Fox News anchor Bret Baier says he 鈥渕ade a mistake鈥� during his interview with Kamala Harris in not airing video of a Donald Trump comment, something Harris pointed out to him in real time.
Baier made that admission on Thursday roughly 24 hours after his interview with the Democratic presidential candidate was aired. Just under 8 million people watched the session, Harris' first sit-down with a Fox News Channel journalist during the campaign.
It wasn't immediately clear, however, what Baier meant by saying he made a mistake.
Their exchange over the Trump video, one of the most contentious of the interview, came after Harris criticized her Republican opponent for saying that he might have to call out the National Guard or military to deal with 鈥渢he enemy within,鈥� whom he defined as 鈥渞adical left lunatics.鈥�
Baier then said his colleague, Harris Faulkner, had asked Trump about his 鈥渆nemy within鈥� comment earlier in the day, 鈥渁nd this is how he responded.鈥� The clip showed Trump saying he wasn't threatening anybody, and criticized 鈥減hony investigations鈥� of him, cracking a joke his audience laughed at.
鈥淏ret, I'm sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the enemy within ... that's not what you just showed,鈥� Harris said.
Speaking a day later, Baier said that when he asked his staff for video to play during the interview, he was expecting to get two clips 鈥� one that showed Trump making the 鈥渆nemy within鈥� comment to Fox's Maria Bartiromo, and the one from Faulkner's town hall that was played during the Harris interview.
鈥淭ake a listen to what I meant to roll,鈥� Baier said on Thursday. He then aired both clips back to back.
Yet during the interview, Baier had given no indication that he meant to air the 鈥渆nemy within鈥� comment at all, even after Harris had pointed it out. For that reason, his explanation of a mistake met with some skepticism online.
鈥淣ewsflash: When wrong clips run (which happens) hosts can easily say `Sorry that was the wrong clip,'" former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson wrote on 鈥淴.鈥� 鈥淗e or his producers would have know it was the wrong one right then.鈥�
There was no immediate comment from a Fox representative on Friday to clarify what Baier meant.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at .
David Bauder, The Associated Press
