Fired Fox News Digital Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt, who played an instrumental role in calling Arizona for President Joe Biden before any other broadcast network, discussed the results of the Arizona election audit on Sunday, telling CNN’s Jim Acosta that he takes “no satisfaction or pleasure from seeing this outcome that roughly correspondents with the real results.”
Prior to 2020, Arizona had not voted for a Democratic president since 1996, and the call greatly upset former President Donald Trump‘s campaign team. According to the New York Times, Trump political adviser Jason Miller unsuccessfully requested that the network retract the call on Twitter, and Jared Kushner was in contact Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News.
A review of the election results released last week not only affirmed Biden’s victory, but also said that Trump received 261 fewer votes than the official results.
Stirewalt, however, said he did not feel any “vindication” from the audit’s results because “they’re doing their damage anyway.”
“The point of these [audits] is to undermine confidence. It’s not what the finding is,” Stirewalt said. “So I take no satisfaction or pleasure from seeing this outcome that roughly corresponds with the real results. They’re doing their damage anyway.”
Acosta then asked if Stirewalt wanted to sue for wrongful termination or “get on the phone with somebody over at Fox and say, ‘
Fox News said in a statement to Insider that Stirewalt’s firing, which came alongside at least 15 others, was part of restructuring efforts.
“As we conclude the 2020 election cycle, Fox News Digital has realigned its business and reporting structure to meet the demands of this new era,” the company said. “We are confident these changes will ensure the platform continues to deliver breakthrough reporting and insightful analysis surrounding major issues, both stateside and abroad.”
Stirewalt brushed off the question, saying, “Everybody knows that we were right in our call, that’s never been in doubt.”
“And if I did that, I couldn’t be here with you today hanging out, so we would be deprived of this time together,” he joked. “So why would I do that?”
Stirewalt then went on to say that he has “sincere sympathy for people who were duped” and believed the widespread election fraud conspiracies, but has “only disdain for the people who continue to promulgate” those ideas.
“The point is to undermine voter confidence in the process,” Stirewalt said. “Unfortunately, members of both parties make a habit of doing that these days. But we have a direct assault on the legitimacy of our elections. It is a problem, and you cannot placate your way out of this, Republican Party.”
Watch above, via CNN.
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