Editing Lou Dobbs

{{Short description|American television host (1945–2024)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Lou Dobbs
| image              = Lou Dobbs by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption            = Dobbs at [[Conservative Political Action Conference|CPAC]] in 2015
| birth_name         = Louis Carl Dobbs
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1945|9|24}}
| birth_place        = [[Childress, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2024|7|18|1945|9|24}}
| death_place        = [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], U.S.{{cn|date=August 2024}}
| spouse             = Debi Lee Roth-Segura
| occupation         = {{hlist|Talk radio host|managing editor|former news anchor}}
| party              = {{plainlist|
* [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (until 2001)
* [[Independent politician|Independent]] (2001–2024)
}}
| children           = 4
| website            = {{URL|https://loudobbs.com/}}
| education          = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
}}

'''Louis Carl Dobbs''' (September 24, 1945 – July 18, 2024) was an American conservative<ref>"Lou Dobbs." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2018. ''Gale in Context: Biography''</ref> political commentator, author, and television host who presented ''[[Lou Dobbs Tonight|Moneyline]]'' (later ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'') from 1980 to 2009 and 2011 to 2021. From 2021 until his death, he hosted ''The Great America Show'' on [[iHeartRadio]] and loudobbs.com.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Petrizzo|first1=Zachary|date=February 2, 2022|title=Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs Get Together and Grumble About Fox News |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-oreilly-and-lou-dobbs-get-together-and-grumble-about-fox-news |access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref>

