President Trump said he had to change the channel from Fox News on Tuesday while watching early election coverage, blaming the network’s liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov.
“I can’t stand Jessica Tarlov’s voice — DUMB AS A ROCK, but it’s the voice that gets me,” the president wrote on Truth Social during an episode of “The Five.” He added that he would watch something else until she was off the air and would be back later.
Tarlov, a Democratic strategist, is the regular progressive voice on “The Five,” one of Fox News’ most-watched programs, and appears frequently across the network.
The president didn’t stop at one post. Later in the broadcast, co-host Greg Gutfeld told viewers he had received a text from the president about Tarlov. In the text, Trump wrote that gas prices are lower than they were under former Presidents Biden and Obama. He also said he had inherited the worst prices and inflation in history and that prices and inflation are now falling fast. The message ended with a vow that Iran will not get a nuclear bomb.
Tarlov responded with a joke, telling her co-host to “just press STOP.”
The panel was already tense. Minutes before a spat between Tarlov and Gutfeld, co-host Jesse Watters said he felt like he was about to play a game he knew he would lose.
Trump didn’t stay away long. Less than an hour after saying he was switching channels, he attacked a Fox News poll, calling the network’s survey questions a hit job. He followed with a longer post blasting Fox’s ratings. He claimed viewership was down 27% because the channel spends too much time covering Democrats. He also criticized Fox Corp. for donating to Democrats, naming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Reps. Jamie Raskin, Ted Lieu and Pete Aguilar, and several Democratic Party organizations.
“It’s them, not me,” Trump wrote, insisting his own numbers had never been better.
It’s not the first time Trump has gone after Tarlov. Last month at a rally in Nebraska, he complained that networks always put her on and called her another “loser.” The day before the election, he called her “stupid” in another Truth Social post.
Tarlov has previously brushed off the president’s insults.
Trump has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Fox News for years. He regularly sits for interviews on the network and has picked several of its top hosts for his Cabinet. He has also often complained about Fox polling. On election night in 2020, he famously erupted when the network called Arizona for Joe Biden.
Trump’s frustration played out as Democrats went on to win control of both chambers of Congress.
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