Former President Donald Trump is ramping up his attacks on conservative network Fox News.
Trump lashed out at Fox during a Monday interview on Eric Bolling The Balance, which airs on rival conservative outlet Newsmax. The former president said that he would not participate in a GOP presidential primary debate that Fox is set to air on August 23 because it would be hosted on a "hostile network" and feature other "candidates that are against" him.
Trump singled out his recent interview with Fox anchor Bret Baier, which aired last week, as evidence of Fox's supposed hostility. The ex-president complained that the interview was not "friendly" because Baier was not "smiling" and repeating his campaign slogan by saying "Let's make America great again" during their exchange.
"The interview with Bret—I thought it was fine, I thought it was ok, but there was nothing friendly about it," Trump said. "You know, it was nasty. And I thought I did a good job. I've been given credit for doing a good job. But... people said, 'Why would you do it?'
"Everything was unfriendly," he continued. "No smiling. No, 'Let's have fun, let's make America great again.' Everything was like a hit. So, you know, you have a hostile network."
In a Truth Social post earlier in the day, Trump ripped Fox for a rating decline and said that the network's supposed focus on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his top 2024 GOP rival, and a lack of coverage of his own campaign were the reasons that he would not be participating in the debate.
The former president lamented that Fox "doesn't cover" the fact that he was given a "Man of the Decade" award from the Republican Party in Michigan's Oakland County over the weekend or his speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C., despite the network having covered both events.
"So FoxNews, which is down 37% in the Ratings, doesn't cover my getting the 'Man of the Decade' Award (because of my great trade policies!) in Michigan, or my Keynote Speech for Faith & Freedom in D.C., and then wants me to show up and get them ratings for their 'Presidential' Debate, where I'm leading the field by 40 points," Trump wrote.
"All they do is promote, against all hope, Ron DeSanctimonious, and he's dropping like a rock," he added. "Sorry FoxNews, life doesn't work that way!!!"
Although Fox has extensively covered Trump since he was a candidate in the 2016 election, the network has recently dialed back its live coverage of some events featuring the ex-president, such as the Michigan event where he accepted the "Man of the Decade" award.
Baier's one-on-one interview with Trump featured several tense moments, including an exchange that went viral and featured the former president being confronted with a long list of former allies and administration officials who turned against him.
Newsweek has reached out to Fox News via email for comment.
