Fox News’s Decision Desk Director Arnon Mishkin was awarded a fellowship at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
Mishkin’s fellowship will begin this fall, as part of a program that the university describes as an opportunity for its students “to learn from prominent public servants, engage in civil discourse, and acquire a more holistic and pragmatic view of our political world.”
The head of Fox News’s Decision Desk since 2008, Mishkin found himself on the receiving end of attacks from former President Trump and his reelection campaign last year after calling the state of Arizona for President Biden.
During the 2020 election, Biden won the state by less than a percentage point — the first Democrat to win the state in more than 20 years.
After Mishkin’s call, which came just before midnight eastern on election night, members of the Trump campaign reportedly directed operatives to call the network directly and urge them to rescind the call.
Fox News media correspondent Howard Kurtz reported on Nov. 9 of last year that Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, had called Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch to complain about Mishkin’s call of Arizona.
The Trump campaign also issued a statement after the Arizona race call labeling Mishkin as a “[Hillary] Clinton-voting, Biden-donating Democrat.”
Mishkin has donated to members of both the Democratic and Republican parties, The Hill previously reported.
“Arithmetic is more important than politics when it comes to making a decision and you’ve just got to check your preferences at the door and decide who has won this thing,” Mishkin said during a subsequent appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Trump and his supporters contend the vote totals in Arizona were not accurately counted, an assertion that has not been proven.
In the final days of the campaign, Trump relentlessly attacked Fox News, suggesting it had gone soft on Biden and was not covering him fairly.
“The biggest difference between now and 2016 is @FoxNews,” Trump tweeted weeks before election day.
“They are a whole different deal. Despite this, our campaign is doing much better, with bigger crowds and even more (much!) enthusiasm, than we had in 2016.”