Can You Really Get Fired From Fox News for Being Too Trumpy? I’m Skeptical.

The Slatest I’m skeptical. Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images. This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. Maria Bartiromo, the conservative TV host known for her staunch support of Donald Trump, is out at Fox News. Generally speaking, we at the Slatest try to avoid getting wrapped up in palace intrigue, especially media palace intrigue. But this particular ouster offers an important window into how things really work at Fox—as well as into the broader conservative media ecosystem in which the network is the apex predator. What exactly did Bartiromo do? Details are still trickling out, but here’s what we know. On Thursday, Fox announced that Bartiromo was “no longer with” the network, effective immediately. It didn’t give a reason, but reporters quickly put the pieces together. The drama seems to have started in July, when a Fox executive told the network’s on-air personalities to shy away from talking about a major Trump speech about election security. In that primetime address, the president floated conspiratorial insinuations about other countries interfering in the 2020 election, which he claims was stolen from him. Bartiromo, who has covered Trump’s election lies before, apparently forwarded the Fox executive’s guidance to the White House—“as if to say it wasn’t her fault that the claims weren’t getting airtime,” CNN reports—and Fox reportedly labeled Bartiromo’s disclosure a violation of her employment agreement. What has Bartiromo said about this? She’s contesting the emerging narrative—and maybe her apparent ouster, too. “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,” Bartiromo’s lawyer said today. “Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out, whether through the courthouse or otherwise.” Spicy! But assuming the reporting is right, is Bartiromo really the first Fox employee to get too close to the White House? No. During his first term, the president reportedly consulted the network’s on-air personalities for advice, sometimes even putting them on speakerphone in the Oval Office. One regular confidant was Sean Hannity, who even appeared briefly at a campaign rally with the president. Yet Hannity remains a Fox News host in good standing, and the network’s airwaves have become even more of a revolving door since Trump retook power. Several top officials this term—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia—were previously Fox personalities. Nor does Bartiromo seem like the only Fox insider who’s passed along sensitive internal info. Roger Ailes, the network’s former CEO, reportedly tipped off Trump’s 2016 campaign about a question later posed by a Fox reporter, and Hannity even hid the fact that he’d apparently shared a lawyer with the president (Michael Cohen, who’s now back in Trump’s good graces). Hang on: Fox (reportedly) fired Bartiromo! So doesn’t that prove the network isn’t just an arm of the White House? Trump’s 2020 election lies are among his most consistently expressed beliefs. Declining to give them airtime—and cutting ties with a host who has promoted them—certainly looks like an act of courage. But it has to be considered in the context of a network that constantly promotes many of Trump’s other lies. And, as noted, network personnel have been caught colluding with him. So what’s different here? There may be a baser motive at play: money. Bartiromo’s zealous coverage of the president’s claims had become a legal headache, helping cost Fox hundreds of millions of dollars in one defamation suit. Oh yeah. Remind me what happened in that case? In 2021, Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox for airing unsubstantiated allegations—including on Bartiromo’s show—that the company’s ballot-tabulation machines were rigged to steal the election. Just as the case was about to go to trial, Fox settled for $787 million. Fox is also facing a similar suit from another voting machine company, Smartmatic, in which Bartiromo is a defendant. According to NPR, Fox’s lawyers went to court for a hearing in that case on Thursday—the same day the network announced Bartiromo’s departure. (Bartiromo’s wouldn’t be the first Trump-friendly head to roll over the president’s election lies. The network ousted longtime host Lou Dobbs after Smartmatic sued and parted ways with Tucker Carlson, who also aired Trump’s false claims, days after the Dominion settlement.) Ouch. But what does this episode tell us about conservative media in general? It leads to some pretty cynical conclusions about the Murdochs, the billionaire family that owns Fox News, the New York Post, and other organs of the right-wing information ecosystem. Rupert Murdoch, who officially handed off his media empire to his son Lachlan last year, arguably helped create the political substrate that germinated Trump, who regularly appeared on Fox to criticize Barack Obama years before running for president. The Trump era has also been good for the Murdochs’ properties. Fox remains the country’s most-watched cable news network, and its other hosts regularly carry water for Trump’s agenda. So rather than taking a stand for the truth or against the president, Fox seems to have ditched Bartiromo to save face—and maybe cash. Trump isn’t pleased; “her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy,” he wrote in a valedictory Truth Social post. Yet Bartiromo’s ouster seems unlikely to break the symbiotic relationship that continues to benefit both the president and his favorite network. In response to questions about why she was let go, Fox called it “a business decision.” Indeed. Tolga Akdoğan It’s the holiday weekend, so you, like Bartiromo, likely have some extra free time on your hands. My colleagues have some great suggestions for how to spend it. Go to the movies: If you’re planning a trip to the theater this weekend, allow us to offer some suggestions. If you want to watch a comedy, check out Coyote vs. Acme. If you’re looking for action and adventure, Sam calls The End of Oak Street a “nasty little throwback to Jurassic Park.” For horror fans, It Ends will shake you to your core. If you’re in the mood for a coming-of-age drama, the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony is “is a perfect little movie,” according to Dana Stevens. We would recommend skipping The Dog Stars and The Whisper Man, which were both disappointing adaptations of great books. Binge a new TV show: If you’d rather stay in and stream something, we have a couple of recommendations. Sterling Point is a summer romance series that “will stand the test of time,” according to Rebecca Onion. Rebecca also raves about the crime thriller Furious, which features one of the best performances on TV right now. Lanterns, writes Sam Adams, “is a superhero show for people who think they don’t like superhero shows.” Sam was also pleasantly surprised by the newest season of Ted Lasso, which bounced back after its previous dreadful season. Finally, if you are craving some juicy reality TV, Scaachi Koul dubbed TLC’s Double Lives of Suburban Wives, which follows a group of Christian moms doing sex work, an “absolute banger.” Celebrate Labor Day with a new tradition: Sorry to Bother You, Boots Riley’s 2018 film starring LaKeith Stanfield, is a rollicking sci-fi black comedy about a dystopian workplace. It is also, argues Terri Gerstein, the perfect movie to rewatch this weekend. She argues that what It’s a Wonderful Life is to Christmas and Groundhog Day is to Groundhog Day, Sorry to Bother You should be to Labor Day. Sample some new snacks: Summer barbecues are rife with potato-chip mediocrity. This weekend, leave the predictable bag of chips behind and win the cookout with thrilling bites from Thailand, Canada, and even … Pennsylvania. Danny Palumbo recommends the best snacks to enliven your cookout. Or, if you prefer softer spuds, Danny also has a genius tip for leveling up your potato salad. As the last thing standing between you and a long weekend, let me get out of your way. We’re taking Labor Day off, so I’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday. ’Til then!