During Monday’s broadcast of “The Five,” Fox News personality Greg Gutfeld generated backlash after he pushed back against claims that President Donald Trump displays narcissistic tendencies and fixates on poll numbers, an assertion that immediately faced questioning considering the president’s extensive record of social media commentary and regular mentions of his popularity metrics.
The conservative commentator, whose duties include hosting the evening show “Gutfeld!” alongside his role as a permanent panelist on the network’s primary afternoon discussion program, offered the surprising statement during a segment about the “No Kings” demonstrations against President Trump that occurred nationwide during the prior weekend.
Throughout the contentious segment, Gutfeld alongside his co-panelists analyzed the protests held across the country that questioned President Trump’s governing approach. These demonstrations, positioned by their organizers as a stand for democratic values, attracted thousands of attendees in numerous metropolitan areas.
“This is ‘group therapy designed as public theater,'” Gutfeld said, characterizing the demonstrations as partisan spectacle instead of genuine civic participation.
Critics quickly noted the contradiction in Gutfeld’s statement, highlighting President Trump’s well-established pattern of citing polling figures during public addresses, media interviews, and online posts. Over the course of his time in politics, Trump has consistently highlighted positive poll results while labeling negative data as “fake” or doctored.
The episode of “The Five” that aired Monday addressed several contentious issues in addition to the demonstrations, including current conversations regarding prospective negotiations between America and Iran, President Trump’s Georgia visit during February 2026 which emphasized his administration’s cost-of-living message, and a dispute involving Pennsylvania House Democrats who pulled a Women’s Month resolution from consideration.
Co-host Kat Timpf commented on the Pennsylvania legislative controversy, which ignited when a Republican representative submitted an amendment to incorporate a definition of “woman” into the resolution. “As a taxpayer, I don’t want to see my government spending time on this,” Timpf said, voicing dissatisfaction with what she labeled as partisan deadlock regarding ceremonial measures.
During his self-titled program later in the evening, Gutfeld reinforced his condemnation of the protests against President Trump. The “Gutfeld!” segment devoted over 17 minutes to examining what they portrayed as ill-conceived demonstrations directed at the president’s governing style.
The show, which Newsweek has called “The King of Late Night,” regularly surpasses conventional network late-night programs featuring Stephen Colbert on CBS, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, and Jimmy Fallon on NBC in overall audience numbers and the key 25-54 age bracket. These viewership achievements have positioned Gutfeld among Fox News’s most important talent.
Gutfeld became part of Fox News in 2007 as a network contributor prior to creating the late-night offering “Red Eye,” which ran from 2007 through 2015. He subsequently led “The Greg Gutfeld Show” between 2015 and 2021 before moving to his present primetime position. “The Five,” where he appears as a weekday afternoon co-host at 5 p.m. ET, achieved broadcasting milestones by becoming the first non-evening program to claim top rankings in both overall viewership and the 25-54 age demographic.
Prior to his broadcasting work, Gutfeld held editor-in-chief positions at Men’s Health magazine, Stuff magazine, and Maxim magazine in the United Kingdom. An alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley with an English degree, he has written six books that reached the New York Times bestseller list and received a description from The Weekly Standard as “the most dangerous man on television.”
The demonstrations that prompted Monday’s coverage mark another contentious moment in continuing friction between those who support Trump and those who oppose him. Demonstrators displayed placards stating “No Kings” and voiced slogans opposing what they described as autocratic patterns within the present administration.
President Trump has not personally addressed Gutfeld’s remarks or the protests from the weekend, although he remains actively engaged through social media platforms and during public appearances. His visit to Georgia, referenced during the “The Five” program, represented one component of a larger administrative push to tackle voter anxieties regarding rising prices and economic pressures before the upcoming midterm elections.
The discussion underscores the continuing conversation surrounding presidential character and governing approach that has characterized American political discourse since Trump initially joined the political landscape. While his advocates applaud his readiness to defy traditional political customs, detractors contend his emphasis on personal affirmation compromises competent leadership.
