Fox News pulled Maria Bartiromo off air after she allegedly sent a screenshot of internal editorial guidance to White House officials.
That is the account conservative radio host Glenn Beck laid out on a recent episode of his podcast, where he spent considerable time discussing Bartiromo’s abrupt departure from the network and where he thinks she should go next. His answer: the White House briefing room, as press secretary.
Beck made the comments during a conversation with his producer, Rikki Ratliff. He opened by calling Bartiromo one of the few reasons to watch Fox Business, then quickly moved to what he believes happened behind the scenes. Ratliff filled in the details, citing reporting from Puck News.
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According to Ratliff, Puck News reported that Bartiromo wanted to pursue stories about China and its possible role in 2020 election voting, a topic described as highly sensitive for the network given its ongoing Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits. A Fox Business executive allegedly sent a text to producers stating the story could not go to air. Bartiromo then allegedly forwarded a screenshot of that guidance to White House officials. Fox News leadership found out after receiving a call from the White House and considered the move a fireable offense.
Ratliff noted, citing journalist John Solomon, that Bartiromo has not been formally fired. She reportedly remains under contract for several more years and may be paid out. For now, she is simply no longer appearing on air.
Reporting on the Maria Bartiromo Fox News departure framed the episode as a collision between editorial control and political pressure, a dynamic Beck said he knows personally.
Beck drew a parallel to his own exit from Fox News years ago, recounting how the late Roger Ailes told him about pressure from Washington to remove him from the network, largely over his ties to the Tea Party movement. Beck was careful to note he did not create the Tea Party, though he was deeply involved with it. He said both political parties have a history of pressing networks to take action against certain voices.
Beck stopped short of accusing Fox News of bowing to outside pressure in Bartiromo’s case. He said the network’s concerns were understandable given the legal sensitivity around the prior lawsuits. But he called it a mistake regardless.
“I hope that she becomes the next press secretary,” Beck said. “I think she would be. Don’t you think she would be great as a press secretary?”
Ratliff did not hesitate. “Oh, she’d kill it,” she said. “She is tough. She’s smart. She follows the facts. She has an editorial point of view, of course, but she’s got real presence too. And I just don’t think she could be bullied around in that room.”
Beck closed the segment in full agreement. “No, nobody’s gonna mess with her,” he said. “She’s fabulous.”
