Fox News Media announced on Thursday that its flagship news network will provide comprehensive coverage of the upcoming CNN presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, thereby ensuring that viewers can tune into Fox to watch the debate.
“FOX News Media will present extensive live coverage of the CNN presidential debate between candidates President Joe Biden (D) and former President Donald Trump (R) on Thursday, June 27th in Atlanta, Georgia. Special programming will be available across all of FOX News Media’s key platforms, including FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio and FOX Nation,” a release marking the announcement read.
Fox News Channel has consistently dominated cable news ratings and has surpassed CNN in viewership for many years. In May, Fox occupied nearly all of the top 100 telecasts and posted double-digit viewer increases while CNN experienced its lowest-rated month in primetime since 1991.
Fox News’s announcement that it will simulcast the historic face-off will allow viewers to tune into Fox without having to turn on CNN.
Many cable news viewers have increasingly grown tired of CNN’s biased coverage against Trump, which could’ve had the unintended secondary effect of pushing viewers right to Fox.
Biden agreed to face off in both presidential debates on May 15 over social media.
Biden posted a video on social media platform X announcing he would be willing to debate Trump, saying, “Well, make my day, pal.”
Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate.
Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again.
Well, make my day, pal. pic.twitter.com/AkPmvs2q4u
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024
Do you ever watch CNN on purpose?
Yes: 3% (24 Votes)
No: 97% (698 Votes)
Trump shot back at Biden in a post on his Truth Social app writing, “Let’s get ready to rumble!!! I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September.” He added, “Just tell me when, I’ll be there.”
Meanwhile, Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr — an Independent now after years of being a Democrat — accused Trump and Biden of “colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want. They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy,” in a tweet on X.
Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want.
They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 15, 2024
Kennedy did not qualify for the CNN debate based on the qualifications the network set. CNN required candidates to be registered on enough state ballots to qualify for a hypothetical 270 electoral votes, and must poll above 15 percent in at least four nationally recognized polls.
Kennedy fell short of both marks.
Coverage of the June 27 event begins at 7 pm ET with a special edition of “Jesse Watters Primetime.” The debate is set to take place from 9-11 pm ET on both Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
Post-debate analysis will reportedly be hosted by Sean Hannity live from the spin room in Atlanta and will be followed by “Fox News @ Night” anchored by Trace Gallagher.
The second debate between Trump and Biden, which will be hosted by ABC, is slated to take place on Sept. 10.
Trump and Biden first debated each other during the 2020 presidential election while Trump was the incumbent president and Biden the Democratic challenger.
The debates occurred on September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio, and on October 22, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee.
