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.
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.
Tarlov and McKenna have been married since May 2021.
The vacation comes as Fox News continues to dominate the cable news ratings.
Fox News once again dominated cable news ratings in July 2026.
The conservative network outpaced its liberal competitors by a wide margin and even surpassed the major broadcast networks in key time slots.
According to Nielsen data, the network averaged 2.33 million viewers in Monday-Sunday primetime—39 percent more than MS NOW and CNN combined—while commanding nearly 60 percent of the audience share for cable news.
Fox News posted 2.332 million total viewers in primetime and 1.5 million across the total day, dwarfing MS NOW’s 1.02 million primetime and 636,000 total-day average, as well as CNN’s meager 658,000 primetime and 465,000 total-day figures.
In the advertiser-coveted adults 25-54 demographic, Fox led with 204,000 primetime viewers, up 4 percent from June, while CNN managed 102,000 and MS NOW lagged at 89,000.
Even more impressively, Fox News topped the broadcast giants in weekday primetime, averaging 2.643 million viewers compared to NBC’s 2.452 million, ABC’s 2.272 million, and CBS’s 1.921 million.
This performance underscores a broader rejection of establishment media narratives by everyday Americans seeking straightforward coverage over partisan spin.
The network’s flagship programs swept the top spots in cable news.
The Five led all of cable news with 3.31 million viewers and 300,000 in the key demo.
Jesse Watters Primetime followed closely at nearly 3 million, with Gutfeld!, Hannity, and Special Report with Bret Baier rounding out the top five—all Fox shows.
A highlight of the month was Fox’s historic America 250 coverage surrounding Independence Day.
The network delivered its highest-rated Fourth of July programming ever, averaging 3.5 million primetime viewers on July 4 and peaking at an extraordinary 5.7 million during President Trump’s late-night speech.
Special coverage hosted by Bret Baier, Sean Hannity, Dana Perino, Harris Faulkner, and Brian Kilmeade captured 73 percent of the cable news audience share that night.
This July triumph is no anomaly—it continues Fox News’ unmatched run throughout 2026.
In the first quarter, Fox averaged 1.7 million total-day and 2.6 million primetime viewers, capturing nearly 60 percent of the cable news audience and securing its 97th consecutive quarterly win as the top cable news primetime network.
The second quarter extended that streak to 98 consecutive quarters dating back to 2002, with Fox averaging 1.575 million total-day and 2.493 million primetime viewers—again far ahead of MS NOW and CNN combined and leading all of basic cable.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.