Fox News Needs to Show Some Spine

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Gabriel Sherman reports on Donald Trump’s declaration that he won’t participate in the Fox debate on Thursday:

Trump source says Trump isn’t taking Ailes calls. Hannity just tried calling trump as an emissary. Trump only wants to deal with Murdoch now

— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) January 27, 2016

Per Trump source: Trump’s position now is he is chairman of his company and he will only deal with Murdoch at a chairman-to-chairman level

— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) January 27, 2016

Yuck. Fox’s written statement is suitably firm: “Capitulating to politicians’ ultimatums about a debate moderator violates all journalistic standards, as do threats, including the one leveled by Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski toward Megyn Kelly.” But if Ailes and Hannity are really calling Trump to beg him to reconsider—which, admittedly, we have only Trump’s word for—it suggests that Trump is winning. They should knock it off. Let him go sulk in his tent.