The Five’s resident Democrat strategist has been conspicuously absent from her usual seat this week — conveniently timed to a heated on-air exchange with Greg Gutfeld that had both of them talking over each other at full volume.
The subject was whether transgender issues are a significant political factor heading into November. Tarlov said no. Gutfeld said she can’t possibly believe that. The exchange devolved into the kind of shouting match that makes for great television but probably requires a brief vacation to recover from.
Tarlov has since been spotted in Hawaii at a friend’s wedding on Lanai, sharing Instagram content of island life while the rest of the political world processes Fauci contempt votes, Economic D-Day against Iran, and Swalwell’s phones getting seized at SFO.
She’s back now — an update to the original PJ Media piece confirms she returned Thursday. Which means the next Gutfeld-Tarlov confrontation is approximately one news cycle away.
WATCH:
Gutfeld: You cannot say trans is not an issue.
Jessica: I know Michele Tafoya said everyone is a trans voter now in Minnesota, but it is not.
Gutfeld: So now it’s not an important story? pic.twitter.com/VKv6vgiW1q
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 14, 2026
Here’s an honest take on the Tarlov situation, because it’s worth saying: she shouldn’t go anywhere. The Five would be considerably less entertaining as a panel of five conservatives all nodding at each other. The show’s best moments — consistently — are the Tarlov-Gutfeld and Tarlov-Watters shouting matches. The segment where they can barely get through a segment without someone raising their voice is the segment people clip and share. Her presence makes the show work.
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.
