What will become of Fox News if Trump goes down in November?

Almost assuredly, they’ll have to pivot to something. But will it stay loyal to Trump?

On November 4, 2020, Fox News might have to reckon with a (possibly massive) Trump defeat. Will that be the day that the chickens come home to roost, Sean Hannity apologizes (or is fired), and Fox News, shorn of its presidential champion and harried by the liabilities of his defeat, suddenly dumps Trump? Or will Fox become the haven of a Trump government-in-exile, railing about how the election was stolen for them for years to come?

Assuredly, Fox News will pivot — but to what, exactly, is an open question. Does it really want to remain the megaphone for a defeated president — a potential Jimmy Carter of the Republican Party, should current polling remain consistent and Trump goes down in a landslide? Will that public setback to Trump mean the end of Trumpism on Fox?

According to Pew, 1 in 4 Americans trust Fox News (and unsurprisingly, they skew heavily Republican) — and those 1 in 4 are older, with the average Fox viewer at 65–66. It seems unlikely viewers at the age will change their minds much; they won’t suddenly become Progressives.

Really, the question is more about credibility: will Fox News viewers, having seen the network throw its weight, and its opinion-makers, behind Trump, still trust the network in the same way?