Dobbs started working with [[CNN]] at its inception in 1980, serving as a reporter and network vice president. On the air, he served as host and [[managing editor]] of the network's business program, ''Moneyline'', which premiered in 1980. The show was renamed ''[[Lou Dobbs Tonight]]'' in 2003. Dobbs resigned from CNN in 1999 but rejoined the network in 2001. He resigned once again in November 2009. He was the former talk radio host of ''Lou Dobbs Radio''. From 2011, he hosted ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'' on the [[Fox Business|Fox Business Network]] until the network cancelled it in February 2021.<ref name='latimes'>{{Cite web |date=February 5, 2021 |title=Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs' show; pro-Trump host not expected to be back on air |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-02-05/fox-news-cancels-lou-dobbs-tonight |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206003100/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-02-05/fox-news-cancels-lou-dobbs-tonight |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |access-date=February 5, 2021 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name='cnn'>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/05/media/lou-dobbs-fox-show-canceled/index.html |title=Fox Business suddenly cancels 'Lou Dobbs Tonight,' its highest-rated show|first=Brian|last=Stelter|date=February 5, 2021|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=February 6, 2021|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206005105/https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/05/media/lou-dobbs-fox-show-canceled/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dobbs was an early promoter of [[birtherism]], the unfounded accusation that former [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Barack Obama]] is not a [[Natural-born-citizen clause|natural-born U.S. citizen]]. He was known for anti-illegal immigration views,<ref name=":18" /><ref name=guardian /><ref name=latimes2 /> as well as for opposition to [[North American Free Trade Agreement|NAFTA]] and other trade deals. A staunch supporter of [[Donald Trump]], he infused his show with pro-Trump coverage.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/trump-policy-whisperer-lou-dobbs-unloads-on-radical-dimms-in-unhinged-opening-monologue|title=Trump 'Policy Whisperer' Lou Dobbs Unloads on 'Radical Dimms' in Unhinged Opening Monologue|last=Durkee|first=Alison|website=The Hive |date=May 3, 2019 |language=en |access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214015440/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/trump-policy-whisperer-lou-dobbs-unloads-on-radical-dimms-in-unhinged-opening-monologue|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/hardline-views-made-lou-dobbs-a-fox-powerhouse-now-hes-shaping-trumps-border-policy/2019/04/26/cb8ebd6c-5fa4-11e9-bfad-36a7eb36cb60_story.html |title=Hard-line views made Lou Dobbs a Fox powerhouse. Now he's shaping Trump's border policy |last1=Roig-Franzia |first1=Manuel |last2=Costa |first2=Robert |date=April 27, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en |access-date=May 3, 2019 |archive-date=August 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819023856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/hardline-views-made-lou-dobbs-a-fox-powerhouse-now-hes-shaping-trumps-border-policy/2019/04/26/cb8ebd6c-5fa4-11e9-bfad-36a7eb36cb60_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27112228/donald-trump-poll-fox-news-lou-dobbs/ |title=The Trump-Fox Symbiosis of Stupid Continues With an Extremely Wrong Poll |last=Holmes |first=Jack |date=April 11, 2019 |website=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|language=en-US|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=October 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009001936/https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27112228/donald-trump-poll-fox-news-lou-dobbs/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house|title=The Making of the Fox News White House|last=Mayer|first=Jane|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 4, 2019|access-date=May 3, 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211045411/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house|url-status=live}}</ref> He was one of three [[Fox Corporation]] program hosts named in a $2.7 billion [[defamation]] lawsuit by [[Smartmatic#2020 presidential election and defamation lawsuits|Smartmatic]] relating to conspiracy theories used in [[attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election]].<ref name='reuters'>{{cite news |last1=Stempel |first1=Jonathan |title=Smartmatic can pursue election-rigging claims against Fox News, Giuliani |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/smartmatic-can-pursue-election-rigging-claims-against-fox-news-giuliani-2022-03-08/ |publisher=Reuters |date=March 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stempel |first1=Jonathan |title=Fox News must face Smartmatic's lawsuit over election-rigging claims |newspaper=Reuters |date=February 14, 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/fox-news-must-face-smartmatics-lawsuit-over-election-rigging-claims-2023-02-14/}}</ref><ref name='cnn2'>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/media/smartmatic-fox-news-giuliani-powell-lawsuit/index.html |title=Voting technology company Smartmatic files $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell over 'disinformation campaign' |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=February 4, 2021 |website=[[CNN]]|access-date=February 5, 2021 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204230219/https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/media/smartmatic-fox-news-giuliani-powell-lawsuit/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|date=February 6, 2021|title=Lawsuits Take the Lead in Fight Against Disinformation|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/business/media/conservative-media-defamation-lawsuits.html|access-date=February 6, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214024835/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/business/media/conservative-media-defamation-lawsuits.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Dobbs was among the hosts named in the ''[[Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network]]'' defamation lawsuit for broadcasting [[False statements of fact|false statements]] about the [[Dominion Voting Systems|plaintiff company's]] [[voting machine]]s that [[Fox News]] settled for $787.5 million and required Fox News to acknowledge that the broadcast statements were false.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 4, 2021 |title=Fox News and three hosts sued for $2.7 billion by voting machine company over election-fraud claims |work=[[USA Today]] |publisher= |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/02/04/fox-news-three-hosts-trump-lawyers-sued-over-election-fraud-claims/4392023001/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110172220/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/02/04/fox-news-three-hosts-trump-lawyers-sued-over-election-fraud-claims/4392023001/ |archive-date=November 10, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Folkenflik|first1=David|last2=Yang|first2=Mary|date=April 18, 2023|title=Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems|publisher=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/04/18/1170339114/fox-news-settles-blockbuster-defamation-lawsuit-with-dominion-voting-systems|access-date=January 23, 2024}}</ref><ref name="davis-sj">{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Eric |title=Summary Judgment |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23736885/dominion-v-fox-summary-judgment.pdf |publisher=Superior Court of the State of Delaware |date=March 31, 2023 |access-date=April 20, 2023 |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331225942/https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23736885/dominion-v-fox-summary-judgment.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Louis Carl Dobbs was born September 24, 1945, in [[Childress, Texas]].<ref name="WaPoObit">{{cite news |last1=Barr |first1=Jeremy |last2=Argetsinger |first2=Amy |last3=Bernstein |first3=Adam |title=Lou Dobbs, cable-news pioneer and Trump media booster, dies at 78 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/07/18/lou-dobbs-obituary/ |access-date=July 20, 2024 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=July 19, 2024}}</ref> He was the son of Frank Dobbs, a co-owner of a [[propane]] business, and Lydia Mae (née Hensley), a bookkeeper. When Dobbs was twelve, his father's propane business failed and the family moved to [[Rupert, Idaho]].<ref name="Madashell">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/12/04/mad-as-hell |title=Mad as Hell: Lou Dobbs's populist crusade |access-date=January 17, 2007 |last=Auletta |first=Ken |date=December 4, 2006 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> Although accepted at the [[University of Idaho]] and [[Idaho State University]], he was persuaded by the staff at [[Minico High School]] to apply to [[Harvard University]], where he was accepted and graduated in 1967 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[economics]].<ref name="WaPoObit" />

