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Biden, Joe

Fox News's Decision Desk Calls Arizona for Biden, Provoking a Fury from Trump World

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Arizona sparked a controversy on election night, as Fox News's Decision Desk made the call before many other major media outlets. The decision was met with outrage from the Trump campaign and its supporters, who claimed that the network was trying to undermine Trump's chances. However, the Fox News Decision Desk stood by its call, citing its rigorous methodology and data-driven approach. As the dust settles, it's clear that this moment highlights the complex relationship between Fox News and its audience, particularly in the context of the Trump presidency.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Fox News Decision Desk made the call for Arizona's 11 electoral college votes in favor of Biden at 11:20 p.m. on election night, before many other major media outlets.
  • The decision was met with immediate and furious backlash from the Trump campaign, including attacks from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller, and Jared Kushner, a top Trump adviser.
  • Pro-Trump protesters chanted "Shame on Fox" in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Arizona Republican Party demanded the network retract its call.
  • The Fox News Decision Desk's director, Arnon Mishkin, has been analyzing elections for the network since the late 1990s and took over the decision desk in 2008.
  • The network's decision was based on its rigorous methodology, which includes a voter analysis survey with an estimated 110,000 registered voters and continues through the end of voting on Election Day.
  • The call was also validated by the Associated Press, which made the same call a few hours after Fox News.
  • The controversy highlights the complex relationship between Fox News and its audience, particularly in the context of the Trump presidency, where the network's opinion hosts have been criticized for promoting Trump's talking points.
  • The incident shows that many in Trump world are committed to denying reality and keeping the fiction of losing alive, even when faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Statistics:

  • 110,000: The estimated number of registered voters included in the Fox News Voter Analysis (FNVA) survey.
  • 11,000: The number of votes by which Biden leads in Arizona, according to the networks and the independent Decision Desk HQ.
  • 16,000: The number of votes left to be counted in Arizona on election night.

Sources:

  • "Erik Wemple: Fox News's Decision Desk defied Trump world, called Arizona for Biden" (The Washington Post)
  • "Erik Wemple: Kayleigh McEnany Watch: A 'landslide' is afoot!" (The Washington Post)
  • "Fernanda Santos: Arizona just showed the right way to harness the power of Latino voters" (The New York Times)
  • Fox News's Decision Desk methodology page (Fox News)
  • "Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth" by Brian Stelter (2020)
  • Associated Press's VoteCast methodology (Associated Press)

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