Former President Donald Trump lost the attention of conservative TV networks after delivering a speech in Howell, Michigan, on Tuesday.
Fox News and Newsmax cut away from Trump’s speech at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, airing only brief clips of the Republican nominee speaking about the Democrats‘ “soft-on-crime” policies.
Trump—who is typically animated and energetic at rallies and campaign appearances—struck a starkly different tone on Tuesday, sounding soft-spoken and almost monotone as he delivered remarks about law and order in the country.
Fox cut away from Trump after he criticized the nation’s law enforcement for going after him and election deniers but not prosecuting “people who kill people,” while Newsmax moved away after he started talking about his legal problems in New York.
The changes in programming were noticed on X, formerly Twitter, and came at a time when Trump is struggling against Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is not only still riding on the momentum that erupted with the launch of her presidential campaign just a month ago but will officially accept the Democratic Party‘s presidential nomination this week at the convention in Chicago.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign via email for comment.
“WHAT A BURN! Even FOX is getting tired of Trumps ‘the greatest hits tour,'” one user tweeted.
“When Trump has lost Newsmax, the station that was built on MAGA morons running from Fox News, you’ve lost it all,” another said.
“He sounds like he’s about to fall asleep. Is it naptime for gramps?” a third asked.
While Democrats convene in Chicago to put on their own display of unity, Trump is spending the week traveling to battleground states in an effort to offer counter programming to the convention. Trump appeared in York, Pennsylvania, on Monday to deliver remarks about the economy and energy, while he used his Michigan visit on Tuesday to turn to crime.
As President Joe Biden stepped on stage to deliver the keynote speech for the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, the Trump campaign issued a press release declaring it “opposite day” at the DNC, accusing speakers of lying about Harris’ and Trump’s records. Republicans argued that Harris’ tenure as San Fransisco’s district attorney was not as rose-tinted as convention guests portrayed it while pushing back on the attacks against Trump’s manufacturing record.
Trump gave his more toned-down speech on Tuesday after a shift in his rhetoric that observers noticed moved away from personal attacks against Harris and toward her policies. During his remarks on Monday, Trump largely stuck to the words on the teleprompter and did not mention Harris’ racial identity, as he has in the past.
In the press release ahead of his speech in Michigan, Trump’s campaign focused in on Harris’ crime policies, declaring her the “most anti-police major party presidential candidate in history” and quoting the vice president’s past comments on law enforcement issues.
The release also included a list of endorsements Trump has received from police unions as well as poll results and statistics about where Americans stand on crime and how homicide rates have changed since Trump left office.
