President Donald Trump lashed out at Fox News on Sunday in a tweet where he accused the cable news channel of pandering to Democrats by interviewing Democratic lawmakers involved in the current stage of the impeachment inquiry.
“Don’t get why @FoxNews puts losers on like @RepSwalwell (who got ZERO as presidential candidate before quitting), Pramila Jayapal, David Cicilline and others who are Radical Left Haters? The Dems wouldn’t let @FoxNews get near their bad ratings debates, yet Fox panders. Pathetic!” Trump wrote.
A representative for the Democratic National Committee did not immediately return a request for comment on Trump’s assertion “the Dems wouldn’t let Fox News near their bad ratings debates.”
The three individuals in the tweet are Democratic members who serve on the House Judiciary Committee, which is currently holding hearings into Trump’s impeachment inquiry. Rep. Eric Swalwell appeared on the network Friday. Cicilline was on the channel’s Sunday show.
A representative for Fox News did not immediately return a request for comment. After Trump’s tweet, all three name-checked representatives tweeted the same selfie back at him. In the photo, Reps. Swalwell, Jayapal and Cicilline are joined by Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, who also sits on the Judiciary Committee.
All three captioned the photo similarly, saying that while Trump is tweeting at them, they’re working to uphold the Constitution and to hold him accountable.
Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on Fox News this year, tweeting repeatedly throughout the summer and fall about Fox News, saying “ain’t what it used to be.” The network has not publicly responded to critical tweets but stood by its polling division earlier this year after a Fox News poll found about half of Americans favor impeachment. Trump wrote in response that “Whoever their pollster is, they suck.”
Trump tweeted or retweeted 105 tweets Sunday, according to CNN chief media correspondent and anchor Brian Stelter.