Rep. Eric Swalwell, the 2020 presidential candidate who has arguably spent the most time on cable news shows, said Fox News turned him down for a town hall on the network.
“I would absolutely do a Fox town hall,” the California Democrat told CNN on Wednesday. “But they told us we can’t have one, which is a little bit confusing to us because they have given them to people who are polling at the same place as us.”
“I can only conclude that they are afraid to give me the opportunity,” he said.
There’s a certain irony to Swalwell coming up short in his bid for a Fox town hall. First elected in 2012, Swalwell has been an unstinting critic of President Trump’s dealings with Russia during the 2016 campaign and in the White House, frequently making his case on Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, the 38-year-old has been open about his willingness and enthusiasm for talking up Russian interference while on cable programs.
A spokeswoman for Fox News disputed Swalwell’s claims and said the network has left the door open for a future town hall with the congressman.
Swalwell’s campaign told the Washington Examiner it had unsuccessfully tried for about three weeks to contact Fox News officials about a town hall.
The candidate’s team “was informed that no town hall would be scheduled with Rep. Swalwell before the first DNC debate in Miami, and that Fox News hasn’t committed to doing any more town halls after that debate,” the campaign said in a statement.
“Fox News offered no criteria for how it selected candidates with whom to hold town halls. Rep. Swalwell appeared on Fox News 38 times in 2018 and 11 times so far in 2019, and continues to get almost-daily offers to appear on Fox News’ regularly scheduled programming,” the statement said.
Swalwell’s request for a town hall comes amid other 2020 Democrats rejecting such events on the network.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Tuesday she would not appear on the network because it’s a “hate-for-profit racket,” and she did not want to help the network financially.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also turned down the opportunity.
Other Democrats have participated in Fox News town halls in recent weeks, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have upcoming town halls scheduled and several other candidates have also expressed interest.
[Read more: Backfire: ‘The View’ scorches Warren for ditching Fox News]
