Donald Trump Jr. Criticizes Fox News for Being ‘Blocked’ From Entering Spin Room After Primary Debate

Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle attend former President Donald Trump's press conference following his court appearance over an alleged hush-money payment, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 4, 2023. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of former president Donald Trump, has criticized Fox News after claiming he was denied entry into the media spin room in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, following the Republican primary debate on Aug. 23.

The younger Trump accused Fox News of trying to “silence” supporters of President Trump by blocking his access to the designated room where journalists conduct interviews with politicians following debates.

“Fox News is trying to censor and silence Trump supporters to protect their hand-picked establishment candidates,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“That’s a big reason why their ratings are dying, while my father’s interview with Tucker Carlson is already at 93 million views!!!” he added.

The post was accompanied by a video of Donald Trump Jr. speaking to reporters following the debate, explaining that he had been “told by others that I would be able to go in” to the spin room after the candidates had left the stage.

“So they said we weren’t able to go in then they said we were and now that we’re here...” he said. “The candidates that they’ve been boosting while simultaneously trying to cut down Trump for the last two years didn’t perform as they had hoped. So they can’t have someone who can maybe be a representative of my father, just like a few weeks ago when I was canceled after the first indictment, I was scheduled to go on, and about 5 minutes before I’m on, I found out I’m no longer on because apparently, I wouldn’t be a great surrogate to talk about my father’s indictment!”

‘Shouldn’t Surprise Any of Us’

“Just so we understand what we’re dealing with here. So it shouldn’t surprise any of us,” he said.

The younger Trump said his ban from the spin room proved President Trump “was 100 percent right to not go to this debate.”

“It’s beneath him! And when you know that you’re walking into a setup because of exactly these kinds of circumstances, you understand exactly what’s going on in mainstream media, even conservative,” he said.

Prior to the debate, President Trump’s campaign confirmed his eldest son would be in Wisconsin to serve as a surrogate for his father, who did not make an appearance.

Mr. Trump Jr. himself had also posted on social media that he and his partner Kimberly Guilfoyle were “excited to see all of our friends in Milwaukee who want to Make America Great Again!!!”

However, Fox News Channel, which hosted the debate, reportedly informed campaigns this week that only surrogates of candidates who attend the debate would be allowed to enter the spin room.

Republican Lawmakers ‘Censored’ at Debate

It later clarified that only aides of candidates who are participating in the debate would be allowed in the spin room, while aides of nonparticipating candidates would be granted access only if they were invited as guests of media organizations, according to the New York Times.

The Epoch Times has contacted Fox News for further comment.

President Trump has not yet commented on his son allegedly being denied entry into the media spin room following Wednesday’s debate.

However, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who said she was an official surrogate for President Trump, also took aim at Fox News for allegedly censoring her when it denied herself and others including, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), access to the spin room.

“We argued with them, talked to them, we showed them the correct credentials—we had spin room credentials—and they would not let us in. This is censorship from Fox News, this is censorship, not allowing surrogates for President Trump to go into the spin room,” she said.

The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson for Mr. Gaetz for comment.

A total of eight candidates appeared on stage during Wednesday’s GOP primary debate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

President Trump, however, did not attend, citing his lead over the other candidates in multiple Republican presidential polls.

Instead, President Trump opted to sit down for an interview with Tucker Carlson, who parted ways with Fox News earlier this year.