Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier believes that physical abuse allegations swirling around Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff deserve further investigation.
And, if Baier had the time last week, he may even asked Vice President Kamala Harris about the claims himself in his blockbuster primetime interview with her.
The sit-down down attracted nearly 8 million viewers on Fox News Channel, a polarized response from the media and outright mockery from Saturday Night Live.
The interview was labeled ‘combative’ by critics and refreshing by others, as Baier attempted to pin Harris down on issues central to the campaign — illegal immigration, the state of the economy and her support for controversial taxpayer-funded gender-transition surgeries, among other issues.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Baier says that, going into the interview, he knew Harris would try to evade his pointed questions: ‘I watched her previous interviews… I tried to do it in a way that took her off her talking points.’
It was the same ‘style’ of interview that Baier said he used against President Donald Trump in their last one-on-one in 2023.
But it was the question that Baier didn’t ask that caught the attention of Mail columnist Maureen Callahan.
‘What about Doug?’ Callahan demanded in an article published last week.
Earlier this month, the Mail reported that in May 2012 Emhoff allegedly hit his then-girlfriend in the face so hard that she spun around while they waited in a valet line outside a Cannes Film Festival party.
An Emhoff spokesperson has denied the claim, saying ‘any suggestion that he would or ever hit a woman is false.’
The abuse allegation followed the Mail’s previous reporting that Emhoff had cheated on his first wife with this family’s nanny, Najen Naylor, allegedly impregnating her.
Emhoff has since admitted to the extra-marital affair that led to his divorce before he married Harris in 2014. He has not commented on whether or not he and Naylor conceived.
Baier explained why he did not prioritize these serious allegations in his interview questions.
‘I think it’s a fair story to ask those questions, especially with solid backup, and obviously ask for a response,’ he said. ‘I think if that story evolves to someone speaking out, not anonymously, maybe that changes the dynamic.’
Though, Baier says he still may have raised the issue with Harris, if he had the time.
‘It was in the list of questions – and I’ve followed the Daily Mail’s reporting on it,’ he said. ‘It was in the list. It was down past some of the other hot issues.’
The other concerns that Baier had hoped to question Harris on included her proposal to impose new taxes on wealthy Americans, her policies toward China, and how she’d unite a fiercely divided country in the event that she won the election.
These and other issues rank higher among voter concerns.
‘I think immigration was the thing that I led with because it does come up again and again when we ask people: What’s most important [to your vote in 2024],’ he explained.
In the waning days of the 2024 election, Baier is laser focused on the state of the race and he’s taking note of a peculiar campaign tactic being deployed by some politically vulnerable Senate Democrats.
Last week, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, who has suddenly found himself in a surprisingly tight race with Republican businessman David McCormick, began releasing campaign ads distancing himself from the Biden administration and embracing the policies of Donald Trump.
In one TV ad, a married couple praises Senator Casey, saying he ‘bucked Biden to protect fracking and he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and out tariffs on China.’
That strikes Baier as odd.
‘Democrats have been running against Donald Trump or MAGA Republicans for a long time. So I think that is an indication that they see on their internal [polling] that people want Democrats to be working with Republicans to get things done,’ he said.
‘They could also see some indications that Trump support has ticked up,’ he added. “Maybe they want to try to tap into that.’
In Michigan, Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin appears to be employing a strategy similar to Casey’s.
‘In 2020, I won my district and Donald Trump won my district. So I’m only here because of the Trump-Slotkin voters,’ she told reporters last week.
Baier suspects that these developments may be very telling. That’s why he’s taking his show, Special Report with Bret Baier, on the road this week to get a sense of what is really going on.
‘The Senate races are sort of a canary in the coal mine for what the presidential may hold,’ he said.