I’m going to enjoy writing this one too much.
Anyway, I enjoy watching The Five on Fox News when I can. I dig the conversational format, and yes, I even like that there is a liberal on the panel to keep things interesting. I’ve been watching the show long enough to know, however, that Jessica Tarlov is a low-quality liberal co-panelist.
My issue with Tarlov is not that she’s a leftist. I think there’s a lot more to gain from conversation with people you disagree with than agree with. Harold Ford Jr., for example, proves a sharp liberal can be on the panel without embarrassing himself. Ford disagrees with his conservative co-hosts plenty, but he builds an argument to get there instead of reciting the day's approved framing. He’ll even criticize the Democrat Party sometimes. Tarlov, however, was essentially defending Graham Platner while he was still in the Maine U.S. Senate race, and only started getting more critical after he was out. Whatever line was best for the Democrat Party was the line she took.
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Outside of The Five, I have no use for her, but I couldn’t help myself when I came across a clip of her recent interview with New Yorker editor David Remnick. During the interview, Remnick mentioned that Trump has criticized Tarlov in the past, and once posted on Truth Social, "Why does Fox News allow failed TV personality Jessica Tarlov to soil The Five? Her voice, her manner, and above all else, what she says are a disgrace to television broadcasting." Remnick wanted to know whether she reads a post like that and feels terrible, or whether part of her thinks, "I like that."
"No, I feel terrible," she said.
Tarlov explained that her husband tries to talk her through it, framing each attack as a boost to her profile rather than a threat, which, personally, is the way I think most people would take it. "My husband will try to gauge the reaction," she said. "He's like, can she see the value in her platform and her persona being elevated like this, you know, hero to the resistance, left, etc. And then I'm mostly in tears about it, not that one in particular."
Her husband sees marketing. She sees tears.
Remnick pressed her on what bothers her most. Tarlov did not equivocate. "What really gets to me is threatening my job," she said. Remnick then played a clip of Trump discussing The Five while she was on break from it. "I do like his show, I like all of your shows," Trump said. "I'm glad Jessica's not there because I think your show would be better without it. But you know, who am I to say that isn't that terrible? I think it would be a lot better."
💥NEW: Jessica Tarlov says she *WISHES* Trump won in 2020🤯
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 26, 2026
"I believe without COVID that Trump would've won reelection — and I wish that he had! I wish we were done now — because he, like Ursula, got stronger in those four years."
She's not wrong.
Democrats' attempts to… pic.twitter.com/v5zmm8oI7G
Well, guess what? That’s the business. You put yourself out there, you’re going to get pushback. It happens to all of us. Maybe not everyone gets the attention of the President of the United States, but you’ll notice that Trump didn’t also trash Harold Ford Jr.
There’s probably a good reason for that. And you know what? If Trump did attack Ford for whatever reason, you can bet he wouldn’t be brought to tears over it.
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