The set of “Morning Joe” offered high praise to Sen. Amy Klobuchar for participating in a Fox News town hall Wednesday evening, telling the 2020 presidential contender that it was important to reach out to the right-leaning network’s voters.
“We were so glad you did a Fox News debate,” co-host Joe Scarborough told the Minnesota senator, adding that it was dangerous to only “[preach] to the choir all the time.”
“It seems like Democrats have been uncomfortable going out and talking to people who may not agree with them 100% of the time,” he noted.
“I love that somebody from Minnesota went on Fox News and took your message to viewers who could be persuaded,” Scarborough said. “There are persuadables that watch Fox News.”
The host, a former GOP congressman from Florida, then spoke about Obama voters who had turned on Democrats to vote for Trump in 2016 as proof that Democrats needed to reach outside the bubble in order to beat Trump in 2020.
On set, Klobuchar said that reaching out to both sides of the political divide has always been a staple of her approach to politics and public service in elective office. “I did it because that is how I have governed and how I have won my elections in a purple state, and that is going not just where it’s comfortable but where it’s uncomfortable,” she said. “There is just no other way you can govern.”
The event with Klobuchar was another win for Fox News as it looks to make itself more appealing to national Democrats and fight back against critics who claim it serves as only as mouthpiece for the White House. The network is also seeking mainstream acceptance as it works to win back advertisers who have abandoned its primetime opinion stars, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.
The network previously hosted a successful town hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders last month and has another planned with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg later this month.
The event with Klobuchar also scored in the ratings with more than 1.6 million people tuning in, according to The Hill. Per usual, Fox News’ ratings trounced competitors CNN and MSNBC for the time slot.