Fox News hosts Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld clashed with liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov during a heated discussion about the government shutdown on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, after she challenged misleading Republican claims about the impasse.
During the broadcast of “The Five,” Watters argued that President Donald Trump was unlikely to buckle first in the standoff between Democrats and Republicans over the shutdown, which took effect at midnight Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a deal on a stopgap measure. The impasse centers on Democratic efforts to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end and undo massive Medicaid cuts in Trump’s legislative package.
Watters echoed the Republican talking point that Democrats were shutting down the government because they wanted unauthorized immigrants to receive free healthcare. However, Tarlov immediately corrected this claim, pointing out that unauthorized immigrants are already prohibited from receiving federally funded healthcare coverage under a 1996 statute, and Democratic budget proposals do not seek to make them eligible for programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
When Tarlov stated the Republican claim was false because such funding “is prohibited,” co-host Greg Gutfeld challenged her, asking where it was prohibited and sarcastically questioning whether states like New York and California followed such restrictions. Tarlov explained that states are allowed to make their own decisions, prompting Gutfeld to ask where states get their funding, with Watters asserting they receive money from the federal government.
The Republican claims likely stem from Democratic efforts to restore eligibility for certain “lawfully present” immigrants for Obamacare subsidies. Tarlov noted that Democrats seek to restore eligibility for lawfully present immigrants, including refugees, domestic violence survivors, and human trafficking victims, but her conservative co-hosts remained skeptical of the distinction.
Watters dismissed the complexity of the issue, suggesting that anyone claiming to be trafficked at the border would gain entry and receive free healthcare. Tarlov countered by highlighting that the ACA tax credits are central to the dispute, noting that 21 million of the 24 million people who benefit from those subsidies live in Trump states, suggesting the president should want to keep those constituents satisfied.
This confrontation follows a pattern of tense exchanges on “The Five” where Tarlov, as the show’s token liberal voice, frequently finds herself defending Democratic positions against multiple conservative co-hosts. The dynamic has drawn attention from President Trump himself, who criticized Tarlov in a June 2025 Truth Social post, calling her a “failed TV personality” and claiming she was “soiling” the show.
In that earlier post, Trump praised Watters and Gutfeld as “terrific” while attacking Tarlov’s demeanor and career. He wrote that “nobody can stand Tarlov” and claimed she “lies over and over again,” adding that MAGA supporters were complaining about her frequent appearances on Fox News.
The Wednesday shutdown discussion represents another instance where Tarlov has attempted to fact-check her co-hosts on air, often focusing on immigration and deportation policies. In previous segments, she has challenged the Trump administration’s deportation practices, including cases involving individuals sent to El Salvador’s maximum security prison under questionable circumstances.
During those earlier debates, Watters and Gutfeld displayed similar dismissive attitudes when Tarlov raised due process concerns about deportations, with Watters at one point stating it was “just a gay barber” when discussing a Venezuelan man incorrectly deported to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.
Tarlov, who holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, continues to serve as the primary liberal voice on Fox News’ flagship roundtable show despite facing regular pushback from her conservative colleagues and criticism from Trump and his supporters.
The government shutdown discussion highlighted the broader tensions within the network as hosts navigate between supporting Republican positions and addressing factual accuracy in political claims. The exchange demonstrated how quickly conservative panelists moved to shut down fact-checking efforts, even when the corrections involved easily verifiable legal statutes.
As the shutdown continues, these types of heated exchanges between the show’s hosts are likely to persist, with Tarlov continuing to challenge Republican talking points while facing resistance from her conservative co-hosts who appear more focused on advancing partisan narratives than engaging with factual corrections.
