Bret Baier had 15 minutes to spare between segments. He’s in the middle of wall-to-wall impeachment coverage. Next week, he heads to Iowa to cover the Iowa caucuses.
He called me right on time.
It’s a busy time for the Fox News anchor. Every day, there’s coverage of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. There’s seemingly an update every minute. Oh ... and there’s an election going on, too. The Democratic candidates are contesting in a primary. Iowa is up first. Then, New Hampshire. South Carolina. Super Tuesday. Implications everywhere.
“I think anything can happen this election season,” Baier said.
Baier began his career on local television before joining Fox News in 1998, taking over for Brit Hume on Fox News’ “Special Report” in 2009. He’s interviewed high-profile names such as President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Now, Baier’s schedule is driven by the news of the moment — impeachment, election 2020 and other world issues. He planned to visit Iowa earlier than next week, but there’s the witness vote Friday in Washington, D.C.
When he gets to Iowa, he plans to speak with people on the ground. Voters, he told me, matter more than the pundits, analysts and critics.
“The one thing I’ve learned from covering elections for many years is that it’s the voters who actually make the decisions,” he said. “And it’s not the pundits, or the predictors, or the people around the panel. It’s the voters, and we as journalists, I think every election we need to remember that, which is why it’s so good to be on the ground and hear people.”
But Baier is aware that his coverage is just one piece of what makes up the current media landscape. From CNN to MSNBC to Fox News, impeachment coverage is everywhere. Americans have begun to felt the impeachment fatigue from the news. And for Fox News, additional scrutiny has arisen since the network has been so connected to Trump, who will often praise Fox News and its morning shows.
The Deseret News interviewed Baier ahead of the Iowa caucuses. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Deseret News: What’s your opinion of the impeachment trial in the Senate and Fox News’ coverage of it?
Bret Baier: I think it’s been fascinating to watch. It’s obviously historic. And we’ve been giving it gavel-to-gavel coverage during the day and into the night. You know, we’ve been covering it a ton.
I think it’ll come to an end. I think the real question is when it will come to an end, and with the vote on witnesses at the end of this week, it’ll be fascinating to see how much longer it goes. I think it has the possibility of continuing because of all the new developments, and I think we’ve been covering it pretty well from all sides — Democrats, Republicans, independents.
DN: How would you describe the state of media today?
BB: Well, I think that (impeachment coverage) says that this is a big story. And, you know, each channel decides how you’re going to cover it in the wake of all the other things that are happening — big news stories as well. The Iowa caucuses being one of them, just days away, not getting as much time as it would in a normal cycle of an election year. But obviously, balancing out with the big story of the impeachment and what that means and all the repercussions it has for the election as well.
DN: People draw a strong distinction between CNN and Fox. Given that there is a difference between the opinion content and the news content, how do you feel your coverage compares to others? Is there a conservative bias in your news coverage? Do you think there is a liberal bias in CNN’s?
BB: When it comes to the news coverage, I just look at it through horse blinders, just focusing on trying to be as fair as we can. I just got off the set. We had Sherrod Brown from Ohio on to talk about witnesses and next steps. We had Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat, on and then we had Rand Paul on, and others. We’ve had all kinds of coverage.
I don’t spend time looking at other channels. And I spend time kind of looking at what we’re doing and I think we’re doing well. A fair, fair way to where everybody gets a fair shot.
DN: What will the Iowa caucus tell us about the state of the Democratic primary?
BB: I think it’s fascinating. I think a lot of possible scenarios are in the cards there and obviously means a lot as you bounce into New Hampshire and you look at the rest of the states. I think surging Bernie Sanders seems one storyline. If he wins and then wins in New Hampshire, what does that mean for the Democratic Party and are the establishment Democrats concerned about that? What happens to somebody like Joe Biden? Does Mike Bloomberg then surge if Biden doesn’t perform well in Iowa or New Hampshire? Flip side, Biden wins, and you know, he wins Iowa, wins New Hampshire and then wins South Carolina — does the door start to close on other possibilities? I think a lot can be forecasted in the first couple of states.
But it’s a different electorate this time and a different scenario, especially with Mike Bloomberg spending $270 million-plus. He’s a factor and he’s not even a factor in these first two states.
DN: How much conversation is there between you as a news anchor and say Tucker Carlson, the opinion division and other opinion commentators? Are you critical of what they bring to Fox? Supportive?
BB: Tucker has the office next to me, but as far as what we do in our shows, it’s completely different. I sort of have horse blinders on, and I’m covering what I’m covering. He’s not weighing in on what I’m doing and I’m not kind of going over his rundown before the show. Do we interact in the same office building? Yes. Are we working under the same umbrella? Broadly, yes. But we have two different jobs on the news side and the opinion side.
So, you know, I think that when it comes to elections, we’ve had a really good run in our election coverage. And in the last cycles, we’ve beat every channel in the ratings, and I think it’s because we do it fairly.
I’m hoping that’s going to continue, and it’s going to be a fascinating 2020. There’s no doubt about it. It could be one of the most interesting elections we’ve ever seen, depending on how this all comes together.
DN: What do you wish people knew about Fox News that they don’t know?
BB: The people who watch Fox News know, you know? They understand the difference between opinion and news. The people who don’t watch Fox News sometimes paint with a broad brush. And so I tell people to watch my show, “Special Report,” three times, and drop me an email or drop me a tweet or Facebook post and let me know what you think. And the people who actually do that, come back and say, “Yeah, it was fair. It covered the news of the day. I feel like I know what’s happening in the world and in the U.S., and it was done in a fair way.” And that’s what I think gets lost in the coverage, the media to cover media, and that’s what I wish people would do — take the time.