Independent Vermont Sen. and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders explained why he’ll be participating in a town hall on Fox News next week during his appearance on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” on Thursday night.
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“I mean, young people, people of color, you’ve connected with so many groups, and now what’s really interesting to me is it recently came out that you have decided to do a Fox News town hall. Even though, you know, the DNC made a decision to not go with Fox News for any of the debates. You’re breaking with that line of thinking some would say. But, Bernie, why would you go to Fox News? It’s not a legitimate news organization. What are you doing there?” Noah asked.
“Trust me, I know Fox News,” Sanders answered. “I know who they are and I know the role that they are playing. So, to me, it is important to distinguish Fox News from the many millions of people who watch Fox News.”
“I think it is important to talk to those people and say, ‘You know what? I know many of you voted for Donald Trump, but he lied to you. He told you, for example, he was going to provide healthcare to all people, now he wants to throw 30 million people off the healthcare that they had. He told you that he was going to give tax reform that would not benefit the wealthy. 83% of the benefits go to the top 1%,” he continued. “So I think it is important to talk to Trump supporters and explain to them to what degree he has betrayed the working class of this country and lied during his campaign in terms of what he would do.”
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during a news conference on Yemen resolution on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas.
As Noah referenced, the DNC announced last month that they would not permit Fox News to host a presidential debate leading up to the 2020 presidential election. DNC Chairman Tom Perez said that Fox News is “not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate.”
Perez’s decision was predicated on earlier reporting from by Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, which alleged that Fox News has become a propaganda outlet for the Trump administration.
Fox News Senior Vice President Bill Sammon criticized Perez’s decision, pointing out that Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum “embody the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism.”