Fox News host Howard Kurtz defended rival network MSNBC on Sunday after Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, claimed during an interview that the network doesn't cover news.
Cruz has served in the Senate since 2013 and ran for president in 2016, but ended up losing the nomination to Donald Trump, who ultimately won the election. Last month, the senator released his book titled, Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America, which portrays his conservative views on issues such as gun rights and LGBTQ+ representation in America.
Cruz told Kurtz on Fox News' MediaBuzz on Sunday that "MSNBC is a rabidly partisan dishonest institution. They don't cover news."
Kurtz then interjected by saying, "Sure they cover news. Not in the way you like."
"No they don't," Cruz replied.
Cruz then pointed to an instance when he, along with other senators, forced a vote on the Senate floor for an emergency funding package for Israel amid its ongoing war with the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. The senator said Sunday that MSNBC, along with other news outlets considered to be more left-leaning, didn't cover it.
Cruz was referring to the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would provide Israel with $14.3 billion in military aid. The bill was passed by the House in early November, but Democrats in the Senate blocked it. The matter remains tabled.
The Texas senator also accused MSNBC of not covering issues like the surge of illegal migrants coming into the United States through the U.S.-Mexico border. In the 2023 fiscal year, which ended in September, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) had 3.2 million encounters, according to USBP data. Encounter data includes USBP Title 8 Apprehensions, Office of Field Operations (OFO) Title 8 Inadmissibles, and Title 42 Expulsions.
"If you watch CNN, MSNBC there is no border crisis- doesn't exist because they don't cover on those facts," Cruz told Kurtz.
Kurtz added, "They cover it at times."
"And the corruption of the media is why, a big part of the reason why, Democrats in Congress and the administration are so radical," Cruz said.
Newsweek reached out to Cruz's office, MediaBuzz and MSNBC via email for comment.
Democrats often criticize Fox News as being "propaganda" for conservatives and the Republican Party. Similarly, Republicans routinely make the converse argument about MSNBC, and sometimes CNN. An analysis by Pew Research Center published in 2020 showed that Fox News was among a small group of media outlets with a right-leaning audience, whereas MSNBC and CNN were among a larger group with a left-leaning audience.
Kurtz worked for CNN for over a decade before leaving for Fox News. From 1998 until 2013, Kurtz hosted CNN's weekly show Reliable Sources. The show, which wrapped in 2022, analyzed the media's coverage of major events.
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