Fox News Playing Kingmaker With 2020 Democratic Candidate Town Halls

Shut out of the Democratic National Committee-sanctioned 2020 primary debates, Fox News is making its mark on the nominating contest by hosting a series of candidate town halls. On Tuesday, the network announced its latest event, with rising star candidate Pete Buttigieg on May 19.

Last week, the network announced plans for a town hall event in Wisconsin featuring Sen. Amy Klobuchar on May 8.

The Buttigieg town hall will be moderated by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace and will be held in early primary state New Hampshire.

The Klobuchar event will be moderated by news anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, who hosted an event with Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders earlier this month that drew nearly 2.6 million viewers.

“We look forward to hosting Mayor Buttigieg in New Hampshire and again showcasing our first-in-class journalism and election coverage,” said Fox News president Jay Wallace on Tuesday.

Wallace, in announcing the Klobuchar event last week, said his network “continues to produce highly informative and respectful town hall events, delivering record viewership and providing a platform to all candidates.”

The network, which is still hoping that Tom Perez’s DNC reconsiders its decision to bar it from the process, began the cycle with an April 4 town hall event featuring former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is considering a presidential run.

Asked about her candidate’s decision to participate in the Fox News town hall, a spokeswoman for Schultz told The Hollywood Reporter that “he believes in open press and wants to talk to everyone about how we can improve the system.”

Related Stories

Related Story

Trump Renews Criticism of Fox News With Bernie Sanders' Town Hall Retort