Fox News ‘Not Wavering’ On Call That Joe Biden Won Arizona Despite Tightening Race
Fox News said it is standing by the decision to call the Arizona race in favor of Joe Biden. The network came under fire on Wednesday and Thursday for calling the contest as newly counted ballots show the numbers continuing to tighten.
The cable network was among the first to declare Arizona for Biden, announcing that the former vice president would come out ahead in the key battleground state just hours after the close of polls. The decision was met with controversy and even garnered some pushback from Trump and other top Republicans.
A source told Vanity Fair that the president personally called owner Rupert Murdoch to yell at him about the decision and insisted that the network retract their call. The report noted that Fox refused to walk back its call, and has remained adamant about the decision.
On Thursday, anchor Chris Wallace said that the network was “not wavering” and was confident in its decision to declare the Democratic candidate the winner.
Chris Wallace: "I did check in with our decision desk earlier today & they're not wavering — they say that our call on Arizona is right, which puts him at 264. And if Biden wins any of the 3 states [NV, GA, or PA] … he goes over the top." pic.twitter.com/OyCvLytGxX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 5, 2020
As Wallace pointed out, the win in Arizona means that Biden only needs to win one of the remaining battlegrounds — Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada — in order to cross the 270 electoral vote threshold and win the White House.
The Associated Press, which also called Arizona for Biden, reported on Wednesday that there were still roughly 450,000 votes to be counted, with the number dropping as the day went on. The Democratic candidate was maintaining a 2.35 percentage point lead at the time, with an advantage of close to 68,000 votes. Most of the ballots remaining came from Maricopa County, the most populous area of Arizona and home to the city of Phoenix.
“The Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona as they come in,” said Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor. “We will follow the facts in all cases.”
Other media outlets have held off on calling the key battleground, waiting until all the counting has completed or until the data shows signs of an insurmountable lead.
Vanity Fair also noted that there has been simmering animosity between Murdoch and the president for some time now. Trump recently complained to the Fox News owner about polling that showed him losing the election. The outlet added that Murdoch has been telling associates that he believed the incumbent would lose. He has also taken aim at Wallace in the past after some tough questioning from the anchor, including at the first presidential debate.
