Former president Donald Trump publicly faulted Fox News for Republican setbacks in the 2026 midterm elections, despite weeks of coverage from network commentators that featured little direct criticism of him.
In the weeks before Tuesday’s voting, Trump repeatedly signalled that he would place some responsibility on his preferred cable channel if the GOP underperformed. When preliminary results began to show disappointing outcomes for some Republican candidates, he made good on that warning and singled Fox out as partly to blame.
Fox News programming during the midterm period was notable for its relative sparing of criticism toward Trump; pundits and hosts largely refrained from the kind of sustained attacks he has faced on other networks in past cycles. That contrast between the outlet’s on-air tone and the former president’s accusations highlighted tensions between Trump and elements of conservative media even as many on the network continued to host pro-GOP commentary.
The episode underscores the complicated relationship between Trump and conservative outlets that have been both amplifiers of his message and, at times, targets of his ire. It also adds a layer to post-election reckonings within the Republican coalition about responsibility for electoral setbacks.
As vote counts continued across states, national attention remained focused on which parties would control key chambers of Congress. News organisations provided ongoing live tracking of results from all 50 states as campaigns and commentators parsed the outcomes and assigned political responsibility for gains and losses.