Trump vs. Fox News? President Attacks Right-Leaning Network Over Bad Poll Numbers, Says 'Fox Has Changed'

President Trump criticized Fox News Sunday afternoon after the media outlet released polling taken Aug. 11-13 that showed him trailing by six or more points behind Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The same poll showed 56% of Americans disapprove of Trump's job performance.

"Well Fox has given me – I'll tell you, Fox News is a lot different than it used to be, I can tell you that... Fox has changed. And my worst polls have always been from Fox. There's something going on at Fox, I'll tell you. And I'm not happy with it," Trump said before boarding Air Force One.

Fox News has often been the president's favorite news station, as hosts like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson present passionate defenses of Trump's signature policies on topics such as immigration and trade to millions of nightly viewers. Hannity in particular has been criticized for his closeness with Trump after he stood on stage with the president during one of his boisterous rallies.

Trump has so often praised Fox coverage of his presidency that he has used the pronoun "we" when discussing Fox News, implying that he and Fox are on the same team. Trump also frequently tweets favorable Fox News segments.

Nicole Hemmer, a professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia, has even claimed that Fox News is the closest the U.S. has come to having a state television channel.

Fox does employ some Trump detractors. Juan Williams, one of the panelists on Fox's evening discussion program "The Five," frequently criticizes the president on issues such as trade and race relations. Trump tweeted over the weekend that Williams is "pathetic" and "always nasty and wrong."

Shepard Smith, who also hosts his own evening program on the channel, has also rebuked the president's rhetoric and policies. In October, Smith shot back at Trump's claim that migrants in a caravan were invading the U.S. border ahead of midterm elections.

"There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you," Smith said. "There is nothing at all to worry about." Trump in the past has frequently said that migrants from Mexico are "bringing drugs and crime" across the border.

There are signs that Trump may be turning away from Fox to other outlets, such as right-wing pay television news channel One America News Network (OANN), which was launched in 2013. The outlet unwaveringly supports Trump and spreads conspiracy theories that Trump has retweeted, such as the accusation that the Obama administration spied on his 2016 presidential campaign.

In April, Fox News hosted a town hall for presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, much to the displeasure of Trump. In the following weeks after the event, Trump frequently promoted OANN content on Twitter numerous times.

Trump has had a contentious relationship with the media during his tenure, frequently calling news outlets "fake news" or "the lamestream media." White House press briefings in the Trump administration have been shorter and fewer in number than his predecessors Barack Obama and George W. Bush.