FOX STAYS MOSTLY SILENT AFTER TRUMP PUBLICLY HAMMERS FORMER STAR JEANINE PIRRO
For years, Jeanine Pirro was one of Fox News’ most recognizable personalities—a fiery defender of Donald Trump whose weekend monologues regularly made headlines. On Monday, however, she became the target of one of Trump’s sharpest public rebukes since appointing her as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Speaking during an extended Oval Office question-and-answer session, Trump blasted Pirro for abandoning the government’s criminal case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who had been accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“Jeanine Pirro made a mistake,” Trump told reporters.
Later, he became even more direct. “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro! Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro! She folded like an umbrella!” Trump said before adding that he believed she had “choked” under pressure from the court.
The comments capped several days of growing tension after Pirro’s office dismissed the felony prosecution, concluding that investigators had determined the damage was caused by a flawed renovation rather than vandalism.
Court filings from her office described the project as a “botched installation” and said critical information had not been provided before charges were filed. Prosecutors have since dismissed related cases against three additional defendants.
Fox News viewers heard Trump’s criticism in real time during the live White House event.
But once coverage returned to the studio, the network’s afternoon programming largely pivoted to other stories, including Iran, transgender athletes, and New York City politics, without discussing the president’s extraordinary criticism of one of the network’s own former stars. According to media monitoring of Monday’s broadcasts, the issue was not revisited until the opening minutes of Special Report, when correspondent Lucas Tomlinson summarized Trump’s remarks and noted that Pirro’s office blamed the Reflecting Pool damage on faulty construction rather than criminal vandalism. The segment lasted roughly a minute before the program shifted to energy markets and other news.
Later Monday, cameras captured Pirro entering and leaving the White House carrying a briefcase and a white box, immediately triggering speculation that Trump might remove her from office. While reports indicated the president had privately expressed frustration over the case, no dismissal was announced following the meeting.
The Reflecting Pool controversy has become an unusually public disagreement between Trump and one of his longest-serving political allies.
Pirro built much of her national profile defending Trump on Fox News before leaving the network to join his administration. Now, the president has openly questioned her handling of one of the administration’s highest-profile prosecutions.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Reuters – Trump blasts Jeanine Pirro, says she ‘choked’ in dropping Reflecting Pool case
- Associated Press – Trump says Pirro ‘folded like an umbrella’ in bid to drop Reflecting Pool vandalism charges
- Mediaite – Here’s How Fox News Covered Trump Bashing Former Host Jeanine Pirro
- People – Trump Says Jeanine Pirro ‘Choked’ for Saying Reflecting Pool Renovation Was ‘Botched’
