Fox News anchor defends Mike Rogers skipping a debate on a Detroit station owned and operated by Fox

After Rogers’ campaign accused the Fox 2 Detroit moderator of “bias and favoritism,” Fox News anchor Dana Perino defended the decision: “I think the Rogers camp was right on that”

Written by Media Matters Staff

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Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers refused to debate his Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday. The Rogers campaign alleged that the Detroit Fox affiliate’s moderator, Roop Raj, was compromised by “bias and favoritism” toward El-Sayed. 

In fact, Fox 2 Detroit's parent company is the same as that of Fox News: Fox Corporation. Further, on his profile its website, Raj notes that he has interviewed President Trump on multiple occasions.

Despite the debate being hosted by a corporate cousin, Fox News anchor Dana Perino claimed on September 16 that Rogers was “right” to skip the debate because “the moderators were a bit too biased.”

From the September 16, 2026, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom 

DANA PERINO (ANCHOR): You might have noticed, everybody that Mike Rogers, the Republican, wasn't there. I looked into why and they said that the moderators were a bit too biased for them. I read some things this morning and I thought I think the Rogers camp was right on that. They have agreed to another debate that's upcoming.