By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-08-16 10:30:23 | Updated at 2026-08-16 13:21:47
3 hours ago
President Donald Trump roasted liberal Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov during a live appearance on “The Five,” telling the panel that he watches Tarlov but is “not a fan.” Trump accused her of citing “fake numbers” when discussing his poll results and compared her quoting of inaccurate polling to dishonest journalism. He caught the panel off guard by asking whether Tarlov had deliberately skipped his appearance or had been kicked off the show.
The exchange began while Trump was speaking by phone with “The Five,” Fox News’ weekday roundtable program. Tarlov serves as the panel’s rotating liberal co-host and frequently clashes with Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, and the show’s other conservative personalities. She was absent for Trump’s appearance, leaving Watters to pitch the president on returning when Tarlov could be seated beside him.
“Mr. President, the next time you do this on ‘The Five,’ can we have you on set? Because we really want you to sit next to Jessica,” Watters said. “I think you’d be a good influence on her. Can you do that?” Trump didn’t immediately accept the invitation, but instead offered Watters his candid opinion of the missing co-host.
“Well, I think—I watch Jessica, and I’m not a fan,” Trump said in the clip. “And she uses fake numbers. She’ll give, ‘Well, he’s only polling 42 percent.’ That’s not right. Polling very high, actually.” Trump’s answer drew laughter from members of the panel as he continued taking aim at Tarlov.
“You know, polls are just like—I hate people that use fake polls because polls are just like bad journalists,” Trump continued. “You know, bad journalists, they write fake stories. Well, fake polls do damage also.” The president then softened the criticism slightly, telling the panel, “But that’s the thing. I’m sure I’d like her. I’m sure she’s a lovely person.”
“Yeah, she’s a lovely person,” Watters responded before joking, “She really misses the fact that she’s not here. I get it. We’re working on her. Don’t worry.” Trump turned Tarlov’s absence into another jab, asking Watters directly, “Now tell me, did she not want to do it, or did you kick her off?”
Watters assured the president that Fox News had not removed Tarlov from the panel for his appearance. “We didn’t kick her off,” he said. “She had a previous schedule that she couldn’t change.” Watters attempted to steer the interview away from the missing co-host and toward foreign policy, saying, “But let me ask you about Iran.”
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Watch Trump’s exchange with “The Five” here:
https://x.com/washington_EY/status/2088276960438829284
The exchange followed earlier friction between Trump and Tarlov over her repeated discussion of polling numbers unfavorable to the President and his administration. Trump previously criticized Tarlov’s commentary and accused her of presenting fabricated Democratic talking points on the air. Tarlov, who previously worked as a Democratic pollster, has regularly used her seat on “The Five” to criticize the president’s policies and cite surveys showing him with lower approval ratings.
Tarlov later responded to Trump’s remarks by sharing a clip from the interview on her X account. According to the New York Post, she maintained that the president was overstating his polling performance while explaining that she had wanted to participate in the program. “Was so bummed to miss the show today!” Tarlov wrote. “But I definitely would’ve said he’s even inflating his numbers to 42%!”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.
