Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, sharply criticized Fox News during a Friday appearance on Newsmax’s The Chris Salcedo Show, accusing the channel of silencing key conservative figures — including both himself and the late Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.
Giuliani’s comments came as Fox faced renewed backlash over its handling of Kirk’s legacy following his assassination earlier this month. Critics argue the network is guilty of hypocrisy for eulogizing Kirk on air while having kept him off its programming for years.
“Well, I was completely banned from the network,” Giuliani told host Chris Salcedo. “They don’t even interview me on Sept. 11 anymore. For 10 or 12 straight years, I was interviewed live on ‘Fox & Friends’ to talk about Sept. 11 — which I imagine would be a time you’d want to talk to me, right? Since they banned me, several of their people have thought they could put me on and then had to call me and tell me, ‘No, you’re not allowed on.’”
Once a frequent guest, Giuliani said Fox cut him off after the fallout from the 2020 election, when he publicly and strongly supported President Donald Trump.
He recalled that even longtime friends inside the network admitted their hands were tied. “At least three or four occasions, very decent, wonderful people that were friends of mine wanted to put me on … and then they’d have to call and tell either me, ‘I’m sorry. They won’t let you on,’” he said.
Giuliani stressed that the network’s decision stung all the more because of his role in helping Fox expand into New York during its early days. “I also helped to establish Fox News in New York. They wouldn’t have been on in New York if it wasn’t for my making a deal with them as mayor to give them the New York City station for a large amount of money,” he said.
His criticism echoes complaints from many America First conservatives who believe Fox has sidelined pro-Trump voices, especially Kirk.
Republican fundraiser Caroline Wren blasted Fox in a social media post, writing: “I appreciate the coverage Fox News is giving Charlie Kirk tonight, but let’s not forget that Fox banned Charlie from coming on the network from 2021-2024, and the same anchors crying on air tonight over losing ‘an amazing champion for free speech’ are the same anchors who didn’t have the guts to challenge [Rupert] Murdoch, Paul Ryan, and Karl Rove when they banned Charlie from their network.”
The network’s tributes to Kirk after his death angered many, including former Fox host Megyn Kelly. On her podcast The Megyn Kelly Show, she declared: “It’s really bothering me how Fox News is talking about Charlie, like he was theirs — he wasn’t. It’s a lie. Just stop. Fox News wouldn’t put Charlie on. I know this from my own behind-the-scenes conversations. They were annoyed on Team Charlie because he was banned. He had been too supportive of Tucker [Carlson].”
Kelly explained that Kirk vanished from Fox’s lineup after Carlson’s ouster in 2023, only reappearing sparingly late the following year. “He was considered ‘other.’ They finally caught on to his magic, but prior to that, he was essentially gone,” she said.
Kirk himself acknowledged the snub in 2023, pointing out that Fox was absent from his Turning Point USA events. “We don’t have a single person from Fox here, and in years past, we have. They’ve been very good to me,” Kirk told Breitbart. “But for whatever reason, it’s gone off the reservation. Since Tucker’s departure, I haven’t been on. And so we had to do an event without Fox.”
Giuliani told Salcedo that the network’s fear after the January 6 Capitol unrest drove much of the shift. “Well, I think after Jan. 6 they panicked. Even some of their talent panicked. Some of the testimony they gave, I can tell you wasn’t true. I think they went into a state of panic about Jan. 6,” he said.
He added that he could not understand Rupert Murdoch’s sudden opposition to Trump, given their prior relationship.
Giuliani ended by stressing that Kirk and he were far from the only ones pushed out. “I have to assure you, I’m not the only one banned from Fox. There’s a rather large group of us,” he said, noting that those excluded largely shared a record of backing Trump.
Salcedo wrapped up the segment with a pointed jab at the network: “The Karl Rove Never Trump network seems to be the repository for the surrender caucus-style type Republicans — [Mitch] McConnell, [John] Cornyn, [Paul] Ryan, Rove, etc.”
For Giuliani, the conclusion was clear: Fox News had turned away from its founding values and shut out the very voices that once fueled its success.
{Matzav.com}
