Bret Baier Explained

Bret Baier should not be confused with Brett Baer.

Bret Baier
Birth Name:William Bret Baier
Birth Date:4 August 1970
Birth Place:Rumson, New Jersey, U.S.
Education:DePauw University (BA)
Occupation:Anchor
Children:2

William Bret Baier (;[1] born August 4, 1970) is an American journalist and the host of Special Report with Bret Baier on the Fox News Channel and the chief political anchor for Fox.[2] He previously worked as the network's Chief White House Correspondent and Pentagon correspondent.

Early life

Baier was born in Rumson, New Jersey, to a family of mixed German and Irish origins.[3] [4] Raised Catholic, he attended Marist School, a private Roman Catholic high school in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating in 1988. Baier then attended the Methodist DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, graduating in 1992 with a BA degree in political science and English.[5] At DePauw, he became a member of the Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.[6]

Career

Baier began his television career with a local station WJWJ TV16 on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, before joining WRAL-TV, then CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina. He sent an audition tape to Fox News in 1998, and was hired as the network's Atlanta bureau chief.

On September 11, 2001, he drove from Georgia to Arlington, Virginia, to cover the attack on the Pentagon. He never returned to the Atlanta bureau and was instead tapped as the network's Pentagon correspondent, remaining at the post for five years and taking 11 trips to Afghanistan and 13 trips to Iraq.[7]

He was named Fox News's White House correspondent in 2007, covering the administration of George W. Bush. In the fall of 2007, he began substituting for Brit Hume, then the anchor of Special Report, on Fridays.[2]

On December 23, 2008, Hume anchored his final show and announced Baier would replace him as anchor of Special Report.[8] He hosted his first show as permanent anchor on January 5, 2009.[2]

In October 2021, Baier promoted his new book To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[9]

In June 2023, Baier interviewed former U.S. President Donald Trump.[10] In that interview, Baier pressed Trump on his refusal to return classified documents,[11] asked him why he insulted people he himself had hired, [12] and fact-checked him about the 2020 election.[13] Baier was roundly praised for his performance in the interview,[14] [15] which was seen by many as a disaster for Trump.[16] [17]

In August 2023 Baier co-moderated the first GOP Primary debate alongside Martha MacCallum. The debate was viewed by around 12.8 million people.[18]

In September 2023, Baier interviewed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Sindalah, Saudi Arabia.[19] [20] [21]

In October 2023, Baier planned to host a discussion between the candidates vying to replace Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. After his ouster, Representatives Kevin Hern, Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise planned to join Baier to make their public case for House Leadership on Special Report. However, the plans fell through after other House Republicans became angry at the idea, calling it a "horrible idea" and a "distraction".[22] [23] [24]

In February 2024, Baier traveled to Ukraine to interview President Volodymyr Zelensky about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was the first interview Zelensky has done on the front lines of the war. In the interview, Zelensky called Tucker Carlson's Interview with Vladimir Putin "two hours of bullshit," and made the case for more western aid to Ukraine.[25] [21]

Recognition and reception

Awards

Baier has received numerous awards for his work. In 2016, Baier earned the Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Journalism from the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program.[26] In 2017, he received the Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism from the National Press Foundation[27] and the Urbino Press Award from the Municipality of Urbino.[28]

Criticism

Some critics have argued that there is a conservative bias in Baier's reporting.[29] In an email shortly after the 2020 United States presidential election, Baier argued that Fox should pull its projection that Joe Biden had won the state of Arizona.[30] Baier worried that the projection, which turned out to be accurate, might upset Fox viewers enough for them to abandon the network.[31]

Personal life

Baier, who served as an altar boy in his youth, is a practicing Roman Catholic and attends Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown.[32] [33]

Baier and his wife Amy have two sons, Daniel and Paul.[34] Paul was born with cardiac problems and before the child's open-heart surgery in 2008, President George W. Bush invited Baier and his wife and son to the Oval Office for a visit and had the White House physician update him on Paul's progress.[2] In 2009, Baier was named a "Significant Sig" by the Sigma Chi Fraternity.[35]

