Trump said he switched away from Fox because Jessica Tarlov was on. Then he texted into The Five to call her ‘the worst’

President Donald Trump watched Fox News coverage of the midterm elections on Tuesday and publicly said he changed the channel because commentator Jessica Tarlov was on the air. According to Newsweek, he later sent a text message to the network’s program The Five.

In posts on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he could not stand Tarlov’s voice and called her “DUMB AS A ROCK.” He added, “Have to go somewhere else until that LOSER is off the air. I’ll be back later!”

Host Greg Gutfeld told viewers he had received a message from “somebody called the president.” He then read the text on air. It said, “Greg, tell Tarlov she is the worst,” before disputing her earlier comments and pointing to the administration’s record on gas prices, inflation, and Iran. Gutfeld also read the line, “Prices are heading down fast.”

Trump expands criticism of Fox News guests and coverage on election night

Later that night, Trump posted another message aimed at the network for featuring former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

He wrote, “Why does FoxNews have Bill de Blasio, the Worst Mayor in the History of New York City, on air, ranting and raving like a Lunatic? He left the City in disgrace, and the damage he caused was incalculable – It has never been the same, and now he’s telling us how to run America.

FoxNews bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” Trump has been calling out Fox News repeatedly in recent times for giving airtime to Democrats.

In a separate post earlier in the evening, Trump said Fox News ratings were down because “they’re spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!” He continued, “No wonder FoxNews Ratings are collapsing, and they’re going to go down a lot further. They’re way down, not because of me, but because they are AGAINST me! This happened once before, and Fox almost collapsed. It’s happening again!”

Tarlov responded on X to the earlier posts. She wrote, “I realize my comments highlighting the highest gas prices on any Election Day aggravated the president, but reality is a tricky thing and he should get better at dealing with it.”

Trump also posted that he “wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.” Results showed Democrat Jon Ossoff winning his Senate race in Georgia and Republican Darline Graham losing hers in South Carolina. The GOP won the U.S. Senate and the gubernatorial race in Florida.

According to AAA, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline on Tuesday was $4.1493. That followed $4.1694 on Monday, $4.2661 a week earlier, and $4.3807 a month prior. Brent crude stood at roughly $104.20 a barrel Tuesday afternoon, down from Friday. States with above-average prices included Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, and others.

Trump has previously directed personal criticism at female journalists, including New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. He told Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey, “Quiet, quiet, piggy,” during a question about the Epstein files and called ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce a “terrible reporter.”

D. Stephen Voss, a political professor at the University of Kentucky, said the tone of such criticism has drawn notice in Trump’s second term and that aiming an insult at another female journalist on Election Night was hard to understand as a smart idea. A Newsweek request for comment from Fox News was not immediately returned.