President Donald Trump reacted to Fox News’ surprise announcement Thursday that it has parted ways with Maria Bartiromo, who had been an anchor on Fox News and Fox Business Network for more than 12 years. Fox News did not provide a reason for its dismissal of Bartiromo, a former prominent CNBC anchor who joined Fox Business in 2014. She last appeared Fox News on Aug. 9.
In recent years, Bartiromo, nicknamed “The Money Honey” during her two-decade tenure at CNBC, has become increasingly enamored of Trump and receptive to various MAGA conspiracy theories. Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy.
TRUMP” Citing a source familiar with the situation, Variety reported that Fox News believes Bartiromo shared with the White House a directive that the network’s bosses issued to executive producers at Fox Business cautioning staffers against supporting outlandish claims made by Trump. Bartiromo had wanted to pursue a story about Trump’s claims in a July 16 speech, in which he alleged recent U.S. elections had been “rigged and stolen” and claimed China had illegally accessed millions of voter files to try to manipulate American elections in 2018 and 2020, per media industry newsletter Status. Divulging confidential company information to an outside party would likely be seen as a violation of terms of employment.
A Fox News spokesperson Thursday called Bartiromo’s departure “a business decision.” Bartiromo was the first Fox anchor to promote false claims about the 2020 presidential election. She was among Fox News staffers including Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro who were named in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by voting technology company Dominion Voting against Fox News in 2021. Fox ultimately agreed to settle the matter for $787.5 million.
The lawsuit alleged Bartiromo had allowed false claims about the 2020 presidential election to air on the network as part of a bid to keep pro-Trump viewers from abandoning Fox News. Bartiromo has not commented on her firing from Fox. Bartiromo has sought legal representation from Hollywood attorney Bryan Freedman, who has worked with Megyn Kelly and others who have had conflicts with media employers, Variety reported.
Brian Steinberg contributed to this story.
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