Former President Donald Trump took umbrage with Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s segment on Monday evening questioning his polling against Biden in key areas in next year’s presidential election.
The Republican categorized her reporting as a “hit piece.” He then urged his followers to tune out her Fox News program in favor of Newsmax’s Greg Kelly.
Former President Trump accused @FoxNews host Laura @IngrahamAngle of running a “hit piece” on him by focusing on his poll numbers compared with prospective 2024 presidential candidate Gov. @RonDeSantis. https://t.co/U7GlDEoO34
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) May 23, 2023
Ingraham, in her usual 10 p.m. slot, suggested that his polling numbers in multiple key states point towards a Biden victory next year — if the two square off as many expect. Trump quickly went on his Truth Social platform to blast the conservative commentator.
He declared that she “just did a hit piece on me (there go her ratings!) showing some polls which indicate that Ron DeSanctimonious may do better against Biden than I would.” Trump then said that surveys show he would do “MUCH better” against Biden than ‘Rob.’”
The volley in the surprising conservative infighting concluded with “Watch Greg Kelly on Newsmax at 10:00 p.m.”
Ingraham has largely backed the former president, though her choice of guest for Monday night’s segment may have irritated Trump. She welcomed Common Sense Society director Chris Bedford as the pair compared poll numbers in states Trump narrowly lost in 2020.
Bedford asserted that the incumbent president “is running pretty badly behind a generic Republican figure like a Ron DeSantis or Tim Scott.” He added, however, that Biden is “consistently beating Trump.”
The latest poll results from Harvard Harris show Trump with a commanding seven-point lead over Biden, 47% to 40% nationwide. The survey revealed a tie between DeSantis and Biden with each garnering 42% of voter support.
Trump’s criticism of Ingraham continued a pattern of conservative infighting that has been ongoing for weeks. At one point he derisively called Fox News a “RINO” network, meaning “Republican in name only.”
Ingraham has consistently avoided answering whether the Republican Party should support Trump or DeSantis. Instead, she urged the GOP to focus on populist issues and win voters to their side regardless of who becomes the 2024 nominee.
In Monday’s segment, Ingraham admonished Republicans in general on addressing key voter issues.
The host said that the electorate is most concerned with the economy and immigration in the 2024 presidential election. These areas, she suggested, need more attention from GOP presidential contenders if they are to succeed nationwide.
