OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld clapped back at fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert after the latter made a comment about the network’s Christmas tree was reportedly set on fire by an alleged arsonist outside Fox News’ New York City headquarters on Tuesday.
“Flaming Christmas Tree just got its own show on FoxNews!” Colbert ribbed on Twitter.
That left Gutfeld to respond, “and it’s already beating you in the ratings.”
and its already beating you in the ratings. https://t.co/jF9q0gMouB
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) December 9, 2021
Fox News has been slamming its competition for years, but the network has really soared this year as MSNBC, CNN, and the broadcast networks’ newscasts faded.
And November’s ratings were no different, as Forbes reported:
The Fox News Channel prevailed in the November cable news ratings, easily beating back the competition from CNN and MSNBC. According to ratings data compiled by Nielsen, Fox News delivered an average prime time audience of 2.578 million viewers in November, followed by MSNBC (1.091 million total viewers) and CNN (654,000 viewers).
In the key demo of adults 25-54—the demographic most valued by advertisers—Fox finished first with an average audience of 420,000 viewers. CNN was second (148,000 viewers) and MSNBC (140,000 viewers).
Regarding the suspected tree arson, Fox News noted:
The fire, which happened early Wednesday morning, sent dangerous flames and thick smoke into the air outside the building at Sixth Avenue and West 48th Street, just hours before workers, holiday shoppers and tourists would be flooding sidewalks and pedestrian plazas in the area.
No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
Investigators said the 50-foot artificial tree was set ablaze using a burning piece of cardboard, the New York Post reported. The fire’s damage was estimated to cost about $500,000.
A suspect, Craig Tamanaha, 49, was arrested Wednesday.
As for Gutfeld, he landed his late-night gig earlier this year. The Hill noted at the time:
Content on the new show will include Gutfeld’s commentary on current events as well as commentary from Fox News contributors and other celebrities. The show will also employ comedians Tom Shillue, Joe DeVito and Joe Machi.
“The Greg Gutfeld Show” began airing on Fox in May 2015. Prior to that, Gutfeld anchored the Fox’s late-night broadcast “Red Eye” that aired between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
He is also one of the co-hosts of the network’s early evening offering, “The Five.”
According to his bio, he has been called “outrageous and outspoken,” neither of which he denies. A libertarian political satirist, humorist, magazine editor and blogger. The Weekly Standard calls him “the most dangerous man on television.” According to the magazine, unlike other media darlings, “Gutfeld’s stuff actually is subversive, a stink bomb hurled into every faculty lounge, mainstream newsroom, movie studio, and nonprofit boardroom in America.”
Prior to joining the network, Gutfeld joined Prevention magazine as a staff writer, eventually moving on to become editor-in-chief of Men’s Health. Later, he took a post as editor-in-chief of Stuff, “where he increased circulation from 750,000 to 1.2 million and created controversy month after month,” his bio notes.
“Gutfeld!” entered the late-night realm with a lot of competition, but the comedian has risen to the occasion, besting his competitor in the same time slot — Colbert.
In September on his late-night show, Gutfeld had an emotional back-and-forth with former President Donald Trump.
“There was an irrational response to you. And I lost friends when I would defend you,” he told Trump.
“But you also gained friends,” Trump said in response.
“Yeah, you gain friends,” Gutfeld said. “I didn’t listen to my family members were are voting for you… When I turned and started listening, then I lost all of my other friends.”
Gutfeld then asked Trump: “Did it bother you to see the friends that you’ve had — lose these friends because you became president and they didn’t like what you were doing or became emotionally and irrationally kind of unhinged? Trump delusional. Trump derangement syndrome.”
“Why did people respond emotionally to you rather than rationally?” he asked.
“It must be my personality,” Trump said as the studio audience laughed.
