|
The claim appears in “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s
Return to Power” by Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt, which is
set to be published in March.
Isenstadt reports that about 30 minutes before the town hall was
scheduled to begin in Iowa, “a senior Trump aide started getting
text messages from a person on the inside at Fox...They were
images of all the questions Trump would be asked and the planned
follow-ups, down to the exact wording."
“While we do not have any evidence of this occurring, and Alex
Isenstadt has conveniently refused to release the images for
fact checking, we take these matters very seriously and plan to
investigate should there prove to be a breach within the
network," a Fox News spokesperson said.
Trump's team was divided about whether he should agree to the
town hall with Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum
and that Trump wasn't “taking prep for the telecast seriously.
He'd basically be winging it.”
The list of questions showed that the anchors planned to ask
Trump if he would divest from his businesses if he won and
whether he would be a risky Republican nominee because of his
indictments, according to the book. Trump also would be pressed
to “disavow political violence” and whether his White House
“would be focused on retribution.”
Trump was not happy with the questions, Isenstadt reports, but
the early peek at questions gave his team a chance to talk
through answers.
Giving a presidential candidate an advance look at questions
would represent a breach of journalism ethics. Networks hosting
events like debates and town halls generally go to great lengths
to limit access to their planned questions and prevent leaks.
Trump's communications director, Steven Cheung, did not address
the allegation. Said Cheung: “President Trump was the most
accessible and transparent candidate in American history, and
it’s a big reason why he won in historic fashion."
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