==Career==
After college, Dobbs worked for federal [[Poverty reduction|anti-poverty]] programs in [[Boston]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], then returned to Idaho. He briefly attended the [[University of Idaho College of Law]] in [[Moscow, Idaho|Moscow]], and then worked as a [[cash-management]] specialist for [[Union Bank of California]] in [[Los Angeles]]. He married his high school sweetheart in 1969, and in 1970 their first son was born. Dobbs moved to [[Yuma, Arizona]], and got a job as a police and fire reporter for [[KBLU (AM)|KBLU]]. By the mid-1970s, he was a [[television anchor]] and [[reporter]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], and he later joined [[Seattle]]'s [[KING-TV]]. In 1979, he was contacted by a recruiter for [[Ted Turner]], who was in the process of forming CNN.<ref name="Madashell" />

===CNN===
Dobbs joined CNN when it launched in 1980, serving as its chief economics [[correspondent]] and as [[Host (radio)#Television presenter|host]] of the business news program ''[[Lou Dobbs Tonight|Moneyline]]'' on CNN.<ref name=":14" /> Dobbs also served as a [[corporate executive]] for CNN, as its executive vice president and as a member of CNN's executive committee. 

Dobbs was president of [[CNNfn]] (CNN financial news) and anchored the program ''Business Unusual''.<Ref name=Kurtz10102>Howard Kurtz, ''The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation'' (The Free Press: 2000), pp. 101-03.</ref> His ratings were typically triple that of his former protégé, [[Maria Bartiromo]].<Ref name=Kurtz10102/> [[Howard Kurtz]], in his book on business journalism of the era, wrote that Dobbs "could be arrogant and abrasive" and was controversial within CNN.<Ref name=Kurtz10102/> In 1992, Dobbs admitted to receiving more than $15,000 to act as a spokesman from [[Shearson Lehman Brothers]], [[PaineWebber]], and the [[Philadelphia Stock Exchange]], making promotional videos; he was reprimanded by the network for the conflict of interest and expressed regret in a memo to staff.<Ref name=Kurtz10102/> 

Dobbs nearly left the network in 1997 over a clash on CNNfn's direction; he ultimately convinced Turner to expand CNNfn from 14 hours per day to 18 hours per day, with a commitment to further increase it to 24 hours per day.<Ref name=Kurtz10102/>

