Inside Donald Trump's Relationship With Lou Dobbs

Former president Donald Trump announced the death of conservative TV host and political commentator Lou Dobbs on his social media platform Truth Social on July 18, 2024. His message read: "The Great Lou Dobbs has just passed away — A friend, and truly incredible Journalist, Reporter, and Talent. He understood the World, and what was "happening," better than others. Lou was unique in so many ways, and loved our Country."

Dobbs had been a staunch Trump supporter for many years before his death, which significantly impacted his later career. Starting out at CNN in 1980, he left the network for good in 2009 after his vocal promotion of the "birther" conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in America received widespread backlash. Moving to Fox News, he hosted "Lou Dobbs Tonight" from 2011 to 2021, a decade in which he became increasingly vocal about Trump and his viewpoints, particularly on immigration.

In 2021, Dobbs found himself in hot water again when his support of The Donald landed him in the middle of a lawsuit for falsely claiming the 2020 presidential election results had been tampered with. Ultimately, Fox canceled "Lou Dobbs Tonight" and let the host go, claiming that the show was a loss for the network since advertisers no longer wanted to be associated with his controversial views. Despite these setbacks, Dobbs remained unwaveringly loyal to Trump.

Not only did Lou Dobbs interview Trump on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" — a program on which he regularly and emphatically endorsed Trump and his policies — but the two formed a mutually beneficial friendship that gave Dobbs unprecedented influence over a sitting president. Though Dobbs once suggested he might run for president following his ousting from CNN, the TV host had no formal political background. Regardless, he reportedly became an "informal advisor" to Donald Trump throughout his time in office. Sources explained to The Daily Beast in 2018 that Trump frequently put Dobbs on speakerphone within the Oval Office so he could give his opinion on sensitive matters, even giving him priority over Cabinet members or senior White House staff who were present.

As surprising as it might be to see a private citizen have such undue influence over the country's leader, some conservative experts believed Dobbs was a better well of knowledge for Trump to pull from than those closest to him. Mike Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, expressed to the outlet, "[Dobbs] has a certain body of knowledge that other advisers ... don't have," noting, "[B]etter the president listen to him than his son-in-law or his daughter." With Dobbs receiving that level of inside access and unending adulation, it's no surprise that he remained a pillar of support for Trump, even going so far as to pen a book in 2020 called "The Trump Century: How Our President Changed the Course of History Forever."

Despite the professional repercussions, Lou Dobbs remained steadfastly loyal to Donald Trump until his death. Following his exit from Fox, Trump released a statement that was posted on X, formerly Twitter. It read in part, "Lou Dobbs is and was great ... He had a large and loyal family that will be watching closely for his next move, and that following includes me."

Trump did, in fact, continue to promote Dobbs as he took his controversial and conspiratorial views to podcasting, where he began hosting "The Great America Show" for iHeartRadio. Much of his focus landed on anti-FBI rhetoric and accusations against the "deep state," which only heightened after the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump.

Dobbs' X account was retweeting pro-Trump messages, including the now famous photo of the former president raising his fist in the air after being shot, up until the day his death was annouced. There's no doubt he would have remained vocal about his beliefs in the final months leading up to the 2024 election. Trump will surely miss his most beloved "yes-man."