Vanity Fair: Trump regularly calls Fox News hosts to discuss TV segments

President Trump regularly phones Fox News hosts to critique their news coverage and discuss segments of their shows, according to a Vanity Fair report.

The magazine reports that Trump often watches the network’s programming and calls the hosts afterward to discuss segments he did or did not like.

“What he usually does is he’ll call after a show and say, ‘I really enjoyed that,’” a former Fox anchor told writer Gabriel Sherman. “The highest compliment is, ‘I really learned something.’ Then you know he got a new policy idea.”

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One current Fox contributor, in the report, compared the president’s constant presence to that of Roger Ailes, the network’s former CEO, who Fox News staffers say made every day at the company feel like a job interview.

“When you worked at Fox, you knew that at any moment Roger Ailes was watching. Every day was like a job interview with Ailes. Now it’s the same way for Trump,” the journalist said.

Other staffers reportedly worry about Trump’s fondness for the network and his tendency to direct his Twitter followers to watch segments on Fox shows.

“It’s freaky to see him tweeting at ‘Fox & Friends,’” a Fox News staff member told Variety. “That doesn’t help us. We’re not state television.”

Trump tweeted a reference to Fox News as recently as Monday, informing Twitter followers of a segment about falling employment rates among African-Americans.

“African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends,” the president added.

African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018