Trump White House aides were frustrated by Fox News’ influence over president, report says

Host Jeanine Pirro was reportedly envious of the preferential treatment that some of her co-stars received from the Trump White House

A new report alleges that at least one Fox News host became jealous after seeing some of their colleagues gain greater access to Donald Trump during his time as US president.

The Washington Post also reported that the access afforded to some individuals routinely frustrated White House staffers, who voiced concerns over the influence some Fox hosts were having on the administration as a whole.

The Post claims that Mr Trump’s former White House chief of staff, John Kelly, instructed White House staffers to monitor Fox News, as it would help them to better anticipate Mr Trump’s future moves.

Further to this, the outlet claims that Lou Dobbs was observed especially keenly, for his assumed influence on the former president during his first year in office.

“When [John] Kelly could not watch the prime-time Fox shows himself, he would ask other staffers to monitor them, and he would scour the White House call logs for the names of Fox News personalities,” alleges the Washington Post report.

“Jeanine Pirro, several Trump aides said, often grew irate if the former president did not appear on her show frequently enough in her view, especially if he had been on [Sean] Hannity’s show several times prior,” the report added.

Judge Jeanine Pirro of FOX News Network makes remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2017 (AFP via Getty Images)

Ms Pirro is one of the longest-serving Fox News hosts remaining on the network, having first joined over a decade ago. After forging out a successful career as a District Attorney, the 70-year-old was hired by Fox in 2011, where she would go on to establish her Justice with Judge Jeanine show.

Her anger may well have been aimed squarely at the likes of Sean Hannity, who was rumoured to have a close working relationship with the Trump campaign back in 2016.

A 2020 New York Times report, via Raw Story, claimed that Mr Hannity would call the Republican Party and other Trump allies to explain how bad the campaign was going and that it was headed in the wrong direction.

The New York Times even speculates that he was referred to as a “kind of adviser” to Mr Trump prior to his election win.