Politico Report of Fox News ‘Banning’ Rudy Giuliani is Greatly Exaggerated

If a cable news network chooses not to book as guest an individual, does that constitute a banning? Of course not. But if that person has been a frequent guest for the previous two decades? Well, it’s kind of a grey area. If that individual has kind of lost their marbles, and that booking would draw righteous mockery? Then the term “banning” may make more sense, but is no more true.

All of that is a pretext to a breathless Politico report that came out Friday that claims former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and personal attorney to former President Donald Trump has been “banned” from Fox News. While it is true that Giuliani has not been on Fox for months now, to call that a “banning” isn’t exactly correct either.

A source familiar with editorial bookings at Fox News dismissed the report, and one could surmise their decision rests on the diminished news value that Giuliani currently presents. One could also sense that, had Giuliani not fallen off the

rails of reality and sanity, then his appearances on the cable news network would likely have continued.

Writing for Political Playbook, Tara Palmeri reports:

RUDY GETS THE GONG — RUDY GIULIANI has been banned from Fox News for almost three months. As if the sting of that weren’t painful enough, the “9/11 mayor” learned of his banishment … on the eve of Sept. 11.Giuliani was slated to appear on “Fox & Friends” to mark the 20th anniversary of the attack. But the night before, host PETE HEGSETH called Giuliani to say he’d been cut from the show and apologize.

The source familiar with the events reported above bushed back on the “banning,” and also insists that Giuliani was never booked for that 9/11.

Palmeri reports that the ban “comes from the top,” and extends to Giuliani’s son Andrew — currently in the midst of a longshot bid for New York governor. This ignores the fact that Andrew has been on Fox News four times in recent months.

There is no question that the Politico item is a fun read, filled with schadenfreude and karmic comeuppance for a guy who has openly admitted to lying on air and has perniciously claimed the 2020 election was stolen, without ever presenting any reasonable evidence in a court of law. But that doesn’t make it exactly right. Nor is it wrong.

If one were eager to get booked on Fox, leaking that he or

she had been banned is a decent tactic to get back on the air. Fox News relishes proving reports about their internal goings-on wrong. Take for example the extension of CEO Suzanne Scott’s contract days after she was erroneously reported by The Daily Beast that her job was in “jeopardy.”

But no one currently wants anything to do with Giuliani, not even on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. And that’s not just Fox News, but nearly every other media outlet that covered that day extensively and opted not to have him on air.

The other, rather obvious observation here is this. If Fox News were to book Rudy Giuliani after all the crazy and baseless bullshit he’s spouted about the 2020 general election? They would be raked over the coals, and appropriately so. Giuliani is simply too toxic a guest at the moment, even for Fox News.

Giuliani has fallen so far from grace that he went from being America’s Mayor to recording custom videos on Cameo. If he weren’t so openly villainous, it would be sad. It is not, however.