Sen. Elizabeth Warren will not participate in a Fox News town hall during the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination season, saying Tuesday she did not want to legitimize the network which she called a “hate-for-profit racket.”
“I love town halls. I’ve done more than 70 since January, and I’m glad to have a television audience be a part of them. Fox News has invited me to do a town hall, but I’m turning them down — here’s why,” Warren said in a Twitter thread Tuesday morning. “Fox News is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists — it’s designed to turn us against each other, risking life and death consequences, to provide cover for the corruption that’s rotting our government and hollowing out our middle class.”
In her thread, Warren alluded to advertiser boycotts launched against Fox News hosts such as Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, and warned that Democrats appearing on the network were only giving cover to the network, which is actively trying to woo back sponsors.
“Fox News is struggling as more and more advertisers pull out of their hate-filled space. A Democratic town hall gives the Fox News sales team a way to tell potential sponsors it’s safe to buy ads on Fox — no harm to their brand or reputation (spoiler: It’s not),” she wrote. “I won’t ask millions of Democratic primary voters to tune into an outlet that profits from racism and hate in order to see our candidates — especially when Fox will make even more money adding our valuable audience to their ratings numbers.”
The Massachusetts lawmaker’s decision sets her apart from a slew of Democratic candidates who have already participated in Fox News town halls, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is also scheduled for an appearance later this week.
You can read the full thread here.
Reps for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.