A senior White House official wants President Donald Trump’s team to reconsider its relationship with one of America’s largest television networks.
His proposal would use access to administration guests as leverage against an outlet he accuses of betraying its audience.
White House senior counselor Peter Navarro urged the administration to consider stopping officials from appearing on Fox News.
Navarro raised the possibility during an appearance with Steve Bannon on Real America’s Voice’s “War Room.”
“Why are we feeding them talent anymore?” Navarro asked while criticizing the network’s recent decisions.
“Why do we let anybody in this administration go on their network?” he continued.
Bannon pressed Navarro on whether he wanted Trump officials completely removed from Fox News bookings.
“I’m calling for that question to be seriously asked,” Navarro responded without announcing a formal administration policy.
The exchange marked a significant escalation in Navarro’s public feud with a network long associated with conservative audiences.
Navarro accused Fox of presenting itself as friendly territory while working against President Trump’s administration.
“Fox has revealed itself to be essentially undermining the Trump administration,” he said.
He argued that the network’s conservative reputation makes its conduct more damaging than criticism from openly liberal outlets.
“Fox News is much more dangerous to MAGA, much more dangerous to the Republican Party,” Navarro declared.
He said Fox “wears our colors” while helping political opponents undermine the president.
Navarro’s frustration intensified after Fox News Media abruptly separated from longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo earlier this month.
Fox publicly described Bartiromo’s departure after more than 12 years as a “business decision.”
The network has not publicly tied her exit to reports involving internal company communications shared outside Fox.
Navarro confirmed that Bartiromo provided him information and that he later forwarded it to the White House.
He has portrayed the episode as evidence that Fox punishes prominent voices willing to advance core MAGA priorities.
Bartiromo’s attorney disputed Fox’s treatment of the veteran anchor and warned that evidence and witnesses could eventually emerge.
Fox replaced her on “Sunday Morning Futures” temporarily with former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
Navarro has also invoked the departures of Tucker Carlson and the late Lou Dobbs while attacking Fox management.
He argues those exits reveal a pattern of removing personalities who strongly connect with Trump’s political movement.
FOX News is FakeNews / Navarro
“FOX has revealed itself to be essentially undermining the Trump administration. FOX News is much more dangerous to MAGA, much more dangerous to the Republican Party because they wear our colors when they’re in fact helping the other side undermine…
— Biff Smallberries (@B_Smallberries) September 23, 2026
Navarro previously accused Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott of limiting discussion of important MAGA subjects.
He claimed the network provides easy cultural controversies while avoiding tougher issues involving Trump, elections and economic nationalism.
“They’ll feed you some red meat over there, the easy stuff,” Navarro said during an earlier Newsmax appearance.
He contrasted those segments with topics he believes define the movement and deserve sustained attention.
The latest dispute also follows Fox joining other networks in suspending White House television pool coverage.
The networks acted after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House access.
Navarro thanked Fox and the other networks for their decision, arguing Real America’s Voice could provide coverage instead.
His proposed response would strike directly at Fox’s programming by denying bookers access to administration newsmakers.
Cabinet members, senior advisers and prominent Trump allies routinely provide interviews that drive cable news programming and ratings.
Removing those guests would deprive Fox of exclusive interviews while increasing opportunities for competing conservative outlets.
The administration continued providing guests to Fox after his remarks, including first lady Melania Trump.
However, a senior presidential adviser publicly raising the possibility places new pressure on Fox executives.
The fight exposes growing distrust among MAGA leaders toward a network many Republican voters once considered their default destination.
Fox remains dominant in cable news, but Navarro questions whether its audience should equate popularity with political loyalty.
His argument is fundamentally transactional: networks opposing Trump should not receive valuable access to Trump’s own officials.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
