TV Anchor and Political Pundit Lou Dobbs Dies at 78

Lou Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and TV host who was a nightly presence on the 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.

AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal

Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. 

Join Now

“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 named in a lawsuit against Fox News filed 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 that 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 Donald Trump fans in the audience with the truth.​ ​

​When he joined Fox Business, Dobbs said he considered himself the underdog. A few years, later his show was highly rated and he had become 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 named Lou Dobbs Tonight, the same as the show 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. He said he always wanted to be straight with his viewers about his own views on the 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.​​