“I’ve read the stories about how the Murdochs have soured on Donald Trump, but you would not know it from their programming decisions,” said Charlie Sykes, the longtime conservative radio host and MSNBC contributor. “It certainly reflects the business model of conservative media right now. Pro-Trump viewers want a safe space. They want a reliable outlet that will defend the president and attack his critics and Fox has apparently decided that it’s going to give them that.”…

Chris Ruddy, CEO of rival conservative platform Newsmax and a Trump ally, said even he has been taken aback by Fox hosts’ unwillingness to criticize the president. If Fox has shifted to protect itself on the right, Ruddy believes there’s now an opening for a conservative outlet that feels less reflexively defensive of Trump.

“Newsmax is very supportive of the president, but we also will publish things that are critical of him time to time,” Ruddy said. “Fox seems to have decided to become very closely aligned, which seems unnatural, and it doesn’t seem consistent.