Matt Stevens and Michael M. Grynbaum

In the harshest criticism to date from a presidential contender against Fox News, Warren used a series of Twitter messages to accuse the network of giving “a megaphone to racists and conspiracists” and providing cover for corruption. She also returned to one of her campaign’s central themes, framing the channel as the sort of corporate “profit machine” she has railed against.

“Hate-for-profit works only if there’s profit, so Fox News balances a mix of bigotry, racism, and outright lies with enough legit journalism to make the claim to advertisers that it’s a reputable news outlet,” Warren wrote. “It’s all about dragging in ad money — big ad money.

“A Democratic town hall gives the Fox News sales team a way to tell potential sponsors it’s safe to buy ads on Fox,” she continued. “I won’t ask millions of Democratic primary voters to tune into an outlet that profits from racism and hate.”

Fox News, which typically does not hesitate to defend itself, had no comment Tuesday. The network’s producers have been courting Democratic candidates to participate in televised town hall-style events, particularly after the Democratic chairman, Tom Perez, excluded the channel from hosting any of the party’s formal primary debates.

Whether or not to appear on Fox News has underscored a deeper tactical divide among the 2020 Democratic candidates: double down on attracting the left-leaning coalitions that make up much of the party’s primary electorate, or try to make inroads with millions who supported Donald Trump in 2016 — and who receive a high percentage of their information from Fox News.

In explicitly attacking the network — whose biggest stars are prime-time pundits like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham who regularly defend the White House — Warren is separating herself from other Democratic candidates who have agreed to appear on Fox News and have said that it is critical to appeal to voters of all persuasions.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont took part in a Fox News town hall-style event in April that drew more than 2.5 million viewers, the biggest television audience to date for a Democratic candidate in the 2020 field. Even Trump was befuddled to see the senator given airtime on his favorite channel. “What’s with @FoxNews?” he wrote on Twitter at the time.

When Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota appeared on Fox News last week, she was seen by 1.6 million people, nearly twice the audience that watched her during an April appearance on CNN.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, is scheduled to participate in a Fox News town hall Sunday, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is due to appear in June. Julián Castro, the former housing secretary, has been in advanced discussions with the network, and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has said he is open to the idea.

In her Twitter messages Tuesday, Warren emphasized that she liked town hall-style events and had taken part in dozens already this year. “Fox News is welcome to come to my events just like any other outlet,” she wrote. “But a Fox News town hall adds money to the hate-for-profit machine. To which I say: hard pass.”

By taking a stand against Fox News, Warren is making a pitch to the sort of highly engaged progressives she is now relying on to finance her campaign. In February, she said she would forgo big money fundraisers and private meetings with large donors. And by day’s end, Warren was fundraising off her pledge to avoid Fox News.

Her denunciation was greeted with glee by some liberals who consider the network the equivalent of state television. But some Democratic strategists see Fox News, with its enormous audience, as a useful venue for candidates seeking to engage with Americans outside the political left.

And some candidates just want the exposure. John Delaney, a former Maryland congressman who is running a long-shot presidential campaign, addressed Warren on Twitter, writing, “If you’re not using your town hall, I will. Democratic candidates have to campaign everywhere and talk to all voters.”

This article originally appeared in <a id="258b998c-e006-30d2-a2ba-4841931d61da" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-fox-news.html">The New York Times</a>.

Warren Calls Fox News 'a Hate-for-Profit Racket' and Refuses an Appearance

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Tuesday broke from her Democratic rivals by declining to participate in a Fox News town hall, denouncing the cable news channel as “a hate-for-profit racket” that seeks to turns Americans against one another.

Warren calls Fox News 'a hate-for-profit racket' and refuses an appearance

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Matt Stevens and Michael M. Grynbaum

Articles written by the author

Warren calls Fox News 'a hate-for-profit racket' and refuses an appearance