It’s Not Just Trump Who Has a ‘Soft Ban’ From Fox News. His Family Has Also Disappeared From the Air

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The once cozy and symbiotic relationship between Fox News and former President Donald Trump is in a state of disrepair.

The top-rated network has slowly distanced itself from Trump over the years, an attempted break that began clumsily in the aftermath of the 2020 election when some at the network sought to push back on his stolen election fantasy — attempts that were overwhelmed by the loyalists at the network who shamelessly promoted it.

The relationship got considerably worse this week with the public release of the sworn testimony of Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, who admitted that some on-air hosts endorsed the stolen election lie. Those comments from Murdoch have unleashed a steady stream of bile from the former president against Fox News.

He accused Fox News of “aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION of America” and called for firing all Fox News anchors who correctly reported that his continuing stolen election claims are bullshit.

But there may be something else fueling Trump’s wrath.

The former president — and leading 2024 Republican candidate — has not appeared on Fox News since September, which has been described as a “soft ban” in reporting.

But a search of transcripts revealed it’s not just the former president who has been absent from the air at Fox. Trump family surrogates have not appeared on the network at all recently, even on the relatively unregulated prime time opinion shows.

His sons, Don Jr. and Eric Trump, have for years been regular guests on Fox News, both on news and opinion shows. And Lara Trump, who was once a paid contributor to the network until her ties to the Trump 2024 campaign, also ended that relationship.

Of course, Fox News cannot ice out a presidential candidate forever. Trump has been a fixture of Fox News programming for a decade. He still commands the fierce loyalty of many of  Fox’s millions of viewers. Polls show he is currently the strong favorite to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

So Trump will eventually return to the network at some point, but with whom will he sit down? Given the current reputational damage Fox News is facing for promoting Trump’s false claims of a stolen election, the network would be well served by the next interview coming from the news department: Bret Baier, John Roberts, or Bill Hemmer.

But does Trump really want to sit down and have to answer tough questions from a news anchor representing a network more eager than ever to show off its journalistic bonafides? A network that Trump has practically taunted into covering him in a negative light? It’s hard to envision that happening any time soon. If Trump opts instead for a prime-time ally? Well, that would reveal who has the upper hand between Trump and Fox News.

The former president is scheduled to speak at CPAC on Saturday at 5 p.m. Fox has almost entirely ignored CPAC this year, but taking his speech live could be a sign the network is trying to thaw tensions. To be honest, I expect Fox News to take Trump’s speech live, and I wouldn’t be surprised if, as a result, Trump returns the favor by avoiding attacks on the network.

Fox is still covering Trump. Having him and his family on air to promote his campaign — and its attacks on the network — is another thing altogether. I don’t expect to see Trump sit down with Fox News any time soon, but he will eventually return.

It’s up to Fox what kind of form that return will take.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.