Peter Navarro, a senior counselor to President Donald Trump, publicly criticized Fox News after the network dismissed anchor Maria Bartiromo, calling the corporation “not treated Donald Trump very well.” The criticism came in an op‑ed in The Washington Times and a guest appearance on Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Reports, where Navarro defended Bartiromo and detailed the circumstances of her firing.
Navarro said Bartiromo had forwarded an internal memo from Fox Business senior vice president of programming Ralph Giordano, which advised staff not to repeat or promote unverified claims Trump made about alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election. He claimed he had not breached her confidence by passing the memo to him and that it was his duty to do so. He also alleged that Fox CEO Suzanne Scott had avoided broadcasting Trump’s July 16 Oval Office speech, a claim he countered by noting that Fox did air the address while other major networks declined to do so.
In the interview, Navarro accused Scott of suppressing MAGA‑oriented content, citing the firing of high‑profile anchors such as Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs and Bartiromo as evidence that the network was protecting advertisers at the expense of Trump supporters. He described Scott as an enforcer who limits coverage of election integrity, Big Pharma and Trump tariffs while allowing other conservative topics.
The Independent has asked Fox for comment. The network has faced increased caution after a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation claims related to post‑2020 election conspiracy theories. President Trump expressed displeasure at Bartiromo’s departure, praising her professionalism, while another lawsuit from Smartmatic remains pending.
