In the wake of RealClearPolitics associate editor and columnist A.B. Stoddard’s criticism of his past debate performances, Donald Trump took to Twitter Thursday and placed the blame on Fox News Channel board member and former House Speaker Paul Ryan .
According to Trump, Ryan — who joined the board in March of 2019 — is responsible for the network’s negative coverage of his 2016 presidential debate performances, per Breitbart .
“Could somebody at @foxnews please explain to Trump hater A.B. Stoddard (zero talent!) and @TeamCavuto, that I won every one of my debates, from beginning to end,” the president tweeted. “Check the polls taken immediately after the debates. The debates got me elected. Must be Fox Board Member Paul Ryan!”
Stoddard’s criticism was expressed on a recent Fox News panel on Your World with Neil Cavuto .
“I think that Donald Trump had disastrous debate performances.Many answers were so cringeworthy. You just couldn’t even believe that he was standing on the stage. And he’s president.”
In response to Trump’s attack, Mediaite reports that Cavuto fired back at the closing of Thursday’s edition of his show.
“He did not [win the debates],” Cavuto said, pointing to the reportedly unanimous opinion of experts and polls that agreed Trump lost his 2016 debates.
As for Trump blaming Ryan, the 50-year-old politician was reported to have spoken to Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch about breaking with Trump. Ryan allegedly said that a “decisive split with Trump is the best path forward and preparation for “life after Trump.”
According to Vanity Fair , an executive who has been in contact with Ryan claimed that he is “embarrassed” about the president and feels like he now has the influence to “do something about it.”
Trump’s relationship with Fox News has been rocky for some time. As The Inquisitr previously reported, he has shifted some of his attention to One America News Network (OAN), which frequently attacks mainstream media and circulates theories that are often spread by Trump and his allies.
Charles Herring, president of Herring Broadcasting and son of OAN’s founder, Robert Herring, claims that the network is the only one that carries Trump’s speeches in their entirety — something he claims will be done for any president in the future.
In response to the apparent breakup of Trump and Fox News, many have taken to social media to express their feelings.
“This is going to be a really ugly breakup,” tweeted former Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh, who said that the network is going to dump the president when it discovers he’s a “loser.”