On Friday, the hosts of Fox and Friends – visibly dazed by the GOP’s historic midterm defeat – found themselves struggling to understand the “message” voters sent to President Donald Trump. While they mulled over a number of possible issues that contributed to the Republican loss, they agreed on one thing: voters are “angry.”
“It’s just shocking. Mind-blowing,” declared host Ainsley Earhardt. “What happened in South Carolina? What happened in Texas? Is it Republican fatigue? Conservative fatigue? Or they just want change?” In her estimation, the loss by Texas Governor Greg Abbott was particularly suggestive. “Everyone loves him in Texas, but he lost,” said Earheardt. “And he didn’t lose by just one percent. People didn’t necessarily love [Ken] Paxton as a candidate because of his controversial past, but with Abbott, they do, but he still lost. Is that just Republican fatigue?”
Fox political anchor Bret Baier argued that the losses were driven by different factors in different states, but felt that overall, the “headwinds were so heavy on the economy, on gas prices, and the war in Iran – this country is not into this war.” According to Baier, Fox’s own data showed more than mere disapproval of the war. “It was kind of like anger inside those numbers,” he mused. “On a number of different fronts.”
“Oh, Bret, it wasn’t ‘kind of,’” lamented host Lawrence Jones. “If we look at all of these conservative states, they’re sending a message: you’re not listening to me. It’s not that they were ignorant about the socialist candidates. They even said in our Fox News polling that they reject socialism, yet they still elected them. It’s almost as if they’re trying to send a message.” Baier agreed, quoting a prominent Republican strategist. “Alex Castellanos said it’s the red scream,” said Baier. “In other words, look at me. I’ve got a message to send you.”
Trump-aligned Fox News has spent the past week coming to terms with the election results, prompting several hosts to offer advice directed at the president. According to host Laura Ingraham, Trump needs to “do some hard thinking” about what voters actually want and “move on” from the war. She backs this up by noting that a Fox News analysis found 94 percent of midterm voters said the Iran war was a major factor in their vote. “That’s just a fact,” Ingraham emphasized. “It’s not an opinion. That’s what we found. And pretty much every opinion poll since the election found the same thing.” And Fox host Trey Gowdy asserted that Trump’s problem extends well beyond the war, noting, “Affordability and corruption were cited by far more voters.”
But many conservative voices don’t think Trump is getting the message, worrying that he appears to be doubling down on the very policies and actions that lost the midterms. According to veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove, it seems like Trump “still thinks he’s winning,” and Republicans need to ditch his “performance art” approach to politics. Conservative radio host Erick Erickson arrived at a similar conclusion, asserting that Trump’s persistently “crazy” behavior means it’s time for Republicans to “move on” from MAGA.