‘The Five’ Co-Host Takes Break After Trump Attacks Her
A familiar face on one of cable television’s most-watched programs has temporarily disappeared from the studio following a very public attack from President Donald Trump.
The timing quickly attracted attention, although the reason for her absence appears to have nothing to do with the president’s criticism or her future at the network.
Fox News liberal commentator Jessica Tarlov stepped away from “The Five” for a tropical vacation in Hawaii shortly after Trump blasted her in a Truth Social post.
“I can’t stand Jessica Tarlov of THE FIVE,” Trump wrote. “A real loser!”
Trump’s attack followed comments from Tarlov during an episode of “The Five” in which she argued that stronger gun-control laws could potentially prevent some future mass shootings.
Tarlov acknowledged that legislation could never completely eliminate violent people or prevent every attack.
“You will never be able to stop all of the lunatics,” Tarlov said.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Tarlov over her liberal commentary despite her position on a network populated by some of the president’s most prominent supporters in cable news.
Tarlov serves as one of the rotating liberal voices on “The Five,” regularly putting her opposite conservative co-hosts including Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters and Jeanine Pirro.
That role frequently produces contentious exchanges, including recent arguments between Tarlov and Gutfeld in which the two talked over each other as their political disagreements intensified.
Trump’s latest criticism added another powerful voice to the list of conservatives who regularly take issue with Tarlov’s arguments.
But anyone wondering whether her disappearance from television immediately following Trump’s attack represented something more significant appears to have a much simpler explanation.
Tarlov, 42, traveled to Lanai, Hawaii, with her husband, hedge fund executive Brian McKenna, to attend a friend’s wedding.
She shared photographs from the trip on Instagram over the weekend showing the couple enjoying their time away from Washington’s political battles and cable-news arguments.
“Quick getaway to the most beautiful place on earth with my favorite guy,” Tarlov wrote alongside the photographs.
One image showed Tarlov wearing a green-and-white striped midi dress featuring a banana-leaf pattern as she posed alongside McKenna against a tropical backdrop.
Another showed the couple making faces at the camera, while a video included in the post captured them swimming near a waterfall.
Tarlov and McKenna have been married since May 2021.
The vacation comes as Trump’s occasional frustrations with Fox News continue to spill into public view despite his generally close relationship with many of the network’s conservative personalities.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Fox polling he considers inaccurate or unfair and has criticized individual commentators when he believes their coverage or analysis works against him.
Tarlov’s job practically guarantees that she will occasionally find herself in that position.
As one of the program’s liberal panelists, she is tasked with defending Democratic positions and challenging conservative arguments before an audience containing a substantial number of Trump supporters.
That has made Tarlov a frequent target of criticism from MAGA viewers who disagree with her political commentary.
Trump himself has now made his opinion unmistakably clear with his declaration that he “can’t stand” the Fox personality.
The president’s criticism and Tarlov’s subsequent absence could easily create the impression of a larger shakeup at Fox, particularly as viewers have recently noticed other prominent personalities taking time away from their programs.
But there is currently no indication that Tarlov’s trip is connected to Trump’s criticism or that she is planning to leave Fox News.
Advertisement
Instead, her social media posts indicate she simply took some personal time away to attend the wedding and vacation with her husband.
That means Trump’s latest Fox News target is expected to eventually return to the same seat that has made her one of the network’s most recognizable liberal commentators, Trending Politics reported.
For the moment, however, Tarlov has traded arguments with Trump supporters and her fellow “The Five” panelists for beaches, waterfalls and a Hawaiian getaway.
FULL STORY: The Silence After the Strike The heavy velvet drapes hung motionless against the oceanfront windows, but the air inside the grand living room went deathly cold
PART 2 — THE ROOM WHERE EVERYONE STOPPED BREATHING
Vanessa Hart's hand remained suspended in the air when I stepped fully into the living room.
Grace stood beside the sofa, her cheek turning red, while Noah clung to her waist and cried so hard that his little body shook.
My son had never looked at me with fear before.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was that Grace was trying to comfort him even though she was the one who had been hurt.
“It's okay, sweetheart,” she whispered, kneeling despite her trembling legs.
Noah wrapped both arms around her neck.
“Daddy, don't let her hurt Mama Grace!”
The words landed harder than any bullet I had ever taken.
Vanessa recovered first.
