Former Fox News Host Calls Out Bret Baier Over Trump Clip ‘Mistake’ in Kamala Harris Interview
Christophe Ena/AP
A former Fox News host criticized current host Bret Baier on Thursday night for his explanation regarding the airing of an edited clip of Donald Trump’s “enemy from within” remark during a contentious interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The exchange has drawn significant attention after Baier’s handling of the clip and his subsequent admission of a mistake.
The controversy began during Baier’s interview with Harris on Wednesday night, where he pressed her about Trump’s language and supporters. At one point, Baier asked Harris if she believed Trump’s supporters were “stupid,” to which Harris replied, “Oh, God, I would never say that about the American people.” Harris then pointed out that Trump, in contrast, has labeled his critics and opponents as the “enemy from within.”
To counter her point, Baier played a clip of Trump, but the clip was selectively edited. In the portion aired by Baier, Trump said, “They were saying I was threatening, I’m not threatening anybody,” and went on to claim he was the target of the “weaponization of government.” However, the clip omitted a crucial part of Trump’s statement where he defended calling his critics the “enemy from within” and described them as “sick” and “evil.” Trump also suggested that a “strong president” was necessary to “handle” such people.
Harris immediately called out Baier for airing an inaccurate representation of Trump’s remarks, leading to a tense moment in the interview. The omission of key context in Trump’s comments stirred criticism from viewers and political commentators.
On Thursday, Baier admitted that he had made an error. “Harold, I did make a mistake,” Baier said while speaking to Fox News hosts Harris Faulkner and Harold Ford Jr. during another segment. “And I did want to say that I did make a mistake. When I called for a soundbite, I was expecting a piece of the ‘enemy from within’ from Maria Bartiromo’s interview to be tied to the piece from your town hall, Harris, where you asked the former president about ‘the enemy from within.’ It just had the piece about the town hall.”
However, Baier’s explanation was not enough to appease former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, who publicly criticized Baier on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Carlson, who co-hosted Fox & Friends until 2013, took issue with Baier’s handling of the situation, arguing that he could have corrected the error immediately during the broadcast.
“Now Bret Baier says ‘his mistake’ he ran wrong Trump ‘enemy from within’ clip during interview w/ Harris. Newsflash: When wrong clips run (which happens) hosts can easily say ‘Sorry that was the wrong clip,'” Carlson wrote. “He or his producers would have known it was the wrong one right then.”
Carlson’s remarks highlight the ongoing scrutiny Fox News faces over how it handles coverage of Trump and other high-profile political figures. For many, Baier’s acknowledgment of the mistake did not go far enough, especially considering the significance of the omitted portion of Trump’s statement.
While Baier has admitted the error, the incident raises questions about the responsibility of journalists to provide accurate and complete context in politically charged interviews, particularly in the lead-up to major elections. As the fallout from the interview continues, both Baier and Fox News are facing criticism from viewers and former colleagues alike.
