Lou Dobbs, conservative pundit and longtime cable TV host for Fox Business and CNN, dies at 78

NEW YORK (AP) — Lou Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence 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 till the very end – fighting for what mattered to him the most, God, his family and the country.”

“Lou’s legacy will forever live on as a patriot and a great American. We ask for your prayers for Lou’s wonderful wife Debi, children and grandchildren,” the post said.

He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business from 2011 to 2021, following two separate stints at CNN.

Fox News Media said in a statement that the network was saddened by Dobbs’ passing.

“An incredible business mind with a gift for broadcasting, Lou helped pioneer cable news into a successful and influential industry,” the statement said. “We are immensely grateful for his many contributions and send our heartfelt condolences to his family.”

Dobbs was an early and vocal supporter of Donald Trump during his candidacy for the White House 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.”

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“He understood the World, and what was ‘happening,’ better than others. Lou was unique in so 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 platform.

Dobbs was 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 $787 million settlement, averting a trial. A mountain of evidence — some damning, some merely embarrassing — showed many Fox executives and on-air talent didn’t believe allegations aired mostly on shows hosted by Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. At the time, they feared angering Trump fans in the audience with the truth.

Dobbs spent more than two decades at CNN, joining at its launch in 1980 and hosting the program “Moneyline.” He left CNN in 2009 to help media mogul Rupert Murdoch launch Fox Business.

When he joined Fox, he said he considered himself the underdog. A few years later his show was highly rated and he was a key figure on the right-leaning network.

“We’ll focus on the American people, their standard of living ... the American nation,” he said about his show in 2011. “Those are always my starting points.”

Dobbs’ Fox show was titled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the same as the one he left in 2009 after an awkward last few years at CNN. Once the most visible television business journalist with his “Moneyline” show in the 1990s, Dobbs made CNN management uneasy as he grew more opinionated and drew angry protests from Latinos for his emphasis on curbing illegal immigration.

Dobbs dove into the complex public policy and economic issues that drive society.

Dobbs said he always wanted to be straight with his viewers about his own views on issues.

“My audience has always expected me to tell them where I’m coming from, and I don’t see any reason to disappoint them,” he said in 2011.