Warren turns down Fox town hall invite, rips network as ‘hate-for-profit racket’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that she will not participate in a town hall event with Fox News, blasting the network as a “hate-for-profit machine.”

“I’ve done 57 media avails and 131 interviews, taking over 1,100 questions from press just since January,” the 2020 presidential candidate wrote in a series of tweets. “Fox News is welcome to come to my events just like any other outlet. But a Fox News town hall adds money to the hate-for-profit machine. To which I say: hard pass.” 

I’ve done 57 media avails and 131 interviews, taking over 1,100 questions from press just since January. Fox News is welcome to come to my events just like any other outlet. But a Fox News town hall adds money to the hate-for-profit machine. To which I say: hard pass.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 14, 2019

Warren sent out a fundraising email to supporters shortly after the announcement, doubling down on her denouncement of the network.{mosads}

“Fox News is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists — it’s designed to turn us against each other, risking life and death consequences, to provide cover for the corruption that’s rotting our government and hollowing out our middle class,” Warren wrote in the email.

“Hate-for-profit works only if there’s profit, so Fox News balances a mix of bigotry, racism, and outright lies with enough legit journalism to make the claim to advertisers that it’s a reputable news outlet,” she added.

Her decision bucks recent trends in her own party, coming after a number of other 2020 Democrats have held town halls on the network.

Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was featured in a live event from Bethlehem, Pa., that drew nearly 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched town hall of the year. 
 
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) appeared in a Fox town hall last week, drawing 1.6 million total viewers. 

And South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg will appear in a Fox News town hall on Sunday, while Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will be featured on June 2. 
 
The decisions to appear on the network by other contenders come even after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) barred Fox News in March from hosting a Democratic presidential primary debate over what DNC Chairman Tom Perez characterized as the network’s reported close ties with the Trump administration.

But Warren in March called Fox News “a propaganda machine” after the DNC’s decision to ban the network from hosting a primary debate.

“It just looks like a propaganda machine,” she told MSNBC. But Warren also added that she appreciated the value of reaching a wide variety of voters. 

“I want to be able to get out and talk to everyone,” she said. “I want to be in everybody’s living room.”

Warren has been climbing up in recent polls, as her almost single-minded focus on policy and her ambitious field organizing show signs of paying off.

The senator has done two town halls for CNN, with her latest for the network in April garnering praise from political pundits. 

Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), who is also vying for the party’s nomination, offered to take Warren’s place in a Fox News town hall, saying Democrats needed to “talk to all voters.” 
 
“If you’re not using your town hall, I will. Democratic candidates have to campaign everywhere and talk to all voters,” Delaney wrote on Twitter.   

If you’re not using your town hall, I will. Democratic candidates have to campaign everywhere and talk to all voters. https://t.co/jH5ZwYRtEg

— John Delaney (@JohnDelaney) May 14, 2019

Sanders, a close progressive rival to Warren, drew praise for his Fox News town hall, which was seen as a bid to appeal to more conservative Trump voters who tend to favor the network. 

Klobuchar urged other Democrats to appear on Fox News. 

“One of the reasons I came on this show is that I believe candidates for office, whether Democrat or Republican, have to go not just where it’s comfortable, but where it’s uncomfortable,” Klobuchar told Fox News anchor Bret Baier in February. 

“Fox may not always be comfortable for Democrats, but I want to make that point,” she later added.

Updated 12:03 p.m.