Dennis Kneale Defends Maria Bartiromo as FOX News Calls Her Departure a “Business Decision”

Dennis Kneale, a former managing editor at Forbes and previous anchor for FOX Business Network, has defended his former colleague Maria Bartiromo in an appearance on Newsmax Saturday.

FOX News announced Thursday it parted ways with Bartiromo after more than a decade with the network without providing an explanation for the decision. The network stated: “We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 and a half years and wish her all the best on her next chapter.” Bartiromo had not appeared on air since August 9.

In his interview on “Saturday Report,” Kneale described the situation as “stunning.” He questioned whether Bartiromo’s actions constituted a “fireable” offense, stating: “If Maria had called [the White House] and said, ‘hey, they’re not running the story,’ that’s not a violation. That’s a reporter trying to get more evidence to help me get this story published.”

Kneale noted Bartiromo remains under a multi-year contract with FOX News. He praised her as “an amazing journalist” and expressed a “special attachment” to her. Despite Bartiromo’s popularity, Kneale emphasized that FOX News has shown no one is indispensable: “We thought when Tucker [Carlson] left, it was devastating,” he said. “Today, Jesse Watters is doing just fine.” He added: “Unfortunately, as a former anchor who was axed by Fox, I can say no one is indispensable.”

Kneale observed that Bartiromo’s shift to FOX News brought a more conservative perspective compared to her CNBC persona. He remarked: “She got close to Trump. Is it like Icarus? Did she fly too close to the sun? Is that why Fox got rid of her? Because they don’t want to be too close to Trump?”