Abby Hornacek says meeting Fox News superfans at Fox Nation summit ‘validates all of the hard work’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abby Hornacek hosted a live show, including a Q&A with fans, at the Fox Nation summit
Fox News superfans packed the W Scottsdale hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday for the inaugural Fox Nation fan summit, an event applauded by everyone from attendees to a prominent mainstream media critic of Fox News.
Some fans drove hundreds of miles to attend, while everyone dealt with sweltering Arizona heat to meet their favorite stars. Abby Hornacek, Tomi Lahren, David Webb, Lawrence Jones, Tom Shillue, Pete Hegseth, Ed Henry Bill Bennett and Diamond & Silk were among the Fox Nation personalities to mingle with viewers.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Meeting Fox superfans in person was such a special moment," Hornacek said. "To see the passion they have for our programming validates all of the hard work put in by the entire production team. Their interest in our passions is why I love this job.
”I hope everyone there had as much of a good time as we did.”
Fox Nation subscribers and fans got the opportunity to meet their favorite hosts and commentators, including Tomi Lahren, center. (Fox News)
All of the personalities made themselves available to the public, whether they were walking between events or on their way to the live broadcasts streamed on FoxNation.com.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I went out there and I shook every hand and I took a photo with every single person who wanted to, because they were waiting to see us," Henry told Fox News. "They are our audience and we care about them. We don't just say it. We don't just talk the talk. We walk the walk."
Lawrence Jones gets fans ready for the Pop-a-Shot challenge between Pete Hegseth and Abby Hornacek.
Even a liberal Washington Post media critic, Erik Wemple, had praise for the event, in a piece headlined “Here’s why Fox News is No. 1.” Wemple noted that he “marveled at just how deeply these fans engage with the product,” noting that other cable news networks wouldn’t be able to pull off a similar event.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“You have to wonder: If CNN, for example, announced a summit for its fans, would anyone travel so far to talk about John Berman? Or Erin Burnett?”
Pete Hegseth takes a picture with a loyal Fox News fan at the Fox Nation summit.
The critic – he often takes issue with Fox News and is regularly mocked by Tucker Carlson – ended his piece with some words of admiration for the Fox Nation event.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It was a well-executed affair, and one attendee at the night’s conclusion told us she was happy to have been face-to-face with her favorite network’s personalities — an experience that aligns with the motivation for holding the summit in the first place,” Wemple wrote.
Fox Nation is an on-demand, subscription-based streaming service for Fox News superfans. All programming on Fox Nation is commercial-free and available in the service’s library, allowing subscribers to access the programs at any time. The service features thousands of hours of content, including daily short-form programming from Lahren, Webb, Judge Andrew Napolitano and more, plus long-form investigative series.
In coordination with Tuesday's event, Fox Nation is offering a special 99-cent promotional rate for a monthlong subscription, expiring Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ David Montanaro contributed to this report.