Lou Dobbs, conservative commentator and longtime cable host for Fox Business and CNN, dies at 78

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Lou Dobbs, the conservative political analyst and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor at CNN and later was a nightly fixture on the Fox Business Network for more than a decade, has died. He was 78 years old.

His death was announced Thursday in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter to the end – fighting for what mattered most to him, God, his family and country.” No cause of death was reported.

“Lou’s legacy will live on forever as a patriot and a great American. We ask for your prayers for Lou’s wonderful wife, Debi, children and grandchildren,” the post read.

He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business from 2011 to 2021, after 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 launch cable news into a successful and influential industry,” the statement said. “We are immensely grateful for his many contributions and send our deepest condolences to his family.”

Dobbs was an early supporter of Donald Trump during his run for the White House and throughout his presidency. After his death was announced on Thursday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform that Dobbs was a friend and a “truly incredible journalist, reporter and talent.”

“He understood the world and what was ‘going on’ better than others. Lou was unique in many ways and loved our country. Our warmest condolences to his wonderful wife, Debi, and family. We will miss him so much!” Trump wrote on the platform.

Dobbs was named in a lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems over lies told on the network about the 2020 presidential election. A mediator in 2023 pushed both sides to a US$787 million deal, avoiding a trial. A mountain of evidence — some scathing, others merely embarrassing — showed that many Fox executives and on-air talent didn’t believe the allegations aired primarily on shows hosted by Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. At the time, they were afraid of angering Trump fans in the audience with the truth.

Dobbs spent more than two decades at CNN, joining when it launched in 1980 and hosting the show “Moneyline.” He left CNN in 2009 to help media mogul Rupert Murdoch launch Fox Business.

“Lou was one of CNN’s originals, who helped launch and shape the network. We are saddened to learn of his passing and offer our deepest condolences to his wife Debi, his children and his family,” CNN said in a statement.

When he joined Fox, he said he considered himself the underdog. A few years later, his show was highly rated and he was a key figure in the right-wing network.

“We’re going to focus on the American people, their standard of living…the American nation,” he said of his program in 2011. “Those are always my starting points.”

Dobbs’ Fox show was titled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the same one he left in 2009 after a strange last few years at CNN. Once the most visible television business journalist with his show “Moneyline” in the 1990s, Dobbs left CNN management uneasy as he became more opinionated and drew furious protests from Latinos over his emphasis on curbing illegal immigration.

Dobbs delved into the complex economic and public policy issues that drive society.

Dobbs said he always wanted to be open with his viewers about his own opinions on issues.

“My audience has always expected me to tell them where I come from, and I see no reason to disappoint them,” he said in 2011.