Geraldo Rivera to leave 'The Five' and threatens farewell to Fox News

Geraldo Rivera has been one of the most popular faces of Fox News for the past 20 years. The political commentator stood out as one of the network’s most moderate voices and recently surprised his audience with a major announcement: he will leave his current show and may leave Fox News for good.

Rivera was a panelist on “The Five,” one of Fox New's most-watched programs, which is currently in its twelfth season. It features a rotating panel of the network’s leading figures, who analyze and discuss the day's news.

His time there will end at the end of the month, something he announced on social networks to the surprise of his followers. “Morning, it’s official, I’m off The Five. My last scheduled show appearances are Thursday and Friday, June 29th and 30th. It’s been a great run and I appreciate having had the opportunity. Being odd man out isn’t always easy. For the time being, I’m still Correspondent at Large,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

The commentator had already flirted with leaving the channel in May when he suggested that he had been dropped from the programming. “My appearances today and tomorrow on “The Five” have been canceled. I’m sure there’s a good reason. Fear not, I’ll be back the following week. Stay safe and happy. Thank you,” he wrote at the time.

Rivera began to distance himself politically from his colleagues because of his opposition to Donald Trump, who was the subject of much criticism from the commentator and author. While they have known each other for a long time, he did not vote for him in the 2016 presidential election and ended up condemning him after the 2020 election.

“Election deniers depress me. I blame President Trump for his shameful campaign to slander and undermine American faith in our elections. For all his positive accomplishments, and there are many, I could never support him again. Without fealty to the Constitution, we’re second rate,” he said in September 2022.

As for his political views, he is pro-choice on abortion and pro-immigration reform, positions that earned him much criticism over the years as he worked for a conservative channel. Although he has repeatedly supported Israel, he has criticized the country for its attacks on the Gaza Strip, calling them “abominable.”

Many analysts, including Roger Stone, argued that Rivera could have had a successful political career had he put his mind to it. He considered running as a Republican for Senate twice, in New Jersey in 2013 and Ohio in 2022, something he ultimately never did.