===Departure and founding of Space.com===
Dobbs repeatedly clashed with [[Rick Kaplan]], who became president of CNN in 1997. Dobbs said Kaplan, a friend of then president [[Bill Clinton]], was "clearly partisan" and "was pushing Clinton stories", while Kaplan said Dobbs was "a very difficult person to work with."<ref name="Madashell"/>
[[File:TomIntroducingLouDobbs.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dobbs with then-U.S. Representative [[Tom Tancredo]] in 2004]]
On April 20, 1999, CNN was covering Clinton's speech in [[Littleton, Colorado]], following the [[Columbine High School massacre]]. Dobbs ordered the producer to cut away from the speech and return to broadcast ''Moneyline.''<ref name="Madashell"/> Dobbs was countermanded by Kaplan, who ordered CNN to return to the speech. Kaplan later said, "Tell me what journalistic reason there was not to cover the president at Columbine soon after the shootings? Everyone else was doing it". Dobbs announced on the air that "CNN President Rick Kaplan wants us to return to Littleton." A few days later, Dobbs announced that he was leaving the network to start [[Space.com]], a website devoted to [[Astronautics|astronautical]] news.<ref name="Madashell"/> Dobbs was subsequently replaced as host of ''Moneyline'' by [[Willow Bay]] and [[Stuart Varney]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,667811,00.html |title=Moneyline Launches Bicoastal News Format |publisher=Time Warner |date=August 22, 2000 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927011302/http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,667811,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Space.com===
Dobbs announced that he was leaving CNN to start up the site [[Space.com]] in July 1999. Dobbs was one of the primary shareholders in that company and later that year became Space.com's chief executive officer. Dobbs returned to CNN in 2001.<ref name="Madashell"/><ref name="auto"/>

===Return to CNN===
Kaplan left CNN in August 2000, and Dobbs returned the following year, at the behest of his friend and CNN founder [[Ted Turner]], becoming host and [[managing editor]] of the new and initially more general news program ''Lou Dobbs Reporting'', which later became ''CNN News Sunday Morning''. He also regained the helm of the newly renamed ''Lou Dobbs Moneyline'' (which became ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'' in June 2003).<ref>{{Cite news | first = Peter | last = Johnson | title = 'Lou Dobbs Moneyline' gets a new moniker | date = June 9, 2003 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-06-09-media-mix_x.htm | work = [[USA Today]] | access-date = January 17, 2007 | archive-date = September 19, 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050919142950/http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-06-09-media-mix_x.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>

According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Dobbs started to increasingly focus on the alleged dangers of illegal immigration after returning to CNN.<ref name=":14" /> Dobbs became a self-described populist after his return to CNN, and criticized the "greed" of big corporations and their opposition to raising the minimum wage.<ref name="Madashell" />
[[File:Dobbs-lou-vv2008-01.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dobbs in 2008]]

