Donald Trump has called out a Fox News host who raised the issue of gun control reform during an emotional TV tribute to the victims of the New York murder spree.
On Tuesday, Jessica Tarlov, one of the co-hosts of Fox’s panel show The Five, was discussing Monday’s mass shooting in a Manhattan office that killed four people. After she expressed heartbreak for the victims, Tarlov, a liberal who calls herself a “defender of Democrats,” changed the conversation towards a potential ban on assault weapons.
The suspect in the New York murders, Shane Tamura, had been issued a concealed firearms permit by the Las Vegas Police Department and used an assault rifle in his rampage.
The 27-year-old had a “documented mental health history”, according to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Speaking on The Five, an emotional Tarlov raised his mental health history and the issue of gun control, while questioning, “How did he get a concealed carry license even in Nevada? How are these things happening?
“And I don’t think that it hurts the conversation or takes us backward at all to consider how we might prevent one of these things from happening,” Tarlov said.
She added, “You will never be able to stop all of the lunatics. But if you stopped this one, we’d have four people that were alive today who certainly deserve to be. And I don’t see why that’s a bad thing to do that.”
Tarlov’s comments on the New York rampage aired on The Five between 5:11 and 5:13 p.m. EST. As Tarlov was wrapping her comments, President Trump posted on his Truth Social, “I can’t stand Jessica Tarlov of THE FIVE. A real loser!!! DJT.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for clarification on Trump’s comment.
Tarlov mentioned figures Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul shared on CNN’s Inside Politics on Tuesday when she called for tougher laws on firearms.
“Let’s talk about how this happened,” Hochul said. “This is happening because there are still assault weapons in our country.”
She added, “We had an assault ban weapon in our country for 10 years. It worked successfully. It lapsed under President Bush, and I say bring that back.”
Speaking on The Five, Tarlov said she agreed with Hochul that the ban on assault weapons worked.
Tarlov said, “When we did have an assault weapons ban from 1994 to 2004, we saw a decrease in mass shootings in this country. 70 percent less likely to happen. And then when the ban sunsetted, it spiked back up.”
Later in the episode, Tarlov also claimed Trump’s approval ratings had gone “underwater” in a Wall Street Journal poll, due to a backlash on mass ICE deportation. On her X account on Tuesday, she reposted a CBS News poll showing the president’s approval ratings have dropped, adding “A lot of movement in the wrong direction for Trump.”
Trump has a long history of being critical towards Tarlov.
Last October, he included her (referring to her as “Jessica Tarloff?”) as one of the “Harris Radical Left Democrat mouthpieces” and said “FoxNews has totally lost its way.”
In 2023, he gave his own review of The Five on Truth Social, in which he knew how to spell Tarlov’s surname but singled her out for criticism. Calling her “wacky” and “absolutely terrible”, he ranted, “Her facts are knowingly wrong, her jittery presentation is horrendous and, forgive me, her VOICE is grating and unendurable.”
He added, “I know the show is doing well, but no thanks to Jessica. I find her impossible to take in large doses, & put out this ‘REVIEW’ because it is important to expose Fake News, & Fake People!”
Last month, the president posted on Truth Social, “Why does Fox News allow failed TV personality Jessica Tarlov to ‘soil’ The Five? Her voice, her manner, and above all else, what she says, are a disgrace to television broadcasting.”
The post Fox News Host Triggers Trump Meltdown With Gun Crime Facts appeared first on The Daily Beast.
