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Here’s what you might see from Tomi Lahren on her new Fox Nation project

By Jarrod Rodriguez | Eduardo Neret

Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren is bringing back her “Final Thoughts,” but this time with a new twist, as her signature segment, that she has taken with her from network to network, finds a new home at the Fox News Channel’s newest digital venture, Fox Nation. “People know my Final Thoughts, but this is really a whole new avenue for me to have fun. Nothing is off the table,” Lahren said in a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Examiner following a speech at the Alachua County Republican Party’s annual Black Tie and Blue Jean Dinner in Florida.

Fox Nation is expected to launch later this year as a complementary online, digital subscription service that will provide “right-leaning commentary” with “original shows and cameos” from Fox News’ most popular television personalities, including Lahren, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Tucker Carlson. The platform has announced a slate of planned long-form programming that includes “documentaries, investigative series, and patriotic specials.” Most recently, Fox Nation also announced its planned short-form programming which includes daily shows co-hosted by Fox News contributors like Britt McHenry, Tyrus, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and Steve Hilton.

“It is Fox News’ first ever digital subscription streaming service. So what I’m hoping to do is to bring the Fox News experience, especially to the younger generation, to millennials like myself who love the digital world and love Fox News. We’re looking for a cross section and that’s what Fox Nation is going to be,” Lahren added.

Lahren’s “Final Thoughts” will be joined by her “First Thoughts,” which will aim to provide Lahren’s commentary on the news of the day each morning and evening. “First in the morning you’re going to see my First Thoughts, and that’s probably going to be on events that happened maybe the night before, things that happened overnight. And at the end of the day, you’re going to have my Final Thoughts which is a recap of everything that happened during the day. It’s going to be on the news of the day, on whatever fires me up. It’s going to be all of the passion and the fire, probably even more than people have seen in the last year,” Lahren said. “Fox News is letting me go wild if you will, and letting me be what I call ‘Vintage Tomi.’”

However, Lahren’s role at Fox Nation goes beyond “First and Final Thoughts.” She said:

“I’m going to sit down and do interviews with people you’re not going to expect to see. People are going to get excited about that. I can’t reveal too much as of yet, but I’m not just going to be sitting down with your traditional conservatives and people that you see often. I’m going to reach out and I’m going to sit down with people that might not otherwise sit down at Fox News. We’re going to have an open, honest, unedited, unfiltered discussion. Hopefully we can get somewhere in this country. I think young people want to see that. I think they want to see people, especially in the pop culture world, that are maybe more on the Left come together with someone like me who is obviously pretty strongly on the Right and have a great interesting conversation.”


When pressed for any other hints as to what viewers might see of Lahren and Fox Nation, Lahren said she is tight-lipped on some of the interviews she is doing but could share some details about the work she would be doing out in the field.

“We’ve had the incredible opportunity to visit areas with the Border Patrol. Instead of just being short little snippets you might’ve seen on the Fox News Channel, you’re going to really get to see a comprehensive view of me with the Border Patrol, me up in the Black Hawk, me on the front lines watching border patrol bring in immigrants, and watching them cross and the whole thing. It’s really going to be more in depth and we’re going to have a lot of fun.”


Lahren also shared her thoughts on the upcoming midterm elections. She is predicting a “red tsunami,” and believes the Democrats handed the Republicans the midterms with the “sham involving the Brett Kavanaugh nomination.”

“[The Democrats] were trying to poke the beast, and they poked it. So we’re going to come out in greater force than they prepared for. You don’t mess with an innocent man and his family. You don’t do what [the Democrats] did and try to circumvent due process and not get some backlash from the good-hearted conservative Republican people out there.”


She also advised conservatives to pay attention to traditional blue states like California. Lahren said more and more voters will come out to reject the progressive leadership that has created sanctuary cities, coddled illegal immigrants, and ignored the homeless population.

“Even in a blue state, you are going to see areas of redness. My advice for conservatives and Republicans is not only vote for the candidate with the R behind their name, but get out and vote for the candidate that’s going to build the wall, lower taxes, make sure our borders are secure, and make sure that when we come to the table with trade deals and diplomatic relations that we are coming from a place of strength. Make sure you’re electing conservatives and Republicans who will go to Washington, D.C., and remain conservative and Republican so you don’t get another Jeff Flake or Lisa Murkowski. We can’t afford that.”


Lahren continued with some of her frustrations regarding the status of President Trump’s immigration policies. She also had harsh words for Republicans who go back on their campaign promises.

“I was frustrated we didn’t do a vote to get funding for the wall. I know that was supposed to be pushed until after the midterms because President Trump was worried about vulnerable Republicans, but I disagree. We should see where Republicans stand on it. We can stop giving RINOs a pass when they sit there and talk a big game about border enforcement, and when they dance around the idea of the wall, but when they get elected they fail the people. If voters don’t like how Republicans in Congress are handling the wall, if they don’t like how they haven’t given the president the funding, then vote them out. We don’t need Democrats masquerading as Republicans anymore.”
“That’s my biggest frustration: that the American people voted for a wall. When they voted for Donald Trump in 2016 they voted for immigration reform. They wanted border enforcement and the wall was a huge part of that. So enough giving Republicans a pass. I’m quite honestly fed up with it, and more so than I am with the Democrats. I know where they stand on the wall. I know they want open borders. I am more disappointed in Republicans who campaign on border enforcement and security, and when they get to Washington they sell out.”


Lastly, Lahren shared some words of advice for younger millennials who are looking to emulate her career in media.

“One thing I was never afraid to do was pick up a phone. I think a lot of young people and millennials are afraid to pick up a phone. They want to send an email, they want to send their resumes out and think that sending a quick follow-up a week later is going to get the job done. For me, I came busting down the door for my first job. I turned what would’ve been an internship into a show on primetime at a national network. I wasn’t afraid to be relentless or resilient.”
“Another piece of advice I would give to people in media is I would caution them on moving too quickly. A lot of people think they’re going to be able to post up a viral video and then all of a sudden they’re going to work at Fox News. That’s just not the way it goes. You have to work hard and put in your time. Although I was able to skyrocket really quickly because I was very tenacious and offered something different, I would tell people who are entering media to work your way up from the bottom. Be willing to do anything. Be willing to write, pick up the phone, get in the action, and get your hands dirty.”


Lahren’s successes haven’t come without criticisms, even from those on the Right. Her response?

“One of the things I’m most proud of in my career is I can take flak and love from both sides. I think that’s part of being a free thinker and an independent mind. It means you’re being honest and genuine with who you are and where you stand,” Lahren said. “I’ve experienced criticism many times where others who believe they are intellectually and morally superior to me tell me I’m not conservative enough. I would tell anyone who is getting that backlash or the same treatment is: No one should tell you that you’re not enough. Don’t believe you’re not enough. You have every right to be at the table.”

Eduardo Neret is a contributor to Red Alert Politics. He is a senior at the University of Florida, where he runs The Daily Nerv, a student-run conservative online publication. Jarrod Rodriguez is a sophomore finance major at the University of Florida and a member of the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom.

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