Fox News announced Tuesday that they will host a presidential town hall with Democratic candidate and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Sunday, May 19.
The town hall, which will take place in Claremont, New Hampshire, will be moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace.
“We look forward to hosting Mayor Buttigieg in New Hampshire and again showcasing our first-in-class journalism and election coverage,” said Jay Wallace, the president and executive editor of Fox News and Fox Business Network, in a statement Tuesday morning.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announces that he will be seeking the Democratic nomination … (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Buttigieg hosted his second event of the sort on CNN.
Fox News has hosted two town halls this election season thus far. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll formally enter the race, had one earlier this month. It drew nearly 1.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Last week, 2020 frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders held a town hall on the network that attracted more than 2.5 million viewers, the most among all of the town halls on any network so far. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is scheduled to have a town hall on Fox News on Wednesday, May 8. (Bernie Mentioned On Cable News Nearly Twice As Much As Any Other Candidate)
Both Schultz’ and Sanders’ town halls were moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, who are set to moderate Klobuchar’s event, as well.
These four Democratic candidates have spurred the Democratic National Committee’s decision not to allow the network to host a presidential debate.
DNC Chairman Tom Perez released a statement about the DNC’s decision back in March, saying that Fox News is “not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate,” citing a New Yorker report, which alleged that Fox News has become a propaganda outlet for the Trump administration.
