Jessica Tarlov Got Into a Shouting Match With Gutfeld on Transgender Politics — Then Vanished From ‘The Five’

The legitimate criticism of Tarlov isn’t that she’s there. It’s that she doesn’t deviate from Democratic Party talking points with nearly enough frequency to be a genuinely interesting representative of the left. Harold Ford Jr. will periodically acknowledge when his party has made catastrophic errors — on the socialist takeover, on candidate quality, on the DSA. Tarlov defended Graham Platner’s candidacy well after it became indefensible. She’s willing to carry water for positions that would embarrass even most honest Democrats.

The transgender debate she got into with Gutfeld was a good example. She argued it’s not an important political issue. The polling on parental rights, children’s sports, and medical procedures for minors consistently shows 60-70% of Americans — including significant majorities of Democrats — taking positions considerably to the right of where the DSA and progressive activists have pushed the party. Saying “it’s not an issue” is the kind of reflexive partisan response that makes her less effective as a liberal voice, not more.

She’s back at the desk. The next Gutfeld clash is already scheduled by the laws of television physics.

The Five needs the friction. Conservative viewers who say they’ll stop watching because one panelist is a Democrat are missing the point of panel television. The argument is the show.

She’ll be back in her seat making conservatives roll their eyes and making everyone watch anyway. That’s the job. And she’ll do it.