Fox News host Greg Gutfeld pressed Jessica Tarlov after rattling off a lengthy list of President Donald Trump’s accomplishments and challenging the co-host to explain why she thought they didn’t count. Tarlov responded by asking whether Gutfeld was auditioning to become Trump’s new press secretary. Gutfeld immediately called the remark a “cheap shot” and pressed her to address the substance of his argument.
The clash happened during the September 9th episode of Fox News’ “The Five” as the panel discussed whether Republicans should place Trump and his record at the center of their campaign for control of Congress. Gutfeld argued that voters could easily lose track of the administration’s achievements because Trump had moved on so many different fronts.
“So I had a bit of a morning today to go through all of Trump’s accomplishments,” Gutfeld began. He pointed to Trump locking in the 2017 tax cuts, enacting no tax on tips and overtime, launching Trump Accounts, collapsing border crossings, ending catch and release, and funding the border wall. Gutfeld also credited the president with driving large-scale self-deportations, cutting fentanyl and overdose deaths, lowering the homicide rate, and striking drug boats and traffickers.
Gutfeld continued through the list in the clip, citing Trump’s actions against Iran’s nuclear program, the administration’s push for NATO members to commit five percent of their gross domestic product to defense, the launch of the MAHA agenda, and the removal of illegal aliens from SNAP benefits. “My point is this, Jessica. He really hasn’t done enough, has he?” Gutfeld asked sarcastically. He added that an opposition party would normally use such an event to parade an alternative before the public, but Democrats had yet to offer one.
“Are you in the running for the new press secretary?” Tarlov responded. Gutfeld fired back, “No, I’m just presenting the facts. I’m sorry if you need to deflect with a cheap shot like that.” When Tarlov insisted that she wasn’t deflecting, Gutfeld asked her, “You don’t deny all those things I just said?” Tarlov acknowledged that the 2017 tax cuts had passed but argued that ordinary voters were more concerned with current gas prices and inflation.
Gutfeld responded to the concession by telling her, “That’s my point. That’s why I brought it up. I think I painted you into a corner.” Tarlov cited an unnamed GOP lobbyist quoted by Politico who reportedly said Democrats were “salivating” and “no one is motivated to vote,” prompting Gutfeld to respond, “Oh, shoot! Thank God. Oh, sorry.”
Watch Gutfeld and the panel challenge Tarlov here:
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The exchange continued when Tarlov argued that Gutfeld was presenting a reality that existed “only on a piece of paper, not in people’s actual lives.” Gutfeld pushed back by asking whether she was claiming that none of the administration’s actions affected Americans. Tarlov said some had, but maintained that they were insufficient to justify what she called a “Trumpapalooza” while voters remained concerned about prices and the conflict with Iran.
Jesse Watters jumped into the debate after Tarlov declared that the United States was “obviously” not winning against Iran. “Are you saying Iran has won? Iran has beat the world’s number one superpower? That must mean they’re the new superpower,” Watters said. When Tarlov argued that Iran had not been decimated, Watters responded that the country had no radar, was firing missiles “willy-nilly,” and did not “own the strait.”
Watters argued that Trump had accepted short-term political risks to strengthen the country over the long term, pointing to the trade confrontation with Canada and the war against Iran. He turned the discussion back onto Tarlov, saying that she had received a large book advance and had Trump Accounts for her children. “So don’t sit back and say everything’s terrible,” Watters told her. “You’re doing great.”
Gutfeld closed the exchange by returning to his original point about the midterms. “The president’s party usually loses ground in the midterms due to fatigue,” he said. “That’s why I listed all that stuff, because we forget all the stuff that’s being done.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.