OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Greg Gutfeld, co-host of ‘The Five’ and a comedic late-night Fox News show, has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the network for the foreseeable future.
According to Variety, Gutfeld inked a five-year deal while winning plaudits from Fox bosses for his talents.
“Greg is a true original whose trademark political and cultural commentary, humor, and gifted writing has deeply connected and grown with our audience for more than 17 years,” said Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott.
“Upon launching ‘Gutfeld!’ three years ago, he rapidly disrupted the status quo to become the most-watched host in the genre, with more viewers tuning in to his show than any other late-night program on television. We are proud to be the home of Greg, his unparalleled analysis, and late-night’s highest-rated program for many years to come,” she added, per Variety.
In addition to hosting, Gutfeld will also produce content for Fox Nation, Fox’s streaming network.
Gutfeld’s journey at Fox News began in 2007 when he took the helm as host of the late-night program “Red Eye,” airing at 2 am. After transitioning to a regular co-host position on “The Five,” he forged a strong rapport with fellow co-host Dana Perino, showcasing excellent on-screen chemistry.
He has been known to clash with the show’s liberal commentators, including Geraldo Rivera, Juan Williams, and Jessica Tarlov, contributing to some of the show’s recent highlights.
“Since joining the network in 2007, Fox News has given me the freedom to be unabashedly myself and, in turn, deliver a distinct experience for our audience,” Gutfeld said in a statement.”There aren’t many platforms that allow this type of creative independence and I’m proud to be a part of Suzanne’s team.”
Meanwhile, though many Republicans believe that President Joe Biden’s strategy in the next presidential election, presumably against former President Donald Trump, will be similar to his duck-and-hide strategy in 2020, Gutfeld offered another take recently: He believes the former president should use to “shame” Biden into debating him.
“Obviously, this has been Trump’s signature issue, and Joe is there because of Trump. He is always playing catch-up. He is always plagiarizing. He is like a coworker who tries to take credit for someone else’s work because he didn’t do the job,” he began during a segment Thursday on “The Five.”
“I think the contrast is very stark here between the capable and the incapable. It is the key difference between these two guys. You can hate Trump all you want, but you can’t say he is incapable, and you can like Joe all you want and realize he’s incapable. He’s a nice guy, but he can’t get the job done. Trump was on this turf years before he was running and it was because it was patriotic and not political, took the rest of these lemmings to catch up,” he said.
“So the only political animal here is Joe, who required a heinous murder to get him on a plane to El Paso [Brownsville], or else he wouldn’t have been there! So Trump has been right on the big issues, whether you like him or not, especially immigration, so this is what he has home-field advantage,” Gutfeld continued.
“I think the Dems and the media at large are just deeply offended that they even have to address this, right? To them, Trump’s inelegant and honest phrasing on the issue is more offensive than the crimes that are caused by illegal immigration,” he added.
“What’s interesting here to me is this provides kind of a loose model for a debate. Joe doesn’t want to debate Trump on the issues, and the media will protect him, so why doesn’t Trump just go places that force Joe to debate him? Next time go to a supermarket chain. Show that the prices are 20% up and pressure Joe to show up at a supermarket. Maybe he will. Or go to a street where all of the stores are closed down, and the homeless are living on the street. Maybe Joe will acknowledge that. Shame him into actually addressing the issues since he was too scared to debate,” the co-host said.
