious violation of ethics.
The report, which Fox announced it plans to investigate, is based on the upcoming book “Revenge: Inside the Return of Trump” by Alex Eisenstadt, a national policy correspondent for Politico. Eisenstadt conducted more than 300 interviews for the book, including internal memos, memos and recordings, as well as regular reporting trips to Palm Beach and Trump’s June 2023 plane ride. Based on flight.
In two excerpts shared exclusively with CNN, Eisenstadt describes President Trump’s deep relationship with people within Fox News. Eisenstadt reports that then-candidate Trump plans to hold a town hall with Iowa voters in January 2024, moderated by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha McCallum. However, not all of Trump’s advisers wanted him to attend.
“They remained hostile to Fox’s coverage and did not want the former president to appear on prime-time events,” Isenstadt wrote. “But Mr. Trump had a good relationship with Mr. Baier and they were golf buddies, so he wanted to meet.”
But unlike other Fox hosts, Mr. Baier and Mr. McCollum were known for their tougher questioning of former presidents. Eisenstadt also reported that Trump’s aides have warned that if he is re-elected, they will press him on whether he disavows political violence and plans political retaliation. However, Mr. Trump “did not seriously prepare for the television broadcast.” He would basically promote it. ”
“About 30 minutes before the town hall started, senior aides started receiving text messages from Fox insiders. Oh my god, the team thought, these are all the things President Trump would be asked.” “It was a picture depicting the questions and planned follow-up, down to the exact wording. It was like a student peeking into a test before it started,” Eisenstadt wrote. Masu.
Mr. Baier and Mr. McCollum “planned to ask President Trump whether he intended to exit the business if he won and whether the party was taking a risk in nominating him given the circumstances of the indictment.” They planned to “press President Trump to ‘deny political violence’ and ask if the White House would ‘focus on retaliation.'”
Eisenstadt wrote that Trump felt the question was “like an attack meant to put him on the defensive” and that “Trump was furious.”
But ahead of the TV broadcast, the team “prepared questions” and “worked out answers.”
Eisenstadt told CNN that the anecdote was based on “multiple individuals with direct knowledge” of the incident and that he had full confidence in the report.
Asked about the account, a Fox spokesperson said: “We have no evidence that this happened and Alex Eisenstadt conveniently declined to release images for fact-checking.” However, we take these matters very seriously and will investigate any facts that come to light.” This is a breach within the network. ”
The spokesperson also disputed the notion that Mr. Baier is a “golf buddy” with Mr. Trump, saying the two have only played together a few times over the past decade.
Incoming White House communications director Stephen Chan did not directly address the book’s allegations about the town hall, but said in a statement to CNN, “President Trump is the most approachable and transparent candidate in American history, and That’s a big reason why he won the presidential election.” historical fashion. ”
Elsewhere in the book, Isenstadt notes that President Trump was seriously considering selecting Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo as his running mate before being persuaded by his team to quit. It is reported that
Bartiromo was “Mr. Trump’s favorite,” Eisenstadt reported. After fiercely defending him and doing numerous softball interviews with him over the years, including his first on-air sit-down since the 2020 election, she gave his team a head start on her questions. Please answer in advance.
In 2022, CNN reported that Bartiromo sent a text message to Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, outlining the questions he planned to ask during his November 2020 interview with Trump. The text messages were revealed as part of a congressional investigation into the January 6 US presidential election. In 2021, the Capitol attack.
Eisenstadt wrote in his book that Trump was “serious about Bartiromo and advocated for her on the flight to Butler, Pennsylvania.” She was great with big Wall Street donors and knew how to do television, Trump told his team.
But Trump’s team said, “We don’t have time here to vet Mr. Bartiromo as we have spent months with other candidates,” and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles ended the conversation. Ta.
When asked for comment, Chang did not directly address the allegations about Bartiromo, saying, “Vice President-elect Vance was the perfect choice for President Trump’s running mate.” There has never been a stronger champion of America First, and he will continue to be a leader in this movement for years to come. ”
“Revenge” is scheduled to be released in March by Grand Central Publishing.
