Fox News anchor Bret Baier took a moment during the commercial break of his news program Wednesday to push back against a claim of bias from a CNN reporter.
“Sorry you missed the beginning of the show Oliver. And the panel segment — but thanks for the tweet,” Baier tweeted in response to scathing criticism from CNN’s Oliver Darcy during his show over coverage of President Trump’s White House address blaming voter fraud for his defeat.
Darcy, a strident critic of Fox News, responded by acknowledging that the show did fact-check the president’s voter fraud claims but took issue with the lack of “context” later in the show.
“I am mid-show,” Baier shot back. “But you may want to rewind Kevin Corke’s piece — the discussion with the panel. It’s called balance. You should try it. Thanks for always tuning in.”
Sorry you missed the beginning of the show Oliver. And the panel segment —but thanks for the tweet. https://t.co/jqRVi9fNi7
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) December 2, 2020
I am mid-show. But you may want to rewind Kevin Corke’s piece -the discussion with the panel. It’s called balance. You should try it. Thanks for always tuning in. https://t.co/yJ6mdx6C8n
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) December 2, 2020
Darcy responded by sarcastically pointing out four chyrons that aired during the program.
Hard-hitting stuff, Bret. pic.twitter.com/wF0iR1q384
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 2, 2020
Conservatives on Twitter quickly pounced on Darcy and supported Baier’s decision to call out the reporter while the program was still airing.
Baier “just torched Oliver Darcy while on commercial. Lol,” Spectator USA contributor Stephen L. Miller tweeted.
Brett Baier just torched Oliver Darcy while on commercial. Lol.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 2, 2020
“.@BretBaier just out here body-bagging Conservative Media Benedict Arnold @OliverDarcy,” Newsbusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck tweeted before referencing leaked recordings this week that allegedly show CNN’s top brass coordinating how to cover certain news stories favorable to the president. “CNN is having a tough week. #CNNTapes,” Houck’s tweet continued.
.@BretBaier just out here body-bagging Conservative Media Benedict Arnold @OliverDarcy.
CNN is having a tough week. #CNNTapes https://t.co/TTlE9DkLgD
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 2, 2020
Others on Twitter joined in on Darcy’s criticism of Fox News, including Washington Post reporter Jeremy Barr, who linked to an article questioning the impartiality of Baier.
“The Partisanship Comes Through Very Slyly”: https://t.co/kzphJck89s https://t.co/QUDt6m2lwv
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) December 2, 2020
Darcy addressed the controversy in his Reliable Sources newsletter, pointing out that CNN “declined to air” Trump’s statements on alleged voter fraud, citing several CNN reporters who deemed his claims to be false.
“Fox’s lead political anchor Bret Baier continues to treat Trump as a normal politician instead of an out-of-control president who lies and spreads conspiracy theories,” Darcy wrote. “Wednesday’s show offered a great and sad example of this. Baier played several clips from Trump’s video without any fact-check afterward. Instead, he went straight to his conservative-leaning panel. When I pointed out the dereliction of duty on Twitter, Baier lashed out and told me, ‘It’s called balance. You should try it.’ But giving equal ‘balance’ to a person untethered to reality and fact-checkers is a ludicrous proposition — and I suspect Baier knows it.”
