Trump says ‘I’m ratings machine,’ blasts claims of embarrassing Fox cut-off: ‘They called me first’

In a fiery response to his recent Fox News appearance, where anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum abruptly cut off his call mid-air during the DNC, Donald Trump declared, "I'm a rating machine." 

Trump, visibly frustrated by the claims that he faced an embarrassing moment when the anchors hung up on him, accused Fox News of being the instigator, insisting, "They called me first."

Former President Trump shot back at claims saying he went off on tangents during a call with Fox News after Vice President Harris gave her speech for the Democrats last week. He said the network actually wanted a short interview, not a long one.

"Bret Baier of Fox News called me; I didn't call him. This was just before Kamala Harris's convention speech, and he asked if I would critique her after her speech. I agreed!" Trump, who is very active on social media leading up to the elections, wrote on Truth Social.

The post follows an incident on Thursday when Trump joined a live Fox segment to discuss his views as the DNC aired. During the 10-minute call, Trump continued ranting about Harris and praising Kennedy, who was about to endorse him. The anchors tried to interject with questions but were unsuccessful. The call ended abruptly when the anchors said they had run out of time.

"I thought it was nonspecific and weak, with no fracking, crime, inflation or anything else of interest even mentioned," Trump continued. "Delivery was a C+, with far too many and speedy 'thank you's' at the beginning. It was 'WEIRD!'" he added.

'I'm the 'Ratings Machine'

Trump's fiery post didn't just end with his call-out to Fox News. The former president also took a swing at the NY Times for their take on the situation. Right after the Fox News debacle, NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd penned an opinion piece that described Trump's call as a "scream-of-consciousness" moment. Trump clearly wasn't amused by this "cut and run" commentary, and his response was anything but subtle.

Further commenting he wrote, "I didn't call other media outlets that asked me to go on, they called me. The Fake News, like often 'gilted' Maureen Dowd of the failing New York Times, wrote incorrectly that I was making the calls."

Declaring himself as a ratings machine he said, "WRONG!!! I don't have to make calls to go on TV, or anything else — They call me! It's called Ratings, I guess, and I'm the 'Ratings Machine!'"

Trump mocked after Fox call cut

Earlier, the former president faced mockery over the call cut incident, where he ignored the anchors' pleas to intervene during his 10-minute monologue. Fox was preparing to air its late-night comedy show, "Gutfeld!" Throughout the conversation, Trump accidentally pressed buttons on his phone's keypad, causing strange sounds, but he continued speaking.

When the next show aired, Trump called host Greg Gutfeld, who earlier joked, "He's still talking, by the way." Social media quickly buzzed with reactions, with many claiming he was desperate for attention.