Trump Schedules His Meetings Around 'Fox and Friends' Segments, According to Former White House Official

President Donald Trump's propensity to tune into Fox News has been noted in multiple news reports, but according to one former White House official, he also schedules his meetings related to what he sees on cable programs like "Fox and Friends."

"He comes down for the day, and whatever he saw on 'Fox and Friends,' he schedules meetings based on that," the former White House officials said in a Politico report published on Monday. "If it's Iran, it's 'Get John Bolton down here!'"

"If he's seen something on TV or [was] talking to [Sean] Hannity the night before, he's got lots of flexibility to do whatever he wants to do," the former official added.

Trump's battle against the news media is evidenced by his public criticism against networks he believes has covered him unfairly. In turn, he has shown deference toward outlets that cover him favorably.

"Just heard Fake News CNN is doing polls again despite the fact that their election polls were a WAY OFF disaster," Trump tweeted in 2017. "Much higher ratings at Fox."

Fox News, which frequently presents a favorable view of daily happenings surrounding Trump, has been the president's preferred network — so much so that he reportedly contacts its anchors to thank them for their coverage.

"What he usually does is he'll call after a show and say, 'I really enjoyed that,'" a former Fox anchor said in a Vanity Fair report in January. "The highest compliment is, 'I really learned something.' Then you know he got a new policy idea."

But Trump's apparent preference or disdain for a particular network has attracted critics on both sides of the political spectrum, as it did last week after CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins was barred from an open press event at the White House. Collins earned support from her own network and a number of organizations and competing news outlets — including Trump's favorite, Fox News.

"As a member of the White House press pool, Fox stands firmly with CNN on this issue of access," Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier said at the time.

Last week, Trump made a surprise call to Fox News personality Sean Hannity's radio show and was interviewed for 10 minutes on the GDP numbers that had been announced earlier that day.

"Mr. President, congratulations," Hannity said at the start of his interview.

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