Fox News host Bret Baier pushed back on air after President Donald Trump complained about one of his colleagues' coverage of the Iran war.
Trump said he was upset by the way that Jonathan Hunt, another Fox News reporter, covered the war. During Thursday's edition of Fox News Special Report, Hunt said that there were "no significant developments" toward bringing the war to an end.
He had also noted that Trump said no talks were happening between Tehran and Washington.
A clip of Trump saying "we're not looking to meet or anything," referring to Iranian negotiators, was played during the segment.
Trump then took to Truth Social to complain that Fox News wasn't reporting accurately about the war in Iran.
"Jonathan Hunt of FoxNews did a particularly inaccurate report on the Failing Islamic Republic of Iran. 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! President DJT," he wrote.
Later during Special Report, Baier took a moment to defend Hunt and push back against Trump's accusations.
"First of all, Jonathan Hunt’s not a flunky. He’s a great reporter," Baier said.
Then he addressed Trump directly.
"Second of all, Mr. President, we didn’t say you wanted to meet. In fact, we played a soundbite you didn’t want to meet and there are no negotiations," he said. "We said that Treasury Secretary Bessent is hoping to meet with G-20 countries to increase the pressure on Iran and Gulf State allies, including Qatar, are inside Tehran trying to get Iran to agree to concessions. That was what was said."
Trump's messaging on Iran been inconsistent and at times has contradicted what others in his own administration are saying. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said earlier in August that negotiations with Tehran were going well, only for Trump to then go on Truth Social and insist no discussions were taking place.
The incident led Congressman Don Bacon, a Republican, to urge Trump to "say less" to prevent damaging further peace talks.
Based on a recent report detailing Oval Office discussions in the lead up to the Iran war, Trump has apparently been at odds with his staff since before the conflict began.
Trump was warned against attacking Iran in February by U.S. intelligence chiefs, who suggested it could backfire and usher in an even more hard-line regime, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