===Exit from CNN===
In July 2009, controversy around Dobbs began when he was the only mainstream news anchor to give airtime to the [[birther]] theory that [[Barack Obama]] was not born in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111409944 |title=Dobbs' Focus On Obama Birth Draws Fire To CNN |access-date=November 24, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=April 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423144052/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111409944 |url-status=live }}</ref> Several media watch groups, including [[Media Matters for America|Media Matters]] and the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], criticized Dobbs for his reporting. The controversy eventually caused CNN President [[Jonathan Klein (CNN)|Jon Klein]] to rein Dobbs in via an internal memorandum.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ariens |first=Chris |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/jon_klein_on_birthers_it_seems_this_story_is_dead_122546.asp |title=Jon Klein on Birthers: 'It Seems This Story is Dead' |publisher=mediabistro.com – TVNewswer |date=July 24, 2009 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425075638/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/jon_klein_on_birthers_it_seems_this_story_is_dead_122546.asp |archive-date=April 25, 2010 }}</ref> In September, advocates challenged Dobbs for appearing at a conference organized by the pro-border security group Federation for American Immigration Reform. Multiple campaigns were launched, including "Drop Dobbs" ([[New Democrat Network|NDN]], [[Media Matters for America|Media Matters]]). The campaigns also attacked CNN for alleged hypocrisy towards Latinos, citing CNN's ''Latino in America'' special as incompatible with their continued support of Dobbs. The campaigns generated considerable anti-Dobbs press.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.impre.com/eldiariony/noticias/locales/2009/10/22/hispanos-a-cnn--eres-latino-o--155229-1.html |title=El Diario La Prensa NY – noticias de Nueva York – impre.com – Hispanos a CNN: ¿eres latino o anti-latino? |publisher=impre.com |date=October 22, 2009 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-date=October 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025100130/http://www.impre.com/eldiariony/noticias/locales/2009/10/22/hispanos-a-cnn--eres-latino-o--155229-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On the November 11, 2009, edition of his nightly broadcast ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'', Dobbs announced his immediate departure from CNN, ending a nearly thirty-year career at the network, citing plans to "pursue new opportunities."<ref name="Update: Lou Dobbs to Quit CNN">{{Cite news|url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/lou-dobbs-to-depart-cnn/|title=Lou Dobbs to Quit CNN|last1=Stelter|first1=Brian|date=November 11, 2009|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 11, 2009|last2=Carter|first2=Bill|archive-date=November 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113113004/http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/lou-dobbs-to-depart-cnn/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name = "CNN1">{{Cite web
|title=Anchor Lou Dobbs departs CNN
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/11/lou.dobbs.leaving/index.html
|access-date=November 11, 2009
|date=November 11, 2009
|work=[[CNN]]
|location=New York, NY
|quote=CNN's Lou Dobbs stepped down from his controversial role as an advocacy anchor at the network at the end of his show Wednesday night after announcing plans to seek a more activist role.
|archive-date=November 13, 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113144554/http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/11/lou.dobbs.leaving/index.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> CNN President [[Jonathan Klein (CNN)|Jon Klein]] said that Dobbs's departure was not a result of organized opposition to Dobbs's viewpoints.<ref name="YahooNews1">{{Cite web |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091112/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_lou_dobbs |title=Advocacy groups claim victory after Dobbs leaves |access-date=November 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115010049/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091112/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_lou_dobbs |archive-date=November 15, 2009 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref name = "LATimes1">{{Cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/lou-dobbs-cnn.html |title=Lou Dobbs abruptly quits CNN on the air – video |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |page=m |archive-date=May 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510071050/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/lou-dobbs-cnn.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dobbs was reportedly paid $8 million in severance pay when he left CNN.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shain |first=Michael |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/source_cnn_wanted_lou_out_LOBEhi0KhBVvzqxDoxbPWI |title=Source: CNN wanted Lou out |publisher=[[New York Post]] |date=November 16, 2009 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-date=March 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312104801/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/source_cnn_wanted_lou_out_LOBEhi0KhBVvzqxDoxbPWI |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Dobbs left CNN in 2009, he did not rule out the possibility of running for [[President of the United States]] in [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]], saying the final decision would rest with his wife.<ref>Memmot, Mark (November 24, 2009) [https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/11/lou_dobbs_white_house_independ.html "Lou Dobbs Hints At White House Run In 2012 As An Independent"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331163433/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/11/lou_dobbs_white_house_independ.html |date=March 31, 2015 }}, NPR.org. Retrieved November 24, 2009.</ref><ref>Condon, Stephanie (November 24, 2009) [https://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/23/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5750619.shtml?tag=twitter "Lou Dobbs for President in 2012?"], CBS News.com. Retrieved November 24, 2009.</ref> Former Senator [[Dean Barkley]] promoted Dobbs as a potential presidential candidate with the [[Independence-Alliance Party|Independence Party]] (formerly called the Reform Party).<ref name="barkley">{{cite web|url=http://minnesotaindependent.com/50490/barkley-dobbs-would-be-perfect-ip-party-candidate-for-prez|title=Barkley: Dobbs would be 'perfect' IP Party candidate for prez|access-date=November 28, 2009|archive-date=December 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213100614/http://minnesotaindependent.com/50490/barkley-dobbs-would-be-perfect-ip-party-candidate-for-prez|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Radio===
[[File:Andrew Napolitano, Lou Dobbs & Michael Hayden (16490678658) (cropped half length).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dobbs at [[Conservative Political Action Conference|CPAC]] in 2015]]
From 2008 to 2012, Dobbs hosted ''Lou Dobbs Radio'' on [[United Stations Radio Networks]].<ref name=flag>{{cite web|url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/lou-dobbs-radio-host-and-pioneer-of-tv-business-reports-dies-at-78/article_0275db7a-4592-11ef-9440-d39993e12aa4.html#:~:text=Dobbs'%20second%20act%20as%20a,a%20financially%20centered%20market%20update.|title=Lou Dobbs, Radio Host And Pioneer of TV Business Reports, Dies At 78|publisher=Inside Radio|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref> The three-hour daily show had affiliates in several major markets, including its [[flagship (radio)|flagship station]] ([[WOR (AM)|WOR]]) in New York City.<ref name=flag/> The show was guest-centered and featured political discussion and listener calls.

