Trump’s Team Was Fed Questions by Fox News Insider Before Town Hall: Book
January 8, 2025
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President-elect Donald Trump’s team was fed questions by a Fox News insider before an Iowa town hall in January 2024, a forthcoming book by Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt has alleged.
Why It Matters
Networks hosting campaign events like debates and town halls will usually deliberately try to limit access to their prepared questions and prevent leaks.
Giving a presidential candidate a sneak peek at questions ahead of such an event would represent a breach of journalism ethics.
What To Know
Isenstadt claimed in his new book Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power that roughly 30 minutes before the Iowa town hosted by Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, “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,” according to excerpts obtained by CNN.
The reporting was based on “multiple people with direct knowledge” of the event, Isenstadt told CNN.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks as moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum look on during a town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. Trump’s team was fed questions by a Fox… Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks as moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum look on during a town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. Trump’s team was fed questions by a Fox News insider before an Iowa town hall in January 2024, a forthcoming book alleges.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
What Were Fox News’ Questions About?
The Fox News hosts “planned to ask Trump if he would divest from his businesses if he won, and whether the party was taking a risk nominating him given his indictments,” Isenstadt wrote in his book.
They also were going to push the then-Republican presidential candidate to “disavow political violence” and ask him if a second Trump administration “would be focused on retribution,” according to the book.
Trump Was Angry, According To Book
Isenstadt said Trump was “pissed” as he felt the questions were “like attacks.” The campaign, however, was able to work on Trump’s answers before the town hall, the reporter wrote in his book.
What People Are Saying
Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung told Newsweek via email Wednesday evening: “President Trump was the most accessible and transparent candidate in American history, and it’s a big reason why he won in historic fashion.”
A Fox spokesperson told CNN when asked about the Iowa event: “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.”
What Happens Next
Trump will take office in less than two weeks after beating Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election in November 2024. Isenstadt’s book is scheduled to come out in March.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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