Fox News Ends Contract With Lara Trump After Trump’s 2024 Presidential Run Announcement

Lara Trump is no longer a paid contributor for Fox News as her father-in-law Donald Trump began his 2024 Presidential campaign.

On Saturday, Fox News confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Lara, who became a Fox News contributor in 2021, will no longer be paid to appear on the network. A Fox News spokesperson said in a statement shared with Business Insider that they "appreciate Lara's valuable contributions across Fox News Media programming."

It was reported that her departure is due to company rules that don't allow people running for office or directly linked to active political campaigns to be employed by the network. The network decided that Lara, who is married to Donald Trump's son Eric Trump, is directly connected to her father-in-law's campaign. She has been a surrogate for Trump and for advisory roles, she received payment. She has not appeared on Fox News since the week of Nov. 15, which is when Trump announced his third Presidential run. In theory, she can still appear as an unpaid guest.

Fox is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and he has reportedly warned Trump that his media empire will not back his White House bid. His publications, including the Wall Street Journal, described the former President as a "loser" after the midterm results turned out to be disappointing for Republicans. It was also reported that Lachlan, who is Murdoch's eldest son, has told Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that the media group would back him if he ran against Trump in 2024.

Lara joined the network as a paid contributor in March 2021, and the announcement was made on "Fox & Friends." She told the hosts back then that she sort of felt like she had been an "unofficial member of the team for so long," reported Deadline. She had said that it was "kind of a joke over the past five years, I would come there so often that the security guards were like maybe we should just give you a key. So to be part of the team I am so, so excited.”

Previously, Sarah Huckabee Sanders had her paid contributor deal terminated. At the time, she announced that she was running for Governor of Arkansas.