Journalists at CNN and other mainstream media outlets praised Fox News’s Neil Cavuto for cutting off White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany during her press conference on alleged voter fraud in certain states.
“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. I just think we have to be very clear what she’s charging: The other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting.” Cavuto said Monday afternoon. “Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this.”
“I want to make sure that maybe they do get something to back that up. But that’s an explosive charge to make: ‘The other side is effectively rigging and cheating.’ If she does bring proof of that, of course, we’ll take it back,” Cavuto added. “So far she has started saying right at the outset, ‘Welcoming fraud, welcoming illegal voting.'”
Cavuto’s decision to cut off the presser was commended by many including Oliver Darcy, a senior media reporter for CNN.
“This from Cavuto, who has been more outspoken than his colleagues on Trump’s lies, is good,” Darcy said. “But it’s also him clearing the lowest of low bars — and yet it will spawn a bunch of “Fox turning on Trump” chatter when network is still carrying his water.”
This from Cavuto, who has been more outspoken than his colleagues on Trump's lies, is good. But it's also him clearing the lowest of low bars — and yet it will spawn a bunch of "Fox turning on Trump" chatter when network is still carrying his water. https://t.co/5opSFguugt
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) November 9, 2020
CNN’s Brian Stelter also noted the abrupt programming change. “Another sign of the Murdoch media world tug-of-war I’ve been describing: Neil Cavuto cut off Kayleigh McEnany on his show while OTHER Fox shows are promoting the same kind of B.S. she was pushing.”
Another sign of the Murdoch media world tug-of-war I've been describing: Neil Cavuto cut off Kayleigh McEnany on his show while OTHER Fox shows are promoting the same kind of B.S. she was pushing pic.twitter.com/b5Zl8VWqQh
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 9, 2020
Other journalists from CNN, NPR, Washington Post, MSNBC, Financial Times, and others retweeted and echoed Darcy’s praise of Cavuto’s decision to cut away from the press secretary.
Watch Fox’s Cavuto cut away on hair trigger in clip in tweet below
He has been pretty firmly lodged in the reality camp in Trump yearshttps://t.co/a7zL4mDnIJ https://t.co/pRWQiyv1rC
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) November 9, 2020
Kudos to Neil Cavuto https://t.co/5NaQkDqFf6
— Matthew Garrahan (@MattGarrahan) November 9, 2020
Some countered, noting that the Fox News anchor preventing people from hearing McEnany’s words is not the proper way to fact-check information.
Can you imagine if we did this to Obama’s “If you like your plan you can keep your plan”?? I am not in favor of cutting the WH press sec off or the prez off to prevent misleading. Fact check after the statement, yes. But it’s not our job to protect the viewers’ virgin ears. https://t.co/VKoO9obc3Y
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) November 9, 2020
I didn’t realize Neil had left Fox to join the federal bench in Pennsylvania and already reviewed our 105-page lawsuit filed less than an hour ago.
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) November 9, 2020
Despite the media navel-gazing surrounding his decision, Cavuto has a history of expressing his criticism of the Trump Administration. In July, Cavuto pivoted his coverage in the middle of the president’s speech to fact-check his comments on the economy. Weeks later, Cavuto reprimanded Trump for attacking Fox News.
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1325927560308350982?s=20
