Fox News Downplays Poll Showing 63% Say Trump Hurt Economy, Democrats Lead by 7

2 articles · Updated · The New Republic · Sep 18

A new Fox poll found 63% of voters say the Trump administration made the economy worse, with Democrats ahead 51%-44% on the generic ballot and Democratic voter interest topping Republicans 64%-53%.
Fox hosts largely avoided Trump’s headline approval number and instead argued with voters’ views on inflation and the economy, according to Media Matters analyst Matt Gertz, who described the network’s strategy as creating “negative space” around damaging news.
That pattern extends beyond the poll: Gertz said Fox sharply reduced Iran coverage after the war drove fuel prices higher, with mentions on five major evening shows down 78% from June to August.
He also said Fox skipped other politically harmful stories, including backlash over Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French’s racist post and reports on Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding financing, while senior analyst Brit Hume was a rare on-air voice calling rising prices politically damaging.
The broader implication, Gertz argued, is that Fox is struggling to protect Trump while preparing for a possible post-Trump Republican fight, with factions already split between figures such as JD Vance and Marco Rubio.