Geraldo Reveals His Senate Dreams Were Dashed Because Fox News ‘Freaked Out’

Geraldo Rivera’s dreams to run for the U.S. Senate have been dashed (for now).

On Wednesday, he tweeted that he was considering a run for the seat soon to be vacated by Senator Rob Portman, who recently announced that he would not run for reelection in 2022. He even debuted his slogan on air at Fox News: “Geraldo for Ohio, from the great river to the Great Lake, I will fight for you.”

Turns out, however, that Fox News had some questions.

During a Friday morning appearance on Fox & Friends, Geraldo explained why he went from happily employed journalist at Fox News to aspiring Senator and then back to happily employed journalist at Fox News.

Steve Doocy asked his guest: “What is the deal? You made news earlier this week suggesting you might run for office, but then I read yesterday, you apparently sobered up.” Rivera had revealed on Hannity Thursday night that he was not actually going to run for office.

“Well, you know what happens? You wake up, you have a dream and the thing is you probably should keep your dream to yourself,” Geraldo explained. “Instead I started talking to Erica about it and we both got very enthusiastic,” adding that, as a moderate Republican, he can do something in a state like Ohio.

“The reaction, the initial vibe was great but it was also much more overwhelming than I ever expected,” he continued. “Fox freaked out, you know, said pick a lane, are you a journalist or a politician and I wasn’t ready to, you know, jump off my current turnstile, so, instead I had to kind of embarrass myself and say never mind.”

There have been a number of examples where Fox News has told contributors that a run for office would end their deal, which sort of justifies “freaking out,” as Geraldo hyperbolically put it. It’s the journalistically and ethically sound thing to do. Good for Fox News!

Watch above via Fox News.