BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — Fox News stars feted Donald Trump at the annual Fox Nation Patriot Awards here on Thursday night, and the president-elect praised the “incredible people at Fox” as he accepted an award as “Honorary Patriot of the Year” from the most powerful force in cable television news.
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Trump began his brief acceptance speech by alluding to his complaints about the network and noting that he doesn’t like “a couple” people on its staff. But despite Trump’s gripes about Fox’s coverage of his political rivals and of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, the event was a reminder of the long-standing, occasionally troubled and often mutually beneficial relationship between Trump and Fox.
Trump has spent the weeks since Election Day mostly entrenched at his Mar-a-Lago Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and his decision to fly to Long Island to accept the award from Fox Nation, the TV network’s streaming service, highlights the influential role Fox is poised to play as Trump returns to the White House.
Days before the event, which also honored military veterans, first responders and other community leaders, Trump posted on Truth Social that he looked “greatly forward” to receiving the award, calling the accolade “so nice!” In that post, he took a different tone than he had less than two months ago, when he criticized Fox News’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and wrote the network has “grown so weak and soft on the Democrats.”
“FoxNews has totally lost its way!” he wrote at the time.
Throughout Trump’s first term, the president’s public statements and policy decisions often were influenced by Fox and its popular hosts. Trump watched the network religiously, often calling in by phone himself and tweeting responses to its reports in real time or after watching its shows on DVR.
Ahead of his return to the White House, Trump has tapped many of the network’s former hosts, contributors and frequent guests to serve in key roles in his administration, including Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for defense secretary.
Hegseth’s confirmation battle loomed over the event, which he was originally scheduled to emcee at the Tilles Center, a concert hall at Long Island University. A video montage played during the event included clips of Hegseth speaking on television about the 2014 Veterans Affairs hospital scandal.
“Just as an aside, there was someone in that package that I thought, I don’t know if you thought, looked like they would make one hell of a secretary of defense,” said Will Cain, who co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend with Hegseth before he left the network to pursue the Pentagon job.
Paula Pedene, a former chief spokeswoman for the Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital who blew the whistle on mismanagement at the facility, also spoke positively of Hegseth as she accepted a “Salute to Service” award for exposing the problems at VA. She thanked Hegseth for helping to hold the health system accountable.
“Thank goodness Pete Hegseth – before he came to Fox News – was with Concerned Veterans for America, and they helped us,” Pedene said. “They helped fix it.”
In the more than two hours before Trump’s arrival, the roughly 2,000 attendees at the sold-out event chanted “U-S-A” and cheered as Fox host and event emcee Sean Hannity honored various charities, even bringing dogs onstage from Paws of War, a group that provides service dogs to veterans and their families especially for those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. The college auditorium was smaller than last year’s venue, Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. The arts center was decorated with red, white and blue balloons, and American flags were projected on the walls and ceilings. A handful of Trump and MAGA hats were visible in the auditorium, and although most attendees wore business-casual clothing, some were dressed for a formal affair, sporting ball gowns and sleek suits.
Trump’s remarks, which lasted less than 20 minutes, echoed his campaign trail stump speech. He lamented that the 2020 election was a “very unfair situation” and baselessly suggested that Democrats tried to “rig” the 2024 presidential election. He touted his recent tariff threats on Canada and Mexico and repeated his evidence-free claim that other countries are emptying out their “mental institutions” and “insane asylums” to send immigrants to the U.S.
Earlier in the evening, Trump announced a slew of nominees and appointments, including Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Rodney Scott as commissioner of Customs and Border Protection; former Republican senator David Perdue (Georgia) as U.S. ambassador to China; and former National Border Patrol Council president Brandon Judd as U.S. ambassador to Chile.
Outside the event, people ran from their cars past giant, light-up letters spelling “Patriot Awards” to escape below-freezing temperatures and high winds. A Tesla Cybertruck was parked in the overflowing lot. Relatively few students gathered outside, but some stopped to take photos outside the event. They said that their classmates were either indifferent or excited about Trump’s appearance, and that no one had protested the event.
Before Trump’s remarks, Fox Nation appeared to have streaming issues, and some users complained on social media that they were unable to access the service. A spokesperson for Fox said the issues were due to overwhelming demand but did not immediately share specific numbers about how many people tried to log on.
Trump’s remarks ended the same way most of his campaign rallies did – with him dancing onstage to the Village People’s 1978 hit “Y.M.C.A.” before exiting.