Trump to start digital media outlet to undermine Fox – report
Donald Trump's decision to crush the dominant conservative news outlet seems linked to its early call that Arizona went to Joe Biden.
By AARON REICHUS President Donald Trump speaks about early results from the 2020 US presidential election in the East Room of the White House in Washington, US, November 4, 2020.(photo credit: CARLOS BARRIA / REUTERS)
Despite being considered by many as the pro-Republican news network, Fox News has made an enemy of US President Donald Trump, who wants to start a new media company to undermine what was once the voice of his staunchest supporters, Axios reported Thursday citing unnamed sources.Trump's change in opinion regarding Fox News seems to be linked to the election results, with Trump having been notably outraged at the network for its early call that President-elect Joe Biden would win the state of Arizona, though the Associated Press also called the state in Biden's favor.Trump "plans to wreck Fox. No doubt about it," one unnamed source with detailed knowledge of Trump's intentions told Axios.This same source disclosed the president's plan: starting a digital media channel to stream online and charging a monthly fee for conservative viewers. As many of these viewers are also Fox News viewers, and of their Fox Nation streaming service that comes with a subscription fee of $5.99 a month, the goal would be to steal these viewers and make it the new top conservative news service.At one point, a cable news channel was considered, but the source told Axios that this was too expensive and time-consuming.And while no plans for this news service have been officially announced, the president has made no secret of his distaste for Fox News. In recent months, Trump has been critical of the network and promoted other conservative outlets, such as Newsmax. He even criticized Fox News while being interviewed by the channel on Election Day, saying how "Fox has changed a lot," since 2016.However, his criticism has become even more overt, with his Twitter page on Thursday being filled with retweets of people criticizing Fox News, most of whom insist on leaving for other conservative outlets such as Newsmax and One America News.But despite having the president turn against them, the network still boasts a staunchly loyal base of viewers and years of dominance, and it seems Fox News thinks it is up to the challenge, Axios reported. Speaking on a November 3 earnings call, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the following: "We love competition. We have always thrived with competition... Fox News has been the number one network, including broadcast networks... from Labor Day through to Election Day."
