The White House Called Fox News’ CEO to Complain About Bartiromo Firing

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A top adviser to President Donald Trump said this week that unnamed White House officials called Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott to complain following the network’s ouster of longtime personality Maria Bartiromo.

It’s the latest twist in a long and complicated relationship between the Trump-era White House and Fox News, and comes after reports suggested Bartiromo’s ouster was a result of her decision to share newsroom communications about coverage with the White House.

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Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, made the claim during an appearance Tuesday on Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports.” He also claimed the incident was evidence that Fox News was suppressing pro-Trump coverage and had abandoned its role as a conservative agenda-setter.

“Suffice it to say that Suzanne Scott got a call, and basically the White House let her know that that kind of thing is totally unacceptable,” Navarro said.

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He later added: “The bigger story here is, forget about anybody thinking that Fox is a conservative network that’s friendly to MAGA, that’s friendly to Trump.”

Navarro’s comments came days after Fox announced that Bartiromo was no longer with the company after more than 12 years there. The network called her departure a “business decision” but did not provide a specific reason.

In an op-ed published Tuesday, Navarro said Bartiromo had planned to interview him about Trump’s July 16 speech, in which the president discussed debunked allegations of Chinese interference in the 2020 election. Navarro said Bartiromo later sent him internal guidance telling Fox Business staff not to promote the speech or discuss the 2020 election, which he passed along to other White House officials. Bartiromo’s disclosure of internal coverage decisions ultimately led to her firing, the media newsletter Status reported.

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