Fox News Is Now 'Trump News Network,' Says Former Anchor

A former Fox News host said the cable channel has turned into "Trump News Network" and is in a difficult position due to President Donald Trump's praise of its political coverage and because the president's base has become its "lifeblood."

The former anchor, Andy Levy, made his comments during a segment on HLN's S.E. Cupp Unfiltered show that was based on the president's call Monday for a contest between media organizations—not including Fox News—to see who could win the "FAKE NEWS TROPHY" for "the most dishonest, corrupt and or/distorted" coverage.

Levy, the former host of Fox News's Red Eye, said Fox should be the main network fighting back against Trump in order to maintain its journalistic integrity.

"He should never view a media outlet as being on his side," Levy said of the president Monday night. "And the whole thing is sad, and Fox News should disavow it, but it kinda can't, 'cause with a couple of exceptions, they have backed themselves into this corner, and now they're the Trump News Network and that's their lifeblood."

Earlier in the segment, Levy said, "The people who should be the most embarrassed by this are the ones at Fox News, and I suspect a solid handful of them are. The press is not supposed to be on the side of people in power ever. The press is supposed to be adversarial, the press is supposed to question, the press is not supposed to curry favor with authority."

He also pointed out some of the hypocrisy involved in favorable media coverage of former President Barack Obama, and how more conservative outlets now have seemingly justified such coverage of Trump.

"A lot of people in the media kind of forgot that during the Obama administration. And that was pathetic. And now, for the media people who are kissing Trump's butt…"

Levy added, "The president should never like a media outlet, in the sense that he knows he's always going to get favorable coverage. A president should respect that media outlets are doing their job, or at least respect they have an important job to do."

Trump's war of words with mainstream media outlets has been a mainstay of his first year in office, but Fox News and its morning show Fox & Friends have been exceptions. In February, the president was accused of parroting the program on his official Twitter account shortly after a segment had aired.

Fox has also been granted more interviews with Trump than any other network or media outlet, and he repeatedly praises host Sean Hannity for his coverage and ratings.

Other news outlets, like NBC News, have faced almost ominous threats from Trump. Last month, he suggested there might be an "appropriate" point to question the licenses of NBC and other networks, given "all of the fake news."