NEW YORK (AP) — Author: Lou DobbsThe conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor of CNN and later a nightly anchor on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, has died. He was 78.
His death was announced Thursday in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter to the end – fighting for what mattered most to him, God, his family and his country.” No cause of death was given.
“Lou’s legacy will live on as a great patriot and American. We ask for your prayers for Lou’s wonderful wife, Debi, his children, and grandchildren,” the post read.
He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business from 2011 to 2021, after two stints at CNN.
Fox News Media said in a statement that the network was mourning Dobbs’ passing.
“A great businessman with a flair for broadcasting, Lou helped pioneer cable news into a successful and influential industry,” the statement said. “We are deeply grateful for his many contributions and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Dobbs was an early and vocal supporter of Donald Trump during his White House run and throughout his presidency. After his death was announced Thursday, Trump wrote on his media platform Truth Social that Dobbs was a friend and “a truly incredible Journalist, Reporter and Talent.”
“He understood the world, and what was ‘going on,’ better than anyone else. Lou was unique in many ways, and loved our country. Our warmest condolences to his wonderful wife, Debi, and family. He will be greatly missed!” Trump wrote on the stand.
Dobbs is named in a lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems over lies told on the network about the 2020 presidential election. A mediator in 2023 pushed the two sides toward a settlement. $787 million settlementavoid trial. mountain of evidence — some damning, some embarrassing — suggests many Fox executives and on-air talent were in disbelief at the allegations that aired primarily on the show hosted by Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. At the time, they are afraid of angering Trump fans in the audience with the truth.
Dobbs worked for more than two decades at CNN, joining at its launch in 1980 and hosting “Moneyline.” He left CNN in 2009 to help media mogul Rupert Murdoch launch Fox Business.
“Lou was one of CNN’s first people, helping to launch and shape the network. We are saddened to hear of his passing and extend our deepest condolences to his wife Debi, his children and his family,” CNN said in a statement.
When he joined Fox, he said he considered himself an underdog. A few years later, his show was a big-rating hit and he became a key figure on the right-leaning network.
“We will focus on the American people, their standard of living … the American nation,” he said of his show. in 2011“That was always my starting point.”
Dobbs’ Fox show is called “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the same one he left in 2009 after an awkward final few years at CNN. Once television’s most prominent business journalist with his show “Moneyline” in the 1990s, Dobbs made CNN management uncomfortable as he became more opinionated and drew angry protests from Latinos over his emphasis on curbing illegal immigration.
Dobbs studies public policy and the complex economic issues that move society.
Dobbs said he always wants to be honest with his viewers about his views on various issues.
“My audience always expects me to tell them where I come from, and I see no reason to disappoint them,” he said in 2011.
