TV host’s post sparks fresh row: First defends accused rapist, later deletes tweet; who is Jessica Tarlov?

Fox News host Jessica Tarlov is facing backlash on social media after her tweet, defending an immigrant accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, caught eyeballs. Tarlov replied to a post which showed DC police nabbing on a man, wrote, “This doesn’t make DC safer. It’ll just make people not come to DC. The cruelty is always the point.” Her response sparked a row and was quickly condemned online. Critics accused her of “defending criminal illegal aliens”. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released information about the man seen the video. The accused, identified as a Mexican national, had a long immigration and criminal record. According to the DHS memo, the man had previously been arrested in Fairfax County in January 2024 for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13. Officials said he had a final order of removal, voluntarily returned twice, and had illegally re-entered the US three times. White House homeland security advisor Stephen Miller called out Tarlov’s comment, “Why are you defending a criminal illegal alien invader charged with sexually assaulting a child?”After the DHS statement, Tarlov deleted her original tweet and issued a clarification. “I didn’t know he was — the DHS memo on him came out hours after the video. Wouldn’t ever defend such a person!” she wrote. Tarlov, 40, co-hosts The Five at Fox News, continues to draw attention for her outspoken liberal positions on-air.She holds dual master’s degrees and a PhD from the London School of Economics.In recent months, she has clashed with Trump supporters and was recently was in a direct face-off with President Donald Trump himself, where Trump in a post on Truth Social, called her “a real loser!!!”