Neil Cavuto Pushes Back Against ‘Angry’ Fox News Viewers: ‘I’m Not Working With an Agenda’
Fox News host Neil Cavuto says viewers got “very, very angry” with him after he called out the president in a viral cable news monologue last week but brushed off the controversy, telling Variety during an interview this week, “I’m not working with an agenda.”
Cavuto confronted President Donald Trump last week over his promise to “drain the swamp,” even as the president was fielding questions about whether he knew about a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels made just weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump had previously said that “no,” he did not know about the payment. That narrative was invalidated, however, after Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the president repaid the sum to his former personal attorney Michael Cohen.
“Let me be clear, Mr. President. How can you drain the swamp if you’re the one that keeps muddying the waters? You didn’t know about the $130,000 payment to a porn star till you did,” Cavuto said in the fiery monologue.
“Your base probably might not care,” Cavuto said, referring to the payment to Daniels. “But you should. I guess you’re too busy draining the swamp to ever stop and smell the stink you’re creating. That’s your doing. That’s your stink, Mr. President, that’s your swamp.”
Cavuto’s comments drew praise from CNN’s Don Lemon and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough. But not everyone was as thrilled with the remarks as Cavuto’s cable TV colleagues. During an interview with Variety, Cavuto revealed that after his comments, people became “very, very angry” with him.
“We reach quite a few fans of the president who just say awful things about me, and some even got personal. At first, I thought some were my family writing in. They got very, very angry, and I understand that, but I’m not working with an agenda.”
Cavuto read some of the messages he received from viewers the day after his pointed monologue.
“I’m just not a ‘never-Trumper’ as much as I’m always curious. I really am not red or blue. It’s just green. I follow the money, Cavuto, who also hosts a show on Fox Business Network, told Variety. “I follow whether there’s consistency. Some of that sounds clichéd, but it really is true.”
[image via screengrab]
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