Late-night funnyman Greg Gutfeld extends contract with Fox News

NEWS AND OPINION:

Fox News continues to attract a large, loyal audience — certainly evident in the work of the multitalented Greg Gutfeld, who has agreed to a multiyear contract extension at the cable news network.

He will continue as host of the smart and funny late-night sensation “Gutfeld” and as a co-host of “The Five,” according to Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott. Mr. Gutfeld will also host and produce programming for Fox Nation from time to time.

“Greg is a true original whose trademark political and cultural commentary, humor and gifted writing has deeply connected and grown with our audience for more than 17 years,” Ms. Scott said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

Mr. Gutfeld said that “since joining the network in 2007, Fox News has given me the freedom to be unabashedly myself and, in turn, deliver a distinct experience for our audience. There aren’t many platforms that allow this type of creative independence and I’m proud to be a part of Suzanne’s team.”

Meanwhile, “Gutfeld” — the program — celebrates its third anniversary on Friday, drawing a consistent viewing audience of around 2.2 million viewers per day, which bests CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and Comedy Central’s recently relaunched “The Daily Show,” which has Jon Stewart back to host, albeit only on Monday nights.

In the meantime, Fox Business Network is also a favorite among viewers, ending the first quarter of 2024 with the top two business programs for two straight years, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Those programs are “Kudlow” — hosted by Larry Kudlow and the most watched business news program of all — and “Varney & Co.,” hosted by Stuart Varney and ranking a close second.

The network also aired 10 of the top 20 business programs in total viewers, according to Nielsen.

THE CONVENTION CHALLENGE

The countdown continues for the four-day Republican National Convention, which will host 2,429 delegates and opens in Milwaukee on July 15 — a mere 104 days away as of Friday. The planners are busy indeed, and have shared the latest logistical plans with Inside the Beltway.

“The Republican National Convention will need roughly 400 buses, shuttles, and golf carts to make next summer’s Convention run as efficiently as possible. Transportation Management Services (TMS) is spearheading the effort to source as many local and regional vehicle vendors as possible. Currently, we have booked over 1/3 of the buses from Wisconsin companies,” the Committee on Arrangements said in a statement.

The aforementioned transportation provider has been there and done that.

“TMS has a long history of sourcing vehicles and managing communications for a variety of large-scale National Special Security Events (NSSE), including the 2017 US Presidential Inauguration, five previous Republican National Conventions, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2022, 2010, and 2012 Olympic Games, and more,” the committee added.

NIGHTSTAND READING

“A growing number of people throughout the world, especially younger generations, now believe that socialism is a viable political, economic, and social model. This is particularly true in the United States, where there has been an ongoing societal debate concerning whether or not the country should replace free-market capitalism with socialism,” according to the Heartland Institute, a national nonprofit organization that promotes free-market solutions to social and economic problems.

“Those arguing in favor of socialism believe that a collectivist model is superior to individual liberty, economic freedom, and limited government, are either ignorant of or willfully disregarding socialism’s track record of misery, death, and utter failure. A prime reason behind this highly concerning trend is that today’s educational institutions have been derelict in their duty to properly educate their students about one of the most destructive ideologies to ever plague humankind,” the organization said in a statement.

That said, the group is offering “Socialism at a Glance,” a publication geared to teachers and students alike.

The 73-page book provides “a succinct summary of socialism’s origins and rise in modern history while also giving detailed case studies of some of the most infamous socialist regimes that rose to power in the 20th century, including some that still exist to this day,” the organization said.

The authors are Christopher Talgo and Jack McPherrin, both research fellows at the Heartland Institute. The book is available at Heartland.org, or through Amazon.    

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

For sale: Cady Hill, a grand, four-story mansion built in 1851 on 120 acres in Saratoga Springs, New York. Seven bedrooms, nine baths, formal living, dining and breakfast rooms plus library, chef’s kitchen, wine cellar, five fireplaces, original woodworking, floors and architectural details; 6,218 square feet. Includes a family chapel, two garages, car wash, greenhouse, two guest residences, windmill, stable, indoor pool, weight and exercise room, workshop, tennis courts, office building with staff quarters, formal gardens and landscaping, gate house. Most furniture conveys with the home. Priced at $16 million through Juliecorealty.com; enter the words “40 Geyser Road” in the search function.

POLL DU JOUR

• 54% of U.S. adults say that Congress is doing a “somewhat or very bad job” of upholding democratic values in the U.S.; 60% of Democrats and 48% of Republicans agree.

• 45% say the Supreme Court is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values in the U.S.; 68% of Democrats and 21% of Republicans agree.

• 53% say former President Donald Trump is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values; 91% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans agree.

• 48% say President Biden is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values; 15% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans agree.

• 52% say the Republican Party is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values; 82% of Democrats and 20% of Republicans agree.

• 44% say the Democratic Party is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values; 15% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans agree.

• 36% say their own state government is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values; 35% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans agree.

SOURCE: An Associated Press-NORC poll of 1,282 U.S. adults conducted March 21-25.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.