Fox News' election night plans thrown into chaos following coronavirus outbreak among top stars

The Daily Beast

After weeks of planning, Fox News last week unveiled a set featuring a 3D White House and 14-foot video chandelier as part of its election night coverage that would be anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, with The Five co-hosts Dana Perino and Juan Williams serving as on-set contributors. The New York Times reports all four are in quarantine, along with Fox News president Jay Wallace, after they were on a chartered flight from Nashville to New York City following last Thursday's debate with somebody who tested positive for coronavirus. Now it's unclear how Fox News will proceed with the potential of its top talent not being in studio. “Everyone is in a panic about election night,” one current Fox News staffer tells The Daily Beast. Another says: “I believe it will put election night-plans into chaos. It will be like starting from scratch... It’s not good for anyone...It’s insane that there’s a possibility the anchors will have to host the biggest night of 2020 from their homes.” Some Fox News staffers weren't surprised by the COVID outbreak since -- unlike other networks -- Fox sent large groups of staffers to travel for the debates. "Last week in Nashville, (NBC reporter Kristen) Welker was the moderator. But NBC had almost no footprint. ABC had almost no footprint,” one source familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast. “But (Fox News) had a huge, huge footprint? Why is that?” The Daily Beast notes that in addition to Wallace, MacCallum, Baier, Williams, and Perino, the network separately flew in pundits Karl Rove, Katie Pavlich and Donna Brazile.