Dobbs was among the hosts who tried out for the position vacated by the cancellation of ''[[Imus in the Morning]]'' on [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]], a position that was eventually filled by ''[[Boomer and Carton in the Morning]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/radio/craig-carton-cbs-jon-stewart-replace-don-imus-wfan.html|title=Craig Carton: CBS wanted Jon Stewart to replace Imus on WFAN|date=July 3, 2023 |publisher=Awful Announcing|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>

Dobbs was also a regular columnist in ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'', and the ''[[New York Daily News]]''.<ref name="Madashell"/>

{{expand section|''The Great America Show'' on [[iHeartRadio]]|date=July 2024}}

===Fox Business Network===
On November 10, 2010, Fox Business Network announced that Dobbs would host a show on the channel.<ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/11/lou-dobbs-joining-fox-business-network.html Lou Dobbs joining Fox Business Network] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113220029/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/11/lou-dobbs-joining-fox-business-network.html |date=November 13, 2010 }} ''Los Angeles Times'' November 10, 2010</ref> The network announced on March 3, 2011, the start date, show title, and time slot of Dobbs's new show. Entitled ''[[Lou Dobbs Tonight]]'', the program debuted on March 14, 2011.<ref name="NPR-LDTN-start">{{cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David |title=Lou Dobbs' New Show Starts This Month On Fox Business |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/03/03/134244176/lou-dobbs-new-show-starts-this-month-on-fox-business |access-date=July 18, 2024 |work=NPR |date=March 3, 2011}}</ref>

On February 4, 2021, voting machine company [[Smartmatic]] filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against multiple parties, including Dobbs and two other Fox Corporation program hosts, asserting they had promoted conspiracy theories alleging the company and its competitor [[Dominion Voting Systems]] had participated in an international conspiracy to rig the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] against Donald Trump.<ref name='cnn2' /> The three programs had each run a video retraction weeks earlier, after receiving a [[demand letter]] from Smartmatic, though neither Dobbs nor the other hosts personally issued retractions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-airs-stunning-fact-check-of-his-own-election-conspiracies-after-company-threatens-legal-action/|title=Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Claims|date=December 18, 2020|access-date=February 6, 2021|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107042912/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-airs-stunning-fact-check-of-his-own-election-conspiracies-after-company-threatens-legal-action/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Lou Dobbs 2017.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dobbs at CPAC in 2017]]
Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil sued Dobbs, [[Fox News]] and [[Sidney Powell]] for $250 million in December 2021, alleging they had falsely implicated him in rigging Dominion and Smartmatic machines.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shamsian |first1=Jacob |title=Venezuelan man files $250 million lawsuit against Fox News and Sidney Powell after baseless accusations that he rigged 2020 election results |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/venezuelan-man-sues-fox-news-sidney-powell-for-conspiracy-theories-2021-12 |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=December 28, 2021}}</ref>Dobbs and Fox News reached a confidential settlement with Khalil in April 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farrell |first1=Maureen |title=Fox News Settles Defamation Case With Venezuelan Businessman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/09/business/fox-news-venezuela-dominion.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>

Fox News canceled Dobbs' show on February 5, 2021. The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported the decision had been under consideration before the Smartmatic legal issues arose.<ref name='latimes' /> [[Brian Stelter]] and [[Oliver Darcy]] of [[CNN Business]] claimed that, despite being the highest-rated Fox Business Network program, it was a [[loss leader]] because many advertisers did not want to be associated with the content.<ref name='cnn' />

