Fox News is facing a furious revolt from some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters after Maria Bartiromo abruptly disappeared from the network — and another familiar Republican face took her place Sunday morning.
Former Republican congressman and longtime Fox contributor Jason Chaffetz stepped behind the desk of Sunday Morning Futures on Sept. 6, just days after Fox announced that Bartiromo was leaving the network after more than 12 years. Fox said Chaffetz was hosting temporarily and that a permanent replacement would be announced later.
But some of Bartiromo’s MAGA fans were having none of it.
“Wrong. That chair belongs to Maria Bartiromo,” conservative social media influencer Gunther Eagleman, whose real name is David Freeman, wrote on X after Chaffetz opened the program by introducing himself as host.
“America still knows who built that show and who owned Sunday mornings. Bring Maria back,” he added, according to The Daily Beast.
Other viewers threatened to abandon Fox entirely.
One commenter said they had routinely watched the program every Sunday but switched to Newsmax instead following Bartiromo’s departure, declaring they were finished with Fox. Others complained that Sunday mornings simply were not the same without the veteran anchor.
Some of the anger also focused on Chaffetz’s political history.
The former Utah congressman served in the House while Paul Ryan was speaker. Ryan, who has repeatedly clashed with Trump politically, currently serves on the board of Fox Corp. That connection prompted some angry Bartiromo supporters to speculate on social media that Ryan had played a role in the choice of Chaffetz, though there is no evidence publicly establishing that he selected him.
The backlash comes after Fox stunned viewers Thursday by announcing that Bartiromo, 58, was leaving.
“Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media,” the company announced Sept. 3. Fox thanked her for more than 12 years at the network and said her weekday Fox Business show, Mornings with Maria, would become Mornings with FOX Business with rotating anchors. Her weekly Wall Street program is also being reworked.
Fox later described the move as a “business decision” but did not publicly provide a more detailed explanation. Reuters and The Washington Post reported that Bartiromo’s departure was initiated by Fox.
The circumstances surrounding her exit have nevertheless become increasingly contentious.
Status and Puck reported that Bartiromo had shared internal Fox editorial guidance with members of the Trump White House concerning coverage of Trump’s disputed claims about the 2020 presidential election. The Washington Post said it had not independently corroborated that reporting.
But Trump adviser Peter Navarro subsequently confirmed one important piece of the story, telling Puck that Bartiromo sent him a screenshot of internal Fox Business guidance concerning coverage of Trump’s 2020 election claims.
Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has strongly disputed reports that she was fired.
“The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false,” Freedman said.
He also warned that Bartiromo’s team has “receipts and witnesses” that could eventually emerge “through the courthouse or otherwise.”
Fox, however, has publicly stood by its Sept. 3 announcement that Bartiromo is “no longer with FOX News Media.”
Bartiromo had become one of Fox’s most prominent Trump-friendly personalities, frequently interviewing the president and giving extensive airtime to his political arguments. She was also among the Fox personalities whose election coverage became an issue in litigation over false claims about voting machines following the 2020 election. Fox ultimately agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million in 2023 to settle its defamation lawsuit.
Trump himself publicly praised Bartiromo after news of her departure broke, calling her a “total professional” and a “true warrior” while predicting that her many fans would not be happy.
Judging by the reaction to her replacement Sunday morning, at least some of those fans are making their anger very clear.
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It\’s fake news anyway