Frequent Fox News Guest Says He Won’t Appear On Network Anymore: ‘Does More Harm Than Good’

Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas told The Hollywood Reporter this week that he has decided to end his frequent guest spots on Fox News because he can no longer look at himself in the mirror after appearing on air.

The former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign staffer has been a regular presence on Fox programming over the past two years, showing up over 40 times this year after making multiple appearances a week in 2017. He has balanced his guest hits on Fox opinion shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and the network’s news-driven programs. In fact, he was the other panelist during ex-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski’s infamous “womp womp” moment.

According to Petkanas, he was asked to appear on Fox News @ Night on Monday but decided he just couldn’t do it anymore.

“I can’t go on the program and come home and look at myself in the mirror and say that in the grand scheme, this is pushing the ball forward,” he told THR. “I think everyone should have that conversation, especially in light of the violent attacks over the past week.”

He also stated that in the past, he “believed it was really important that Fox’s audience hear a different point of view, that the garbage that they spew gets challenged on the regular,” adding that while he felt he was successful doing that he now thinks “participating in an illegitimate debate does more harm than good.”

Fox News, no stranger to criticism, has come under intense scrutiny in recent days over its coverage of the migrant caravan and the bomb scare targeting prominent Democrats and CNN. Prior to the feds arresting Trump superfan Cesar Sayoc, Fox guests, commentators and host Lou Dobbs suggested that pipe bombs were a “false flag” operation to help Democrats in the midterms.

Fox talking heads have also frequently referred to the migrants in the caravan as “invaders,” a talking point the Robert Bowers echoed days before his deadly mass shooting of a Pittsburgh synagogue. Frequent Fox guest Chris Farrell was recently banned from appearing on Fox programming after he pushed an anti-Semitic conspiracy revolving around George Soros and the caravan during a Dobbs broadcast that was re-aired hours after the shooting.

After Petkanas wrote an op-ed for Mediaite calling Fox News “cancerous,” a Fox News spokesperson provided the following statement to Contemptor: “We encourage all voices to come on Fox News to help us inform and exchange ideas with our vast and engaged audience.”