Another Republican event featuring Jeanine Pirro has been canceled following criticism from Media Matters. This is at least the seventh GOP-aligned event featuring Pirro that has been canceled in recent weeks.
Pirro, who hosts the weekend program Justice with Judge Jeanine on Fox News, was scheduled to speak at a November 7 “Judge Jeanine Rally” for the Valley Young Republicans, a political action committee based in Fresno, California.
The GOP group announced the event on October 15, and The Fresno Bee covered it later that day. Media Matters subsequently noted that the event violates Fox News’ supposed policy against “any talent participating in campaign events” (numerous Fox News personalities have still been participating in campaign events).
Shortly afterward, the Valley Young Republicans removed all references to the event. The ticket page for the rally is also closed with a note stating, “This Event Has Ended.” There appears to be no public explanation for why the event was canceled; the organization did not comment in response to a Media Matters email.
The Valley Young Republicans event marks at least the seventh time that a Republican-aligned event featuring Pirro has been canceled in recent weeks. The others include: four September events for the group Trump Team 2020 Florida; an October 20 fundraiser for the pro-Trump group Jexit at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel; and an October 25 fundraiser for the King County Republican Party in Washington state.
The reported reasons for Pirro’s previous cancellations have included “unexpected circumstances,” “a scheduling conflict,” and that she had “something come up.” However, organizers for the Jexit event stated that Fox News was behind its event cancellation, posting on Facebook: “Fox News insisted Jeanine cancel the #JEXIT benefit because we support President Trump.”
Pirro, who was briefly suspended in March after she made anti-Muslim remarks against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), complained last month about Fox News’ control over her schedule with regard to show appearances, stating that “Fox reviews everything. They're unbelievable.”
Republicans speeches have been a lucrative source of income for Pirro over the years, with the conservative host banking over $230,000 in speaking fees since 2017. The Kern County Republican Central Committee in California, for example, paid Pirro $25,000 to keynote a fundraiser that also featured then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The following day, McCarthy, whose district includes most of the county, appeared on Pirro’s show and thanked her for giving “a great speech.”