Donald Trump calls Fox News 'dead' and complains about the commercials as he steps up feud with network and claims it 'played right into the hands of radical left Democrats'

President Donald Trump continued tearing into Fox News Channel first thing Wednesday morning proclaiming that the right-leaning network was 'dead.' 

'Can't believe how badly @FoxNews is doing in the ratings. They played right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats & now are floating in limboland,' Trump tweeted. 'Hiring fired Donna Brazile, and far worse, allowing endless negative and unedited commercials. Fox News is dead. Really Sad!' 

Trump has been at war with Fox News Channel for weeks over the network's decision to call Arizona in favor of President-elect Joe Biden on election night before other networks did - and later join the other networks in calling the race for Trump's Democratic rival the following week. 

The cause of his complaint about commercials was not immediately clear, although anti-Trump groups have run ads attacking him on Fox News in Washington D.C. because they know the spots will catch his eye. 

Earlier this week he slammed Chris Wallace, its most high-profile news anchor, who moderated the first  

He has also promoted its conservative competitors Newsmax and OAN.

Aided by shout-outs from Trump on Twitter, Newsmax's weekly primetime viewership has jumped 68% since the U.S. presidential election as the channel refused to declare Joe Biden the winner and aired debunked theories about voter fraud.

Tipping point: Trump has been furious since Fox News - correctly - called Arizona for Joe Biden ahead of other networks, but at the same time as the Associated Press

 Trump has long complained about Democratic pundits on Fox, including Brazile, an ex-Democratic National Committee chair, who used to be a political commentator on CNN. 

The Electoral College cemented Biden's victory on Monday, but Trump continues to refuse to concede the election and instead is lashing out at his perceived enemies. 

Even Newsmax said Tuesday that it would now call Biden president-elect after Mitch McConnell congratulated , leaving OAN as the only hold-out.  

Axios reported Tuesday that Trump has vowed to make Fox 'pay' for calling the presidential race accurately, but he's also told confidants that the 'people at the highest levels of Fox' have called him to make peace. 

Trump is particularly angry at Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, who moderated Trump's first debate against Biden, along with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Axios said.  

The ratings-obsessed president recently dropped a comment into the middle of a conversation that wasn't about Fox, asking the individual he was speaking with if they'd heard that Newsmax's Greg Kelly beat MacCallum in the 7 p.m. hour, the news site reported.    

Early evening host Greg Kelly on Monday averaged 229,000 viewers ages 25 to 54, the group most coveted by cable news advertisers, for the first time beating Fox's Martha MacCallum, who brought in 203,000 viewers in that age range at that hour.

MacCallum, however, won in overall viewers, and reclaimed her lead in both categories on Tuesday, suggesting the Newsmax gains may be fragile. 

Some key audience metrics have slipped from Newsmax's post-election peaks. 

Primetime viewership for the week that ended Dec. 4 was down 21% from two weeks earlier, averaging 391,000 viewers, while its total day audience fell 19%.

Fox News, which also has declined from election-week highs, still averaged 2.9 million primetime viewers that week, a sign of its strength after almost 19 years as the most-watched cable news channel.

The network had its highest-rated November in history, drawing 3.9 million primetime viewers, beating all cable networks, not just cable news. Primetime host Tucker Carlson averaged 5 million viewers for a second straight month, a record for cable television.

But at 9pm, Sean Hannity has been beaten by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, while overall, CNN has been the most-watched cable channel among the 25-54 demographic consistently since the election.

Fox's losses in recent weeks have not been enough to change its overall position for 2020,  winning in both daytime and primetime programming and in the all-important age 25 to 54 demographic.   

President Donald Trump tore into Fox News Channel Wednesday morning calling the network 'dead.' He's been at war with Fox for weeks after the network called the race for his rival, President-elect Joe Biden 

But Newsmax plans to expand in the United States and Britain, its CEO Chris Ruddy told Reuters Tuesday.

The network plans to hire more staff in the United States and London, debut a new primetime host and add more weekend programming to capitalize on post-election gains.

Ruddy said he saw the 40 million viewers not on cable as the next battleground for growth. 

In addition to cable news, the network streams for free on platforms including YouTube and a Newsmax app, which Ruddy said roughly doubles the nighttime audience.

'People are really tired of Fox News,' Ruddy said in a recent interview. 'There is a perception that they really tried to torpedo the president.'

Fox News declined to comment.

One of Newsmax's latest displays of Trump loyalty sparked a lawsuit. Former U.S. cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs sued Trump lawyer Joseph diGenova, Newsmax and the Trump campaign after diGenova said Krebs should be 'taken out at dawn and shot' after Krebs disputed Trump's claims of election fraud.

Newsmax said that while diGenova made 'inappropriate' comments, Krebs' lawsuit threatened free speech.

It is unclear whether Newsmax's surge is sustainable over a longer term after Trump leaves office.

Available in roughly 70 million cable TV homes, Newsmax is on a 'hiring splurge,' Ruddy said. The network has added 25 employees since the election to bring its total workforce to 275. It plans to hire 30 more over the next three months, including one in London and another in Los Angeles.

Newsmax, which is based in Florida, also plans to hire staff for a bureau in the state, home to both Trump and his Mar-a-Lago resort. Most of Newsmax's current 165 television staff are based in New York. Fox News has hundreds of journalists based in 10 U.S. bureaus and three international bureaus.

This month, Newsmax will launch a 10 p.m. ET program hosted by Rob Schmitt, a former early morning Fox News host, putting him up against Laura Ingraham on Fox.

Ruddy said he is currently considering various offers to invest in the channel but shot down media reports that the network was for sale.

Trump, meanwhile, is debating where to take his megaphone after he leaves office on Jan. 20. The president is considering starting a TV channel or social media company, according to several advisers.

Fox spent $1 billion before Fox News became profitable, Fox Corp Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic said this week.

'It's not a small undertaking to try to compete at that level,' Tomsic said at a UBS conference. 'When people think about competition, their knee-jerk reaction is to think 'Well, all we need is two or three talking heads to go head to head with ours.' The business is much bigger than that.'