GOP Sen. Cramer Demands Fox Fire Chris Stirewalt and Other ‘Knuckleheads’ for Arizona Call: They Owe the ‘American People an Apology’
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) called on Friday for Fox News to “fire” political editor Chris Stirewalt and other “knuckleheads” involved with declaring when presidential candidates had won state elections.
“They just keep covering for him,” Cramer said in an interview on WZFG, a Minnesota radio station, speaking in reference to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “Bret Baier keeps bringing that head of that, supposedly, Decision Desk on to explain, and he calls it transparent. That’s not transparent. That’s a cover-up.”
Conservatives have taken issues with Fox’s Decision Desk, including Stirewalt and the bureau’s head analyst, Arnon Mishkin — who has a history of working for and contributing to candidates in both parties — for the network’s decision to quickly call states in Biden’s favor in this year’s presidential election. Mishkin also oversaw the Fox Decision Desk in 2016, and called the victory for President Donald Trump .
Most notably, the network became the first on Tuesday to announce Biden had won in Arizona, calling it at 11:20 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. The Associated Press followed, calling it for Biden at 2:50 a.m. Wednesday. But with vote totals for Biden and Trump tightening in the the state throughout the week, other networks had yet to make a call as of Friday.
In the days since, Fox News has repeatedly stood by the decision. “We are not pulling back that call,” Mishkin said on Wednesday. “There is vote, additional vote that will be reported in Maricopa County. We do not believe that this will change the tenor or the texture of the race, and we strongly believe that our call will stand. And that’s why we’re not pulling back the call.”
He also dismissed the Trump campaign’s assertion that the remaining ballots could swing in the campaign’s favor, saying, “If a frog had wings.”
“Transparent would be, ‘I am so sorry we screwed this up. Fox News owes the American people an apology,'” Cramer said. “‘I am sorry to the president of the United States, who deserves better than this. We’ve fired the Decision Desk people, Chris Stirewalt and all the rest of these knuckleheads.’ “These are entertainers. They’re not scientists. They are entertainers. That’s my frustration, in addition to several other things.”
Cramer also took a moment to critique the vote-counting process in several states, saying, “When Ohio got called, that’s when all hands got on deck in these remaining, large, corrupt cities, like Philadelphia, and Detroit, and Atlanta, and Milwaukee. They knew at that point, ‘My God, this might not go our way. We’ve got to slow things down.’
“I’m just pointing to issues,” he added. “If there wasn’t fraud, then why are you blocking the Republicans from watching the vote count take place?”
Listen above via WZFG.
