Bret Baier, host of the “Special Report with Bret Baier” program on the Fox news channel, has blocked State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-AZ) on Twitter after being called out for his coverage of the ongoing Maricopa County, Arizona election audit.
“Congratulations to @BrettBaier on Fox news for receiving the very first #FakeNews award from me for his bungling of the Arizona call on Nov 3rd for President and for lying and discrediting our very credible audit,” Rogers said on Thursday, accompanied by a screenshot showing that Baier had blocked her on Twitter. “Bonus points for blocking me after I called him out.”
Congratulations to @BretBaier at @FoxNews for receiving the very first #FakeNews award from me for his bungling of the Arizona call on Nov 3rd for President and for lying and discrediting our very credible audit. Bonus points for blocking me after I called him out. #Triggered pic.twitter.com/VZSfzw1tMb
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) July 22, 2021
Baier had previously responded to a critic of his audit coverage on July 17 by tweeting, “I did not say that Susan. Please review the tape. I said the investigation continues and so far officially only roughly 200 ballots have been thrown out. I said what the county says and what critics are saying. Go watch again.”
Critics have argued that Baier has downplayed the extent of the significant ballot fraud and election irregularities unearthed in the Maricopa County audit.
I did not say that Susan. Please review the tape. I said the investigation continues and so far officially only roughly 200 ballots have been thrown out. I said what the county says and what critics are saying. Go watch again. https://t.co/Rwh85us6Gp
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) July 17, 2021
Shortly after Baier’s denials of biased coverage, Rogers tweeted, “I want my country back. We have to eject the fraud machines and we need to conduct forensic audits everywhere. They have been doing this to us a lot longer than we realize. By the way, what is up with @BrettBaier lying through his teeth. We need to run him out of the Republic.”
I want my country back. We have to eject the fraud machines and we need to conduct forensic audits everywhere. They have been doing this to us a lot longer than we realize. By the way, what is up with @BretBaier lying through his teeth. We need to run him out of the Republic. 🇺🇸
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) July 18, 2021
It appears that this tweet is what triggered Baier to block Rogers, though it is still considered unusual for members of the press to block elected officials on social media.