By Michael M. Grynbaum and Sydney Ember
April 17, 2019, 29
“There is an unlikely new hot spot for Democratic candidates: Fox News.
President Trump’s favorite network is increasingly playing host to hopefuls from the Democratic presidential field, eager for exposure to the vast Fox News audience — even as they risk a backlash from others in the party who view the network as an ideological menace.
The expedition into what many liberals consider enemy territory picked up this week after Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont appeared at a town hall on the network, drawing the biggest television audience of any 2020 Democratic candidate so far — more than 2.5 million people — while pitching himself to Trump-leaning viewers who may be willing to cross party lines next year.
On Wednesday, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said she had agreed to a Fox News town hall-style event next month. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., is in advanced talks with the network. Julián Castro, the former housing secretary, is close to signing on, and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey say they are open to the idea.
The debate over whether to appear on Fox News reflects in some ways a larger divide in the party as it ponders how to retake the White House: Should Democrats focus on expanding and mobilizing the various coalitions that make up their base, or seek inroads with the millions of Americans who supported Mr. Trump in 2016?” ”
David Lindsay:
Fascinating article, thank you Michael M. Grynbaum and Sydney Ember.
I feel a very negative reaction to any Democratic candidate for President who doesn’t have the chops to meet Fox News and speak to their viewers. These viewers are Americans, and Democrats are crazy to ignore them or write them off. I’m disappointed that Elizabeth Warren, who is supposed to be so smart, can’t figure this out. To not accept a chance to speak to these people about climate change, environmental degradation, income inequality, health care and the effect a green new deal can have on job creation, is beyond cautious, it’s dumb. I get that Fox News opinion mongers are tilted towards white supremacy, male chauvinism and a fascist’s carelessness with the truth and science, but to not speak to these people and their audience won’t convince any of them of the integrity of our ideas or policy positions.
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