MAGA Critics Blame Paul Ryan for Maria Bartiromos Fox News Exit

On September 3 2026, Fox News announced that long‑time anchor Maria Bartiromo was leaving the network in a move the company called a "business decision." Bartiromo, a familiar face on Fox Business and Fox News for more than a decade, has gone quiet ever since.

The exit has sparked a wave of fire‑hose criticism from Trump‑aligned supporters, all pointing the finger at former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan has sat on Fox Corporation’s board of directors since March 2019 and has been a vocal critic of the former president. In a 2023 interview he dubbed Trump a "populist, authoritarian narcissist" and warned the Murdoch family that Fox should stop spreading election lies.

MAGA influencer Gunther Engelman, who boasts 1.7 million followers, took to social media on Monday to declare, "Blame Paul Ryan. The boardroom donor‑class Republicans have spent years sanding the edge off Fox, and viewers keep paying the price." A Trump‑supporting comment echoed the same accusation, calling Ryan an enemy.

Another influencer, Pamela Hensley, went further. She accused Ryan of silencing Bartiromo ahead of the 2028 presidential election, claiming that Fox would keep paying her until 2029 while preventing her from speaking. "Fox didn’t fire Maria Bartiromo. They pulled her off the air and will keep paying her through 2029, silencing her until after the 2028 election. Paul Ryan strikes again," Hensley said.

Fox has not commented on the criticism. The network’s spokesperson confirmed the exit as a business decision but did not address the allegations that Ryan had any role in the move.

The controversy is layered by reports that Bartiromo had leaked internal Fox guidance to the White House. According to sources cited by Status, she told senior trade adviser Peter Navarro that Fox had issued a directive not to give credence to Trump’s July 2020 speech about election fraud. Bartiromo allegedly shared text messages from Fox executives with the White House, a claim reported by Puck News.

Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has threatened legal action, insisting that she remains an employee of Fox. In a statement to the Daily Beast, Freedman wrote, "The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false." He added that evidence exists and would be presented in court if necessary.

This episode sits against a backdrop of Fox’s history of controversy. In 2023, during the network’s legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems, Ryan repeatedly warned the Murdoch family that Fox was spreading election lies. Rupert Murdoch admitted in a deposition that some Fox hosts, including Bartiromo, had pushed election lies to viewers. Murdoch also acknowledged that Sean Hannity had privately been disgusted by Trump but feared losing viewers.

Ryan’s presence on Fox’s board has long been a flashpoint for conservative viewers. While the network has praised him in the past, his outspoken criticism of Trump and his warnings about election misinformation have put him at odds with the network’s Trump‑aligned programming.

The fallout from Bartiromo’s exit remains to be seen. Fox has not linked the decision to Ryan, and no evidence has surfaced to confirm the claims made by MAGA influencers. The network’s spokesperson has framed the move as a business one, and Bartiromo’s attorney maintains that she is still an employee.

At this juncture, the only publicly available facts are that Bartiromo was fired on September 3 2026, that Ryan is a board member of Fox Corporation, and that Bartiromo had a history of supporting Trump and allegedly leaked internal guidance to the White House. No confirmation has been provided that Ryan was involved in the decision to terminate her employment.

The situation underscores ongoing tensions between Fox’s corporate governance and its conservative audience, as well as the broader debate over media accountability and political influence.