Four years make a big difference for Donald Trump -- and for Fox News

Four years ago, Fox News precipitated an soul situation pinch a bold predetermination nighttime call that President Joe Biden would hit Donald Trump successful nan important authorities of Arizona. This twelvemonth illustrated nan quality that 4 years tin make.

Fox News wasn't nan first web early connected Wednesday to state Trump had sealed his triumph complete Kamala Harris — upstart NewsNation, blimpish rival Newsmax and Scripps Networks led nan measurement — but its eventual telephone came astir 4 hours earlier ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and The Associated Press made theirs.

Judging by nan cheers that erupted erstwhile Fox's telephone was shown to nan Trump religious gathered astatine his West Palm Beach triumph party, it was a determination that surely was received overmuch amended by its viewers than nan 2020 telephone was.

“When you don't for illustration really nan barroom tastes, you're not going to for illustration nan recipe,” said Chris Stirewalt, authorities editor astatine NewsNation. “When you for illustration nan cake, you'll emotion nan recipe.”

Fox's Bret Baier called Trump's triumph “the biggest governmental phoenix from nan ashes communicative that we person ever seen,” and Fox tin declare a comeback of its own.

Fox's Arizona telephone successful 2020 infuriated Trump and galore of nan network's viewers. While it yet proved correct, it group successful mobility furious soul second-guessing and led immoderate Fox personalities to clasp conspiracy theories, which ultimately costs nan network a staggering $787 cardinal to settee a defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems.

NewsNation, which utilized accusation from nan elections forecasting institution Decision Desk HQ, made its telephone astatine 1:22 a.m. connected Wednesday. Scripps and Newsmax, which besides usage DDHQ, were wrong a infinitesimal of making nan aforesaid declaration.

At astir that time, Baier said that “we're not location yet,” but noted location was nary way to triumph for Harris. Fox made its telephone astatine 1:47 a.m.

The AP called nan predetermination for Trump astatine 5:34 a.m. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and nan AP each made their calls wrong a fewer moments of each other. The AP explained that its declaration that Trump had won came aft awarding Wisconsin to nan erstwhile president by determining that remaining uncounted votes from astir nan Milwaukee area would not beryllium capable for Harris to flooded Trump's lead there.

For NewsNation's Stirewalt, his network's early telephone connected Wednesday provided a rich | irony. He was authorities editor astatine Fox News successful 2020 and he and a chap executive, Bill Sammon, were fundamentally fired pursuing nan outcry complete nan Arizona telephone — moreover though they were proven right.

“It would beryllium easy to overstate nan results and I want to beryllium observant not to do that,” he said. “I will opportunity this, it is simply a triumph for nan measurement things utilized to beryllium done and a individual vindication.”

He said Decision Desk HQ and NewsNation fto nan numbers do nan talking pinch their calls. He would not knock rivals for waiting longer, saying it was a earthy guidance to beryllium observant successful making title calls pursuing what happened successful 2020.

The happiness of immoderate viewers astatine Fox's telephone was evident successful immoderate social media posts. Fox rejects immoderate proposal that its calls are politically motivated and its determination desk, led by veteran Arnon Mishkin, is wide respected successful nan industry. Stirewalt called Mishkin “superb” and said “it is to Fox's in installments that they kept him erstwhile they didn't support Bill Sammon and me.”

A vigorous blimpish media ecosystem has built up successful caller years to compete pinch Fox. But nan web remains king of nan hill, illustrated again Wednesday by nan Nielsen company's preliminary ratings of tv predetermination nighttime coverage.

Fox averaged 9.7 cardinal viewers for its sum successful nan prime-time hours, good supra second-place ABC News, which had 5.7 million. Newsmax, Fox's main rival for blimpish viewers, had 947,000 viewers and NewsNation had 237,000, Nielsen said.

“I americium highly proud of our team's committedness to delivering nan apical reporting and study to nan largest and astir politically divers assemblage successful news,” said Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott.

Trump's analyzable narration pinch nan web besides attests to its continued influence. The Republican campaigner was a regular impermanent connected its shows during nan campaign, peculiarly nan greeting “Fox & Friends,” yet besides complains bitterly connected societal media if he doesn't for illustration thing that is said there.

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David Bauder writes astir media for nan AP. Follow him astatine http://x.com/dbauder.