共和党人在过去几个月里一直私下向福克斯新闻抱怨其报道，认为这些报道有助于帮助民主党参议院候选人阿布德尔·埃尔塞耶德塑造其形象。周二，这种不满在特朗普总统公开抨击他最喜欢的媒体时爆发出来。
Republicans have spent months griping privately to Fox News about coverage they argue is helping Abdul El-Sayed Michigan's Democratic nominee for Senate, moderate his image. The frustration boiled into public view Tuesday when President Trump lashed out at his favorite network.
为什么这很重要：共和党人担心福克斯新闻正在破坏他们将有魅力的埃尔塞耶德塑造为远离主流的自由派人物的努力。
Why it matters: Republicans worry that Fox is undercutting their efforts to brand the charismatic El-Sayed as a liberal who's far outside the mainstream.
- 民意调查显示，埃尔塞耶德——一位批评以色列政府的政治人物，如果当选将成为美国参议院的第一位穆斯林议员——在与前共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯的竞选中处于劣势。
• Polls show El-Sayed, a critic of Israel's government who'd be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, in a tight race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R). Behind the scenes:
幕后：据知情人士透露，白宫官员周二联系福克斯新闻，就主播玛莎·麦卡尔姆对埃尔塞耶德的采访表达了不满。特朗普在Truth Social上抨击该采访是“软球式问答”。他写道：“福克斯在推广民主党人，而不是共和党人和马加。他们完全迷失了方向！”
White House officials reached out to Fox on Tuesday to complain about anchor Martha MacCallum's interview with El-Sayed, according to people familiar with the conversations. On Truth Social, Trump blasted the interview as "softball." • "Fox is promoting the Dumocrats, not the Republicans and MAGA. They have totally lost their way!" he wrote.
白宫的不满在特朗普发帖之前，埃尔塞耶德的报道一直让白宫官员心烦意乱几个星期了。
The White House's frustration over Fox's coverage of El-Sayed had been bubbling for weeks before Trump's post.
- 8月初，高级共和党政治操作人士多次联系福克斯制片人和高管，警告称埃尔塞耶德可能会利用主持人杰西·瓦特斯的 favorable评论来塑造自己为温和派形象。
• Senior GOP operatives repeatedly contacted Fox producers and executives in early August, warning that El-Sayed could use favorable commentary from host Jesse Watters to cast himself as moderate.
- 在埃尔塞耶德击败支持 establishment 的候选人获胜后，瓦特斯说：“你得尊重阿布德尔，因为他击败了那个[民主党]机器。”
• After El-Sayed's upset primary win over an establishment-backed candidate, Watters said: "You gotta respect Abdul because he beat the [Democratic] machine."
本月晚些时候，埃尔塞耶德发布了一则电视广告，里面包含了瓦特斯的这番话。他的竞选团队称瓦特斯是一位“意外的支持者”。
Later that month, El-Sayed released a TV ad featuring Watters' remark. His campaign called Watters an "unlikely validator."
- 当瓦特斯在8月24日的采访中追问埃尔塞耶德关于ICE的批评、支持全民医保和对沙里亚法的看法时，共和党人感到安慰——但第二天瓦特斯又说：“我其实挺喜欢阿布德尔的。我可能不该喜欢他，但我就是喜欢。”
• Republicans were reassured when Watters pressed El-Sayed on his criticism of ICE, support for Medicare for All and opinion on Sharia law during an Aug. 24 interview — only to be frustrated again when Watters said the next day: "I actually like Abdul. I probably shouldn't like him, but I do."
当前局面：福克斯新闻已成为埃尔塞耶德吸引超越民主党基础选民群体的重要一部分。
State of play: Fox News has become a significant part of El-Sayed's effort to reach voters beyond the Democratic base.
- 根据广告追踪数据，10月1日至6日期间，El-Sayed的竞选广告在福克斯新闻频道播出了129次——大约是其在ESPN播出频率的两倍。
• From Oct. 1 to 6, El-Sayed campaign ads aired 129 times on Fox News — roughly twice as often as they did on ESPN, according to ad-tracking data.
- 密歇根州共和党策略师Dennis Lennox对Axios表示：“问题不仅在于他接受了福克斯的采访，更在于他几乎在每个广告时段都出现在福克斯上。”
• Michigan-based GOP strategist Dennis Lennox told Axios: "It's not just that he is doing interviews with Fox. It's that he is on Fox every commercial break."
言外之意：共和党人承认，El-Sayed已经证明自己在面对尖锐提问时能够从容应对——即使被追问共和党用来攻击他的议题时也是如此。
Between the lines: Republicans acknowledge El-Sayed has shown he can hold his own under tough questioning — even when pressed on issues the GOP is using against him.
- El-Sayed在周一与MacCallum的采访中表示：“我会与各种各样的人进行对话。”
• El-Sayed said during Monday's interview with MacCallum: "I am going to have conversations with all kinds of folks."
据福克斯称， Watters在8月对El-Sayed的采访吸引了近340万观众，成为当月收视率最高的有线新闻黄金时段节目。
According to Fox, Watters' interview with El-Sayed in August drew nearly 3.4 million viewers, making it the highest-rated cable news primetime telecast of the month.
- 密歇根州共和党策略师Jason Roe对Axios表示：“福克斯这是在帮他。这只会帮助他触达中间偏右的选民。但他们的业务本质是赚钱，而他确实能吸引眼球。”
• Michigan-based GOP strategist Jason Roe told Axios: "They are doing him a favor. It's only helping him reach center-right voters. But they are in business to make money, and he attracts eyeballs."
另一方面：福克斯新闻发言人表示，Rogers也曾受邀参加Watters的节目接受采访，但并未回应。
The other side: A Fox News spokesperson said Rogers also was invited to be interviewed on Watters' show but didn't respond.
- 白宫周三未回应置评请求。
• The White House didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Jay Wallace，福克斯新闻媒体总裁兼执行编辑周二对Axios表示，MacCallum对El-Sayed的采访体现了该频道愿意播出其核心受众可能不愿听到的内容。
Jay Wallace, Fox News Media president and executive editor, told Axios on Tuesday that MacCallum's interview of El-Sayed reflected the network's willingness to air programming its core audience may not want to hear.
- “有人未必喜欢这一点，”Wallace说，显然指的是特朗普。“但这就是我们的做法。”
• "Someone didn't necessarily like that," Wallace said, apparently referring to Trump. "But that's what we do."