Everything is coming up roses for Donald Trump.
ABC News settles a lawsuit with Trump many legal experts think the network could have won, paying $15 million. Amazon gives $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, is also the owner of the Washington Post. Remind me, what does democracy die in again?
And now, Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News.
This may not seem as momentous, but in its way it is. Trump has long been critical of Cavuto, who hosts “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” and “Cavuto Live.” A Fox News source, however, said that Cavuto’s exit had nothing to do with Trump’s return to office. Cavuto’s contract was up at the end of the month and Cavuto chose to leave.
More: Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years amid ‘evolving’ shifts in business
The timing of Cavuto’s exit stinks for viewers
Neil Cavuto is leaving his longtime home at Fox after nearly three decades.
Still. The timing is awful for viewers.
Cavuto, who has been at the network for 28 years, was one of the few remaining big personalities willing to criticize Trump — doing so fairly and responsibly — and certainly the most critical of the news team. (Jessica Tarlov remains a reliable critic on “The Five,” but she’s outnumbered.) For instance, in October Cavuto blasted Trump on the air for spreading misinformation about federal response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
“That kind of misinformation gets out there, and whether it’s perpetrated by a politician or someone you think is someone of note and authority, it is wrong and it is bull and it cannot be tolerated,” Cavuto said.
In February Cavuto cut away from live coverage of a Trump rally to dispute Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
“We’re continuing the monitoring of the president’s remarks,” Cavuto said, “and I mean no offense to him if some of you might want to continue hearing. But I did have to say that even though the former president is entitled to his opinions, he’s not entitled to his own set of facts.”
Bravo. He’s exactly right, and with an emboldened Trump threatening his perceived enemies, it’s more important than ever to say that kind of thing. Who’s going to say it that strongly now?
Certainly, there aren’t a lot of candidates who straddle news and personality the way Cavuto does at Fox News. But that’s expected; at times the prime-time hosts at times seem to serve practically as campaign boosters for Trump.
Why did ABC News settle with Trump?
But what about the rest of the media?
ABC News’ $15 million will go to Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit over an interview anchor George Stephanopoulos conducted in March with U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a rape survivor.
Stephanopoulos asked how she could support Trump, who has been found liable of sexual abuse by a New York jury. Stephanopoulos repeatedly said Trump had been found liable of rape. Greater legal minds than mine can explain the distinction — and why it would have been difficult for Trump to prove Stephanopoulos intentionally defamed him.
The smart money says ABC was worried about what would come out in discovery in emails and texts. Still, it sets the potential for a chilling precedent.
And if you think it’s going to appease Trump, dream on. He’s already filed suit against the Des Moines Register and Gannett over a pre-election poll that showed Trump would lose Iowa; he won the state. (Note: Gannett owns The Arizona Republic.) The Register is standing firm in defense of the poll. Good. Trump has long been a fan of legal threats. If you sued someone every time a poll was wrong, there wouldn’t be any polls left. (Although some people might cheer that development.)
As for Bezos, who owns several companies, it seems clear he’s toadying up to Trump. In addition to the Amazon donation, Bezos dined with him at Mar-a-Lago, effusively congratulated him after the election and, most damningly, killed a Post endorsement of Kamala Harris for president. All of a sudden the paper changed its policies and wasn’t going to endorse anymore. Nice timing.
Which brings us back to Cavuto. He is expected to address his departure on his last show Thursday. A rotating group of anchors will host his shows until a new show debuts in 2025.
Too bad. Media needs more people like Cavuto, not fewer. It’s going to be a long four years otherwise.
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly Watchlist newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fox News losing Neil Cavuto is more bad news for media
