Trump At War With Fox News? President Is 'Not Happy' With Coverage, Claims It Wants To Be 'Politically Correct'

President Trump on Tuesday said he is “not happy” with Fox News and claimed the right-leaning 24-hour news network "wants to be politically correct all of a sudden." Trump has often had a very favorable relationship with Fox News, which is often considered to have a strong bias in favor of Republicans.

"I'm not happy with Fox at all," Trump told Christian Broadcast Network chief political analyst David Brody. "My base hates what Fox News is doing."

Trump later added that "Fox News wants to be politically correct all of a sudden," referring to negative coverage of his administration. "[Former Fox News CEO] Roger Ailes would never have let this happen.”

Ailes died in 2017 and resigned in 2016 after sexual assault allegations from 23 women. He had managed the network for nearly 20 years.

In the interview, Trump praised Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. On Thursday, Trump will take questions at a Fox News town hall event in Wisconsin with Hannity, who is a fierce ally of Trump.

Trump has harshly criticized some anchors, most notably Neil Cavuto and Chris Wallace. In May, Cavuto criticized Trump’s promotion of hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for the coronavirus. In response, Trump called Cavuto an “idiot.”

“We miss the great Roger Ailes,” Trump tweeted at the time. “You have more anti-Trump people, by far, than ever before. Looking for a new outlet!”

Trump has recently turned his attention to One America News Network. OANN has produced favorable coverage of Trump, with the network often promoting some unfounded theories that Trump has promoted. In June, Trump tweeted that an elderly protester injured by police during the George Floyd demonstrations was a member of Antifa, responding to a story from OANN. There was no evidence to support the claim.

Trump has also floated the idea of starting his own news network, as an alternative to established news outlets such as CNN.

“CNN is a voice that really seems to be the voice out there and it’s a terrible thing for our country,” Trump said at a seniors event in Florida in October. “We ought to start our own network and put some real news out there, because they are so bad for our country.”

There had been speculation that Trump wanted to create his own news network if he did not win the 2016 election.

“We’re looking at that. We should do something about it, too,” he said about starting a news outlet. “Put some really talented people and get a real voice out there, not a voice that's fake.”

Trump has frequently attacked the mainstream media for “fake news” coverage of his administration and has called the media "the enemy of the people." He has also threatened to open up libel laws to make it easier to sue journalists, drawing condemnation from civil liberties organizations.