Fox News Hesitant to Support Trump's Election Claims After Past Mistakes

WHO:

Alternet - President Donald Trump delivered a national address.

Alternet - Bret Baier is the chief political anchor at Fox News.

Alternet - Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters are top network talent at Fox News.

Alternet - Mark Levin is a Fox News host who previously supported Trump’s legal theories.

Alternet - Shannon Bream is an anchor on 'Fox News Sunday'.

WHAT:

Alternet - Fox News avoided promoting Trump’s claims during his address.

Alternet - Bret Baier stated that Fox News "has not seen the evidence yet and is not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the president’s statement and claims."

Alternet - Fox News experienced an "almost total blackout" of Trump’s speech.

Alternet - Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.

Alternet - Fox News is facing an ongoing $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic.

WHERE:

Alternet - The events took place on Fox News, a major cable news network in the United States.

WHY:

Alternet - Fox News has learned an "expensive lesson" from past mistakes regarding Trump's election claims.

Alternet - The network's leadership appears to have drawn a firm line due to the financial and reputational damage from the Dominion settlement.

HOW:

Alternet - Fox News executives and hosts privately mocked and disbelieved Trump's claims while broadcasting them to avoid losing viewers to rival networks.

(UPDATED July 22, 2026 20:26 UTC)

In a national address, President Trump faced an "almost total blackout" on Fox News, where the network's leadership has drawn a firm line following a costly defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Chief political anchor Bret Baier stated that Fox News "has not seen the evidence yet and is not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the president’s statement and claims." Despite the network's past support for Trump's legal theories, executives and hosts privately expressed skepticism about his claims while continuing to broadcast them to retain viewers.