“Adrian, thank God you're here.”
She hurried toward me, her expression transforming from rage into wounded innocence.
“Grace became completely disrespectful, and I was only trying to establish some boundaries.”
I looked at her.
“Did I ask you a question?”
She stopped.
“No, but—”
“Then don't answer one I haven't asked.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
My men had learned long ago that silence was more dangerous than shouting when I was angry.
Vanessa had apparently forgotten.
She pointed at Grace.
“She provoked me!”
Grace didn't defend herself.
She only held Noah tighter.
That frightened me more than Vanessa's excuses.
Grace had always been able to look me in the eye, even when I was impossible to deal with.
Now she wouldn't look at me at all.
I walked toward her slowly.
“Grace.”
“Please don't,” she whispered.
I stopped.
“Don't what?”
“Don't make this worse for Noah.”
Her voice broke on his name.
She wasn't asking me to protect her.
She was asking me not to frighten my son.
I crouched in front of Noah.
“Buddy, look at me.”
He shook his head and buried his face against Grace's shoulder.
“Daddy, make her go away.”
I looked at Vanessa.
“Leave.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Adrian, this is ridiculous.”
“Get out of my house.”
She stared at me as if she had never heard those words from a man before.
Then she glanced at Margaret, who had entered from the adjoining hallway.
My mother looked at Grace with unmistakable disapproval.
“Adrian, perhaps we should all calm down before making decisions.”
I rose.
“My son is crying because your future daughter-in-law struck the woman who takes care of him.”
Margaret's lips tightened.
“Grace is an employee.”
I turned toward her.
“And Noah is a child.”
The words silenced her.
“Vanessa,” I said, without looking away from my mother, “you have five minutes to leave.”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“You're choosing her over me?”
“No.”
I finally looked at her.
“I'm choosing the truth over your performance.”
Her face hardened for one brief second before she turned away.
She snatched her handbag from the table and walked toward the front door.
At the threshold, she stopped.
“You'll regret humiliating me, Adrian.”
I gave her a cold smile.
“Then I suggest you make your next decision carefully.”
She left.
Margaret remained.
“Your father would never have tolerated this behavior.”
“My father tolerated far worse from people who knew how to flatter him.”
Her expression changed.
I rarely mentioned my father, who had died when I was twenty-six.
Margaret stepped closer.
“You are making a mistake over a woman who has confused her position in this household.”
I looked at Grace.
She was still holding Noah, rocking him gently while he sobbed into her shoulder.
“No,” I said quietly.
“I made the mistake when I allowed you to believe that your position in this family gave you the right to decide who deserves kindness.”
My mother went pale.
Then I turned away from her.
“Get the first-aid kit.”
Grace looked up.
“Adrian, please. I'm fine.”
I studied the red mark on her cheek.
“No, you're not.”
For the first time that evening, anger gave way to something more difficult.
Guilt.
Because I had brought Vanessa into our home.
I had announced our engagement without asking Grace how it would affect Noah.
And I had allowed my mother to believe that the woman who had helped raise my son could be dismissed whenever she became inconvenient.
I had been so busy protecting my family from enemies outside our walls that I had failed to recognize the danger standing beside me.
That night, after Noah finally fell asleep, Grace packed a small bag.
I found her in the nursery, folding his pajamas.
“What are you doing?”
She didn't turn around.
“I'm taking a few days off.”
“You don't need to leave.”
“I do.”
“Grace.”
She closed the bag.
“I love Noah, Adrian.”
“I know.”
“No, I don't think you understand.”
She finally looked at me.
“When he cried, he thought I was going to be hurt again. He was terrified. He's three years old, and he thinks the people who love him might suddenly become dangerous.”
Her eyes filled.
“I can't let him learn that this is normal.”
I had no answer.
Grace picked up the bag.
“I need you to understand something.”
She walked past me toward the door.
“I can forgive a child for being frightened. I can forgive a man for making mistakes. But I will not stay somewhere that teaches Noah that love means accepting humiliation.”
She left me standing in the nursery.
On the dresser, Claire's gray elephant sat beside Noah's bedtime book.
I picked it up.
For the first time since Claire died, I wondered whether I had spent three years protecting Noah from losing his mother while slowly creating a home in which he might lose himself.
And I knew that if I did not change something immediately, I could lose both of them.
