President Donald Trump has reacted to the shock firing of Maria Bartiromo from Fox News, praising her career on the network without acknowledging the circumstances that reportedly led to her exit.
Fox let go of the 58-year-old anchor on Thursday, and it was reported that the split traces back to Bartiromo tipping off the White House that network bosses had told staff to avoid amplifying Trump’s unfounded claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election, which were aired during a July primetime address to the nation.
Donald Trump’s reaction omitted reports tying Bartiromo’s dismissal to confidential Fox guidance shared with the White House
According to Status, either Donald Trump himself or someone in his administration had pressed Maria Bartiromo on why the network wasn’t covering the president’s claims. She reportedly admitted the directive had come from her own superiors and went a step further, forwarding the White House a text message laying out Fox’s internal guidance.
Trump addressed the firing in a Truth Social post on Thursday night, but he made no mention of that reporting or of the conversation that reportedly set it all in motion. “I can’t believe Maria Bartiromo is no longer going to have her great show(s) on FoxNews/Business. Three different shows, always number one,” he wrote. “Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy. God bless you, Maria! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Additionally, on the same day, when asked whether Bartiromo might be in line to succeed Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, Vice President JD Vance downplayed the idea. “I don’t know, man. Ahh, no, I don’t think so. You know, I just saw the news literally as I walked out here,” he said, adding, “I love Maria; I think she’s an amazing person, amazing talent.” He continued: “Whatever she does, she’s gonna do great, and I wish her all the best. She’s a very, very dear friend” (via The Daily Beast).
Fox Business moved fast to scrub her from its website, pulling her staff bio down entirely. As of Thursday, Bartiromo’s X bio still listed her Fox shows, unchanged since the news broke.
