Trump says Fox & Friends has ‘gone to the dark side’, accuses host of ‘botching’ his poll numbers

Donald Trump blasted morning show Fox & Friends in a “Truth” posted to his Truth Social platform on Monday, continuing his longtime habit of providing live commentary of Fox News’s programming.

The ex-president also once again swung at Paul Ryan, the Republican House Speaker-turned business executive who currently sits on the board of directors at Fox News’s parent company.

In a post, Trump wrote that the show’s hosts “really botched my poll numbers, no doubt on purpose” on Monday’s show, apparently referring to the show’s coverage of a straw poll conducted over the weekend at Turning Point USA’s conference in Florida measuring attendees’ pick for the 2024 election.

He raged on: “That show has been terrible – gone to the ‘dark side.’ They quickly quote the big Turning Point Poll victory of almost 60 points over the number two Republican, and then hammer me with outliers. Actually, almost all polls have me leading all Republicans & [President Joe] Biden BY A LOT. [Republican In Name Only] Paul Ryan, one of the weakest and worst Speakers EVER, must be running the place. Anyway, thank you to Turning Point, the crowd & “love” was AMAZING!”

On Monday’s broadcast, the Fox & Friends co-hosts discussed a Turning Point USA poll conducted at a convention of right-wing activists showing a considerable number of Republicans and Americans in general hoping that Mr Trump does not run in 2024, or preferring another candidate even if he does.

“That is a little different than a couple of other polls we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks,” said co-host Steve Doocy.

“So it’s like the young people who are activists at that event like the former president, but looking at these other polls, different answer.”

The former president’s anger and criticism directed at Fox News has grown considerably since Mr Ryan joined the Fox Corporation board in 2019. He often criticised the network’s news side throughout 2020 and 2021 for not covering his false claims about widespread fraud supposedly leading to his defeat in the 2020 election against Joe Biden.

The Independent has reached out to Fox News for comment on the president’s latest remarks.

Mr Ryan has been one of the highest-profile Washington Republicans to publicly break with the ex-president, an awkward fact for the House’s current minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, who remains a Trump loyalist. In June, the former House speaker (whose position is coveted by Mr McCarthy as Republicans hope to take the House in November) defended the vote of South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice to impeach Mr Trump after January 6 and scorched members of his party who did not.

"There were a lot of people who wanted to vote like Tom but who just didn't have the guts to do it," the ex-congressman said at the time, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News. "There are a lot of people who say they're going to vote their conscience, they're going to vote for the Constitution, they're going to vote for their convictions but when it gets hard to do that they don't do it."