Peter Navarro, a senior counselor to President Donald Trump, recently criticized Fox News for firing financial journalist Maria Bartiromo, accusing the network of not treating Trump fairly. Navarro made these comments on Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Reports and had earlier written an op-ed in The Washington Times defending Bartiromo after her dismissal. Bartiromo had hosted several programs on Fox Business and Fox News before being let go, reportedly over her sharing an internal memo with Navarro. The memo was from Ralph Giordano, a senior vice president of programming at Fox Business, who had advised his staff not to repeat or promote unproven claims that Trump had made about alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election. These claims were part of a speech Trump gave from the Oval Office on July 16. According to Puck News, Bartiromo shared the memo with Navarro to explain why she had canceled a planned interview with him about the president’s claims. Navarro defended passing the memo on, saying it was his "duty" to share it and that he had not betrayed Bartiromo’s trust. Navarro also accused Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott of avoiding any association with Trump’s speech, even though Fox News broadcast the full address. He claimed that Scott prioritizes advertisers’ preferences over viewers’ interests and that she has fired employees who want to discuss "MAGA issues," referring to the political movement associated with Trump. Navarro suggested he had been "shadowbanned" by Scott, though he has previously appeared on Fox News. President Trump praised Bartiromo as "a total professional, and a true warrior." Fox News has grown more cautious about covering election fraud claims since it faced legal action from Dominion Voting Systems, a company that makes voting machines. The network was sued for defamation after broadcasting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, and it settled the case in April 2023 for $787.5 million. Another lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting machine manufacturer, is still ongoing.