Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
New Book Alleges Fox News Leaked Town Hall Questions to Trump Campaign
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 months ago on
January 9, 2025

Upcoming book alleges Fox News insider leaked town hall questions to Trump campaign, raising ethical concerns. (AP File)

Share

PHOENIX — Someone inside Fox News gave Donald Trump’s presidential campaign the questions he would face ahead of a town hall the network produced in January 2024, a forthcoming book alleges, according to excerpts obtained by The Associated Press.

The claim appears in “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power” by Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt, which is set to be published in March.

Isenstadt reports that about 30 minutes before the town hall was scheduled to begin in Iowa, “a senior Trump aide started getting text messages from a person on the inside at Fox…They were images of all the questions Trump would be asked and the planned follow-ups, down to the exact wording.”

“While we do not have any evidence of this occurring, and Alex Isenstadt has conveniently refused to release the images for fact checking, we take these matters very seriously and plan to investigate should there prove to be a breach within the network,” a Fox News spokesperson said.

Trump Campaign’s Preparation

Trump’s team was divided about whether he should agree to the town hall with Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum and that Trump wasn’t “taking prep for the telecast seriously. He’d basically be winging it.”

The book excerpts were first reported Wednesday by CNN.

The list of questions showed that the anchors planned to ask Trump if he would divest from his businesses if he won and whether he would be a risky Republican nominee because of his indictments, according to the book. Trump also would be pressed to “disavow political violence” and whether his White House “would be focused on retribution.”

Trump was not happy with the questions, Isenstadt reports, but the early peek at questions gave his team a chance to talk through answers.

Ethical Implications

Giving a presidential candidate an advance look at questions would represent a breach of journalism ethics. Networks hosting events like debates and town halls generally go to great lengths to limit access to their planned questions and prevent leaks.

Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, did not address the allegation. Said Cheung: “President Trump was the most accessible and transparent candidate in American history, and it’s a big reason why he won in historic fashion.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

DON'T MISS

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

DON'T MISS

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

DON'T MISS

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

4 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

4 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

4 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

4 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

4 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

5 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

5 hours ago

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

6 hours ago

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

6 hours ago

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

7 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

A federal judge in west Texas joined other courts in temporarily blocking the deportations of Venezuelan immigrants under an 18th-century wa...

23 minutes ago

23 minutes ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

30 minutes ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

4 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

4 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

4 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

4 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

4 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

4 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend