2020 Democrats should test their mettle in a Fox News debate instead of running scared

The Democrats’ bewildering decision to prevent Fox News from hosting any of the party’s 12 presidential debates makes me wonder: What are they afraid of?

Emboldened by their takeover of the House and egged on by a ready-to-rumble party faithful, the Democratic National Committee is walking away from a confrontation with President Donald Trump’s favorite news operation — and a chance to make inroads with its audience.

Fox “is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates,’’ DNC Chair Tom Perez said, citing a report in The New Yorker about the close relationship between the conservative cable network and the White House.

Why are Democrats adding fuel to a media fire Trump has already ignited? And at what cost?

Fox News, the No. 1 cable network of any kind, is for better or worse a part of the media landscape, with an average of 2.4 million very loyal viewers every weeknight. To convince even a few of them to defect from the Trump experiment will be no small challenge for Democrats in 2020.