===Other appearances===

Since 2009, Dobbs had made regular appearances to discuss issues on other news network programs including CNBC's ''[[The Kudlow Report]]'' and Fox News Channel's ''[[The O'Reilly Factor]]''. On October 5, 2010, Dobbs made a guest appearance on an episode of ''[[The Good Wife (TV series)|The Good Wife]]'', entitled "Double Jeopardy",<ref>{{IMDb title|1632297|The Good Wife, Double Jeopardy}} October 5, 2010</ref> in which he plays a client in search of a new law firm to represent his legal interests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-49413|title=Lou Dobbs, Joe Trippi Play Themselves on 'The Good Wife'|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=October 5, 2010|first=Susan|last=Toepfer|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>

==Political views==
Dobbs was known for his anti-immigration views,<ref name=":18" /><ref name=guardian>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/28/usa.television|title=Hispanic congressmen demand corporate action against CNN host|last=Schor|first=Elana|date=April 28, 2008|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 14, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=October 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015044838/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/28/usa.television|url-status=live}}</ref> warnings about [[Islamist terrorism]], and his opposition to [[outsourcing]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2005-02-22-dobbs-usat_x.htm | work=[[USA Today]] | first1=Michael | last1=McCarthy | title=Dobbs blasts outsourcing | date=February 25, 2005 | access-date=September 4, 2017 | archive-date=March 17, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317124056/http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2005-02-22-dobbs-usat_x.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> He was also known for his pro-Trump coverage.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/14/media/pro-trump-media-daca-dreamers/index.html|title=Pro-Trump media incensed over reports he struck deal with Dems on Dreamers|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|work=[[CNN Business]]|access-date=October 14, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014234548/http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/14/media/pro-trump-media-daca-dreamers/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-media-democrats-debt-deal-2017-9?r=US&IR=T|title=Right-wing media praises Trump's deal with the Democrats and rips Republican leaders|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=October 14, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015044113/http://uk.businessinsider.com/trump-media-democrats-debt-deal-2017-9?r=US&IR=T|url-status=live}}</ref>

