Leland Vittert says he was “invited not to return to Fox” after he was “the only Fox anchor to aggressively question Trump’s claims that he won the election”
Vittert on his interview with Trump 2020 director of press communications Erin Perrine: “And that minute, Lachlan [Murdoch] wrote an email to the Fox executives and said Leland's done"
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From the September 29, 2025, edition of SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show
MEGYN KELLY (HOST): I can’t help but think of your last stint at Fox because, you know, you were reporting, it was J6, it was like it was tough, tough news, especially for Republicans. And the reports were that Lachlan Murdoch didn’t like your tone, the way you were handling it, kind of turned on you a bit, and next thing you know, you’re out. And I wonder if he knew Leland —
LELAND VITTERT (NEWSNATION ANCHOR): Yeah, well look. I mean —
KELLY: Like, I wonder if he knew, maybe Leland still has, like, a piece of him that doesn’t get the tone perfect, you know, exactly right. But you have to judge this guy overall, overall, unlike his approach to the news and whether he’s trustworthy and an honest reporter.
I mean, it all landed great for you. I love NewsNation. Love NewsNation. But do you feel like those — that your past ever comes back to haunt you on the air?
VITTERT: I don’t know if my past ever comes back to haunt me. You know, we now know it wasn’t that Lachlan Murdoch sort of didn’t understand when I questioned Erin Perrine, who was Trump’s spokesperson, during one of the Stop the Steal rallies. I was anchoring on a weekend, and I was the only Fox anchor to aggressively question Trump’s claims that he won the election. And that minute, Lachlan wrote an email to the Fox executives and said Leland’s done, right? So it was a little bit like private school. I was kind of invited not to return to Fox.
My dad always taught me you can control two things, which is your work ethic and your character. And that to me was just about doing the right thing, right? That I was a journalist and I aggressively questioned Democrats in the same way, and I did Republicans too. It’s why I love NewsNation because I get to go do that.
I don’t have any ill will towards Fox. I’m grateful for the opportunities they gave me. It’s a business. They get to make that decision, which they did, and that’s fine.
KELLY: Good for you. You handled it very, very high class, very classy way. Good for you.