Fox News' Bret Baier went up to bat for one of his colleagues Thursday, mere minutes after Donald Trump framed him as a 'flunky' in a scathing social media post.
Trump, 80, took issue with a report from Baier's chief correspondent, Jonathan Hunt, about the President's 'plan to economically strangle Iran' on Special Report.
Hunt told viewers there had been 'no significant developments' between the two countries. He also noted how China recently rejected fresh US sanctions targeting Iranian oil buyers.
The President described Hunt's reporting as 'particularly inaccurate.'
'I don't want to meet. They do. In fact, they are begging to make a deal. Bret Baier should straighten out his flunkies for a change.'
Baier, 56, fought back within the hour.
'First of all, Jonathan is not a flunky. He's a great reporter,' the anchor said live, after taking the time to read the Truth Social post. 'Second of all, Mr President, we didn’t say you wanted to meet.'
Bret Baier hit back at Donald Trump over a post panning one of his reporters as a 'flunky' on Thursday
The anchor responded minutes after the post was published, taking the time to read it aloud
The anchor pointed out how producers merely played a clip of Trump telling reporters Thursday: 'There's not a lot to speak with Iran, we are not looking to meet or anything, the [Strait of Hormuz] is open.'
Baier emphasized: 'You didn’t want to meet, and there are negotiations.'
He then noted how Hunt's report also touched on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's efforts to get other G20 countries to help with the economic strategy.
'Gulf State allies, including Qatar, are inside Tehran trying to get Iran to agree to concessions. That’s what we said,' Baier said. The on-air missive ended there.
On social media, though, right-leaning users were still framing Baier's reaction as 'tacky' and 'left-leaning' – earning more responses from the anchor on X.
'Because I corrected something?' Baier wrote to a user who accused him of peddling liberal ideals.
'I addressed why it was wrong. Thanks,' he told another angry conservative.
Trump, meanwhile, is a known consumer of cable news.
Special Report Chief Correspondent Jonathan Hunt told viewers there had been 'no significant developments' between the two countries during the report in question. He also noted how China recently rejected fresh US sanctions targeting Iranian oil buyers
Sources told The Wall Street Journal in April of last year that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon appeared on Maria Bartiromo's Fox Business show just to sway Trump into pausing his then-planned reciprocal tariffs because he knew he was watching.
Baier is Fox’s chief political correspondent and often the one who interviews the President.
Trump has tapped several Fox News and Fox Business hosts to posts in his administrations.
