If you've flipped on Fox News's The Five lately and felt like something was different, you weren't imagining it. Jessica Tarlov hasn't been in her usual seat, and it turns out she's taking a break from the show entirely. Tarlov works as a Democrat strategist in addition to her regular panelist gig on The Five, where she's spent years as one of the show's most recognizable liberal voices.
Reports indicate she's currently on vacation in Hawaii with her husband. This little getaway conveniently lands amid real friction with conservative viewers and fresh fallout from an on-air clash with co-host Greg Gutfeld.
Over the August 15-16 weekend, Tarlov shared photos and video on Instagram chronicling her time off from the desk. She made her way to the Hawaiian Island of Lanai for a friend's wedding.
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The trip comes right on the heels of a fiery on-air exchange with Gutfeld that had both of them raising their voices and talking over one another, the kind of segment that makes you wonder if the control room considered cutting to commercial early. Personally, I love these moments, and it's the best part of the show, which is why I love to highlight them when they happen.
Gutfeld: You cannot say trans is not an issue.
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 14, 2026
Jessica: I know Michele Tafoya said everyone is a trans voter now in Minnesota, but it is not.
Gutfeld: So now it’s not an important story? pic.twitter.com/VKv6vgiW1q
Truth is, nobody misses her. Not really. I know many PJ Media readers are sick of her and think she doesn’t belong on the show. I personally like having someone left-of-center at that table. A panel of five conservatives nodding along at each other would get stale fast.
My problem isn't that Tarlov is there. It's that she's rarely been a particularly sharp representative of her side. She recites Democrat talking points on command and rarely deviates from the party line, even when doing so would be the obviously smarter move. She even offered a bizarre defense of the Democrats who stuck with Graham Platner's Senate campaign in Maine long after his troubled history became an issue.
Compare that to Harold Ford Jr., who reads as sharper and considerably more willing to take his own party to task when it earns it. Tarlov could stand to take notes. He’s recently admitted that the socialist wave in the party is a huge problem for the Democrats that may cost them the midterms. I’ve rarely seen such honesty from Tarlov.
None of that means she has no place on The Five. Hardly. Despite her shortcomings, I know when she's on the show, there will be something good to watch. She'll almost certainly deliver plenty of entertainment once she's back behind the desk. Still, I part ways with the Fox News viewers threatening to quit watching the show entirely over her fierce anti-Trump streak. Boycotting a panel show because one liberal on it hates Trump is absurd. A panel with no ideological friction isn't worth tuning into. Tarlov's shouting matches with Gutfeld and with Jesse Watters are consistently the most entertaining part of the broadcast.
So yes, I hope Jessica Tarlov comes back to The Five. Eventually.
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