New Details Emerge on Maria Bartiromo's Sudden Split With Fox News
Key Takeaways
- •Bartiromo's departure followed her sharing an internal Fox message with Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who passed it to senior administration officials, according to a Puck News report.
- •The dispute originated when Fox Business executive Ralph Giordano told Bartiromo's producers to skip coverage of a July Trump speech reviving false 2020 election claims.
- •A high-ranking White House official contacted Fox leadership to complain after learning of the guidance, and Fox executives Suzanne Scott and Jay Wallace were reportedly furious over Bartiromo's actions.
- •Bartiromo joined Fox Business at its 2007 launch after a long tenure at CNBC and became one of the network's most prominent hosts.
- •Her exit comes amid heightened sensitivity at Fox over election coverage following its $787.5 million Dominion Voting Systems settlement in 2023.
Fresh details have surfaced regarding Maria Bartiromo's abrupt departure from Fox News, shedding light on the circumstances behind the veteran host's exit.
According to a Puck News report, the network turned against the longtime cable news host after she shared an internal Fox message with Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who then passed it "up the chain" to the White House.
"Maria Bartiromo's sudden split with Fox took even veteran cable news observers by surprise," the report stated. "But according to sources, the network could no longer abide her continued interest in amplifying Trump's 2020 election fraud fantasies."
Bartiromo, who joined Fox Business Network at its launch in 2007 after a long run at CNBC, was one of the most prominent financial-news anchors on television, hosting programs on both Fox Business and Fox News. Her departure removes one of the network's highest-profile hosts and comes amid ongoing tension between major media organizations and political figures over editorial control of election-related coverage—a sensitivity that has only grown since Fox's $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 over defamation claims tied to 2020 election coverage.
The conflict began after President Donald Trump delivered a July speech reviving false claims about the 2020 election. Bartiromo had planned to cover the speech on her show and to bring Navarro on-air to discuss it, according to Puck.
Instead, Fox Business executive Ralph Giordano sent a text message to Bartiromo's producers instructing them to skip the speech.
"In an interview on Friday, Navarro told me that when Bartiromo received Giordano's guidance, she took a screenshot and forwarded it to him to tell him that management was not letting her cover the speech—or, in his words, 'censoring' it," Puck's Dylan Byers reported. "Navarro subsequently passed that information 'up the chain,' he said, informing senior administration officials of the guidance."
That prompted an unidentified high-ranking White House official to contact Fox leadership to complain about the decision, according to the Puck report. Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and network president Jay Wallace were reportedly furious over Bartiromo's decision to share internal guidance with the Trump administration.
"Now Trump, himself, is voicing his disbelief," Byers told readers on Friday. "And Bartiromo is gearing up for a fight."
