Angry viewers of The Five are calling for Democratic co-host Jessica Tarlov to be booted from the program and the Fox News network after a clip resurfaced from an episode of the show that aired in February 2026, which featured her telling a rather reckless lie concerning what President Donald Trump is doing with the money from the U.S. taking over Venezuelan oil.
The segment kicked off with Tarlov claiming that people are unhappy with President Trump for promising to change the course of the country while he was on the campaign trail, but thus far, not holding up his end of the bargain. She then stated this is why the president is experiencing, or was at the time, low approval numbers.
“Our market has done well, but compared to other industrialized countries, we actually haven’t done as well as they have. I think we’re number 21 of 23 countries, and I saw that chart flying around online. And Donald Trump is in Texas today because the GOP is in trouble. He should not have to be going to safe districts and safe states, but it’s not because of this John Cornyn, Ken Paxton fight, which is ugly, and Wesley Hunt as well,” Tarlov said during the show.
She then briefly discussed the Texas race for Senate and how ugly the situation was at the time between Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. “You should check out John Cornyn’s ad about Ken Paxton, about his corruption and all his affairs as a man getting divorced on biblical grounds, which feels very Texas values to me.”
Tooting her own horn, Tarlov segues into discussing the economic situation in Texas as compared to the whole country, receiving some pushback on her claims from conservative co-host Jesse Watters. “And no one who’s spoken before me has mentioned anything about the reality on the ground for Texans, so the median income in Texas is just below $74,000 a year. It’s 81,000 for the nation. They paid $1,200 last year for Trump’s tariffs per family. US farms are going bankrupt across the country, 15,000 in the last year. The biggest decline was in Texas. SNAP benefits are going to go away for 1.5 million people.”
Watters broke in and asked Tarlov if things aren’t going so well in Texas, why are so many people moving there? She replied they aren’t, adding that those who are tend to go back to where they came from. And then she delivered the comment that so angered viewers they are demanding Fox take action to fire her immediately.
“And on the energy front, energy prices in Texas have not increased to the same level in other states, because of renewables, because of clean energy projects, and Donald Trump has cut, I think, 223 of them in the latest slashing from October, $7.5 billion out of there. So he’s going to go in and he’s going to say, ‘Drill, baby, drill, and he’s going to hold up the Venezuelan oil, which, by the way, he might just be profiting straight into his own bank account,” Tarlov said.
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“When renewable energy is the energy of the future. Doesn’t mean you can’t have a nuclear plant, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be drilling, but we know that clean energy is keeping prices down where it is, and on a national scale, obviously electricity costs are up,” she added. Users on social media platform X were quick to sound off on the Venezuelan oil claim made by Tarlov.
One user wrote, “Dear FOX: ENOUGH. Jessica Tarlov just claimed that money from Venezuela oil seized might be going directly into President Trump’s personal bank account. How dare she make a statement like that. Doing so is reckless, irresponsible, and unprofessional. She should be FIRED. Ten minutes into The Five, I employed the mute button because of Tarlov.”
Another commenter said, “Enough really is enough. She is just insufferable to listen to. Time for a change.” A third wrote, “Tarlov is a disgrace. And if you notice, the Democrats are all making false claims about Trump now. It is all they have. Throw it against the wall and see what sticks.” A MAGA supporter replied, “Somebody really should sue her a**. Bankrupt them. They would have to fire her then!”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video