Works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Bret Baier Looks Back at 10 Years of Hosting "Special Report" . 2019-01-05. Fox News Insider. 2022-05-30.
  2. News: Bret Baier, the Successor to Brit Hume on Fox's 'Special Report'. The Washington Post. January 6, 2009. September 29, 2010.
  3. News: Koncius. Jura. For a Fox Newsman and His Family, A Retreat Inspired by Ralph Lauren. The Washington Post. June 25, 2009. February 14, 2011.
  4. Baier . Bret . Bret Baier . BretBaier . 445561252916756480 . March 17, 2014 . Yep - German and Irish RT @Papatul @BretBaier Bret, are YOU Irish??? . en . June 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210411145846/https://twitter.com/bretbaier/status/445561252916756480 . April 11, 2021 . live.
  5. http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/personalities/bret-baier/bio/#s=a-d Bret Baier|Biography|Fox News
  6. http://www.sigmachi.org/significant-sigs-recipients?field_oc_ss_last_initial_value=All&field_hp_company_value=Xi&field_hp_univ_preferred_value=All&field_hp_province_description_value=All&field_hp_state_province_value=All Significant Sigs | Sigma Chi Fraternity
  7. Web site: Facebook post. m.facebook.com. February 25, 2024.
  8. Web site: Ariens . Chris . Bret Baier to be Named Host of "Special Report" . . mediabistro.com . December 23, 2008 . December 23, 2008 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090124234541/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/bret_baier_to_be_named_host_of_special_report_104244.asp?c=rss . January 24, 2009 .
  9. Web site: Bret Baier chats with Stephen Colbert about Fox host's new Ulysses S. Grant book. . October 7, 2021.
  10. Web site: Bret Baier's Interview with Donald Trump Draws 2.6 Million Viewers . .
  11. Web site: Donald Trump Talks Ballot-Stuffing with Fox News' Bret Baier, who then said, "You Lost the 2020 Election." . June 19, 2023 .
  12. Web site: Trump, who said he hired only the best people, was thoroughly asked why so many key players of his administration didn't want him to be president again . June 20, 2023 .
  13. Web site: Trump reacts angrily as Fox News anchor directly tells him he lost the 2020 election . . June 20, 2023 .
  14. Web site: Bret Baier Earns Bipartisan Praise for Grilling Trump on Classified Docs: 'An Extraordinary Interview' . June 20, 2023 .
  15. Web site: Bret Baier Earns Praise for Trump Interview Performance . June 20, 2023 .
  16. Trump All but Confesses to Mishandling Classified Docs on Fox News . . June 19, 2023 .
  17. Web site: Trump's Fox News interview with Bret Baier arms DeSantis campaign. February 25, 2024.
  18. Web site: Republican debate ratings show 12.8 million watched first GOP showdown of 2023, Fox says - CBS News . . August 24, 2023 .
  19. Web site: Anticipation high for Saudi Crown Prince's Fox News exclusive interview . . September 20, 2023 . 20 September 2023.
  20. Web site: Bret Baier interviews Saudi Prince: Israel peace, 9/11 ties, Iran nuke fears: 'Cannot see another Hiroshima' . . September 20, 2023 . 20 September 2023.
  21. Web site: Zelenskyy said he didn't have time to watch more than 2 hours of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin . .
  22. https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/10/06/fox-news-speaker-debate/
  23. Web site: JUST IN: Fox News' GOP Speaker Candidate Debate is OFF . October 6, 2023 .
  24. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4242236-televised-fox-news-speaker-forum-called-off-after-candidates-pull-out/
  25. Web site: Zelenskyy appeals to Trump, Congress to see 'tragedy' of Russia invasion in exclusive Bret Baier interview . . February 22, 2024 .
  26. Web site: Bret Baier Wins Kenneth Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Journalism . January 3, 2019 . Adweek. May 12, 2016 .
  27. Web site: Bret Baier Selected for Taishoff Award . January 3, 2019 . National Press Association.
  28. Web site: It is Bret Baier of Fox News the winner of the Urbino Press Award 2018 . January 3, 2019 . Vivere Urbino.
  29. Web site: The Real Problem with Fox News . 2023-11-20 . Columbia Journalism Review . en.
  30. News: Pengelly . Martin . 2022-09-21 . Fox News anchor Bret Baier wanted Arizona 'put back' in Trump's column, book says . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-11-20 . 0261-3077.
  31. Web site: Jones . Tom . 2022-09-21 . A new book about Trump calls out a Fox News anchor . 2023-11-20 . Poynter . en-US.
  32. Web site: Rothstein. Betsy. A father's first Father's Day. The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corporation. June 10, 2008. June 12, 2011.
  33. Web site: Rothstein. Betsy . How Catholic Is Bret Baier?. fishbowldc . mediabistro.com. February 17, 2011. December 14, 2011.
  34. News: Roberts . Roxanne . Roxanne Roberts . Argetsinger . Amy . Amy Argetsinger . July 8, 2010 . The Reliable Source: Love, etc.: Bret Baier, Rachel Dratch, Ed Swiderski and Jillian Harris . June 12, 2011 . The Washington Post.
  35. http://www.sigmachi.org/significant-sigs-recipients?field_oc_ss_last_initial_value=All&field_hp_company_value=Xi&field_hp_univ_preferred_value=All&field_hp_province_description_value=All&field_hp_state_province_value=All Significant Sigs | Sigma Chi Fraternity

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