Fox News on Monday cut away from a press conference during which White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused Democrats of “welcoming” fraud and illegal voting.
“She is charging that the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continuing showing you this,” Fox News host Neil Cavuto said on air as the network cut away from the press conference in Washington, D.C.
“Maybe they do have something to back that up, but that’s an explosive charge to make that the other side is effectively rigging and cheating,” Cavuto continued.
The move represented a notable shift for Fox, which often airs President Trump’s press conferences and rallies continuously regardless of his false claims.
The news conference marked the latest effort by Trump’s allies to challenge the results of the election in which Joe Biden was projected by networks and other news organizations monitoring results as the winner over Trump last week.
McEnany, who said she was speaking in her personal capacity, began by declaring that the election is “not over” and that Republicans had “only begun the process of obtaining an accurate, honest vote count.”
She went on to accuse Democrats of opposing voter ID laws, verifying signatures and other identity markers, and preventing observers from watching ballots being counted in the past election.
“You don’t take these positions because you want an honest election,” McEnany said, accusing Democrats of “welcoming fraud” and “welcoming illegal voting.”
Fox News cut away shortly thereafter and did not resume airing the press conference.
When McEnany was asked by a reporter later on during the press conference whether she knew fraudulent votes were cast, she said that campaign officials were asking for “patience” to vet reports raising suspicions of fraud.
“What we are asking for right now is patience as we explore these equal protection claims among others,” McEnany said.
Trump and his campaign have been raising allegations of fraud since last week that have yet to be substantiated.
McEnany and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Monday cited anecdotes about voting irregularities in Nevada and Michigan and insisted that officials were not given adequate access to view votes being counted in Philadelphia.
McDaniel said that officials would pursue all legal avenues but admitted it may not be enough to change the results of the election.
“Is it going to be enough? We don’t know. Is it going to take time? Yes,” she said.
Trump has refused to concede the election to Biden, who has been projected as the winner in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin, and who holds leads in Arizona and Georgia. Fox News and The Associated Press projected him as the winner in Arizona last week.
Some leading Republicans have backed Trump’s efforts to pursue legal action, and only a few have publicly acknowledged Biden as the president-elect. Still, some Republicans have been critical of the president’s rhetoric and doubted his claims of widespread fraud in the election.