Here’s How Fox News Covered Trump Bashing Former Host Jeanine Pirro

Screenshot via Fox News.

Fox News initially ignored the news of President Donald Trump publicly lambasting one of its former employees during an Oval Office press conference Monday, carrying the president’s remarks live but not mentioning what he said for several hours.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro was previously a Fox News host with her own show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, and as one of the five permanent co-hosts on The Five. Trump appointed her to her position at the DOJ last year after his initial pick, Ed Martin, was unable to win over enough Republican senators to get confirmed.

Pirro’s tenure at the DOJ has included a series of ignominious moments, including a highly publicized case in which a jury found a man who tossed a Subway sandwich at an ICE agent not guilty, a mass exodus of experienced attorneys, a huge spike in the percentage of criminal complaints filed by her office getting dismissed, reports of an “erosion in faith” with judges and grand juries, and most recently, the complete and utter collapse of the attempt to prosecute David Hearn.

Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist, was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and charged with a felony. At the end of July, Pirro’s office dismissed the case, claiming they had initially gotten bad information from the Department of the Interior and “the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.”

Trump, however, still insisted the case against Hearn had merit, posting on Truth Social that he “disagree[d] 100%” with Pirro’s decision to dismiss the case and sharing a video that he claimed showed “the VANDALISM that took place at the Reflecting Pool.”

The video did not show what Trump claimed, but he repeated that falsehood again during an Oval Office presser Monday, amidst lobbing several criticisms and insults Pirro’s way.

“Jeanine Pirro made a mistake,” the president declared. “There was vandalism.”

“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro!” Trump said later in the presser, with a raised voice. “Really disappointed with Jeanne Pirro! She folded like an umbrella! And people get away with things, and it’s a disgrace!”

Fox News covered the press conference live, including Trump’s attacks on Pirro. When the president wrapped it up, Fox News cut back to its anchors, Sandra Smith and John Roberts, for the remainder of America Reports.

Smith commented that the final question had been from Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson about sports, “but he did ask about the Iran war earlier.”

Trump “took a lot of questions” and spoke “for about an hour,” Smith continued, and then the two anchors segued into a discussion about Iran with a retired Marine Corps journalist until the commercial break.

The rest of the show covered a WNBA player’s remarks about transgender athletes and a report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policies, including the inaccurate claim that New Yorkers need to show ID to shop at the city-run grocery stores.

No mention of Pirro.

This continued until the 6 pm ET hour, with Trace Gallagher sitting in for Bret Baier on Special Report with Bret Baier.

Tomlinson was on air with Gallagher at the beginning of the show reporting on the news of the day, when Gallagher brought up Trump’s complaints about the Reflecting Pool case.

“On a different topic, Lucas, the president had some tough words for his U.S. Attorney in Washington, Jeanine Pirro,” said Gallagher.

“He sure did, Trace,” Tomlinson agreed. “Today in the Oval Office, President Trump said Jeanine Pirro ‘folded like an umbrella’ after she dropped charges against three individuals with connections to the vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, including former Olympic canoeist David Hearn.”

The show then cued up a video from Trump’s presser of him criticizing Pirro and saying he thinks she “choked” when the judge was “extremely unfriendly” and “went after her and went after her department.”

“Pirro’s office said there’s no evidence of vandalism, instead calling it ‘a botched installation,'” said Tomlinson.

Gallagher thanked Tomlinson for the report and then pivoted to the latest updates on oil prices and the stock market.

Pirro has not been mentioned on air by Fox News since that roughly one-minute segment at the top of the 6 pm ET hour.

Watch the clips above via Fox News.

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