===China===
In December 2018, Dobbs suggested that the United States should start a war with China because of hacking by Chinese state actors. He compared hacking by the [[People's Liberation Army]] of China to the attack by the Japanese military on [[Pearl Harbor]] in 1941.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/lou-dobbs-us-war-china-hacking-pearl-harbor-fox-business-1267777|title=Lou Dobbs says U.S. should start war with China over hacking: "No different than Pearl Harbor"|first=Ewan Palmer On 12/21/18 at 4:11 AM|last=EST|date=December 21, 2018|website=[[Newsweek]]|access-date=January 7, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120005106/https://www.newsweek.com/lou-dobbs-us-war-china-hacking-pearl-harbor-fox-business-1267777|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Birtherism===
In 2009, Dobbs promoted the [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|false claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States]].<ref name=":14" /><ref>''[[The Guardian]]'', July 29, 2009, [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jul/29/birthers-obama-citizenship-republicans Birthers are citizens of Idiot America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106135952/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jul/29/birthers-obama-citizenship-republicans |date=January 6, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/0804/freemasons-to-birthers-rise-of-dc-conspiracy-theories|title=Freemasons to 'Birthers': rise of D.C. conspiracy theories|date=August 4, 2009|journal=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=January 8, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221123421/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/0804/freemasons-to-birthers-rise-of-dc-conspiracy-theories|url-status=live}}</ref> His repeated promotion of discredited "[[birther]]" conspiracies<ref>"a lot of questions remaining, and seemingly the questions won't go away because they haven't been dealt with". ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'', CNN, July 20, 2009, [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/20/ldt.01.html transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106135956/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/20/ldt.01.html |date=January 6, 2021 }}</ref> even though CNN itself considered it a "discredited rumor",<ref>''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', July 22, 2009, [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-onthemedia22-2009jul22,0,3061950.column?page=1 Lou Dobbs and the canard over President Obama's birth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925084246/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-onthemedia22-2009jul22,0,3061950.column?page=1 |date=September 25, 2009 }}</ref><ref>''[[Washington Post]]'', July 29, 2009, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/28/AR2009072802817.html An Old Rumor Bears Repeating On CNN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106140013/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/28/AR2009072802817.html |date=January 6, 2021 }}</ref> revived a topic that had largely disappeared from the media spotlight after the 2008 presidential campaign.<ref>''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', London, July 25, 2009, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5907183/Right-Wing-US-conspiracists-question-Obamas-birth-certificate.html Right Wing US conspiracists question Obama's birth certificate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112061415/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5907183/Right-Wing-US-conspiracists-question-Obamas-birth-certificate.html |date=November 12, 2010 }}</ref> The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] denounced Dobbs' on-air statements as "racist" and "[[defamation|defamatory]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=390|title='Southern Poverty Law Center' Letter from SPLC President, Richard Cohen to CNN President Jonathan Klein|publisher=Splcenter.org|access-date=April 12, 2010|archive-date=August 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825042159/https://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=390|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', July 25, 2009, [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-cnnobama25-2009jul25,0,3939176.story CNN chief addresses Obama birth controversy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728172437/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-cnnobama25-2009jul25,0,3939176.story |date=July 28, 2009 }}</ref> and Media Matters ran ads critical of Dobbs and of CNN/<ref>''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' TV blog, August 2009, [http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/zontv/2009/08/lou_dobbs_cnn_birthers_obama_m.html Lou Dobbs becomes a real problem for CNN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106135957/https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2008-09-notes_from_inside_the_belly_of-story.html |date=January 6, 2021 }}</ref> [[Jon Stewart]] mocked Dobbs on the satirical [[Comedy Central]] television series ''[[The Daily Show]]''.<ref>''Gawker'', July 23, 2009, [http://gawker.com/5320976/jon-stewart-to-lou-dobbs-do-you-even-watch-your-own-f+ing-network Jon Stewart to Lou Dobbs: 'Do You Even Watch Your Own F-ing Network?!'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804092623/http://gawker.com/5320976/jon-stewart-to-lou-dobbs-do-you-even-watch-your-own-f%2Bing-network|date=August 4, 2009}}</ref> The [[Associated Press]] said that Dobbs had "become a publicity nightmare for CNN, embarrassed his boss and hosted a show that seemed to contradict the network's 'no bias' brand".<ref>Associated Press. August 3, 2009, [https://www.newsday.com/lou-dobbs-challenges-his-own-cnn-network-1.1344573 Lou Dobbs Challenges His Own CNN Network] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228011329/https://www.newsday.com/lou-dobbs-challenges-his-own-cnn-network-1.1344573 |date=December 28, 2019 }}</ref>

===Environment===
Dobbs claimed that the [[scientific consensus on climate change]] was a hoax.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060104671|title=Climate skeptics and bomb deniers find common ground|website=www.eenews.net|language=en|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-date=May 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525021641/https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060104671|url-status=live}}</ref> Dobbs had asserted that scientists warned of [[global cooling]] in the 1970s, though that was a distinctly minority view.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-global-cooling-story-came-to-be/|title=How the 'Global Cooling' Story Came to Be|date=2014|work=Scientific American|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429132718/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-global-cooling-story-came-to-be/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4335191&page=1|title=Study debunks 'global cooling' concern of '70s|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=January 3, 2020|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629100249/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4335191&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>''The Myth Of The 1970s Global Cooling Scientific Consensus:'' https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/131047.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217015629/https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/131047.pdf |date=December 17, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 3, 2020|title=The Myth of the Global Cooling Consensus|url=https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/01/the_myth_of_the_global_cooling_consensus.html|website=www.realclearscience.com|date=January 13, 2014 |archive-date=October 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027144455/https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/01/the_myth_of_the_global_cooling_consensus.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He likened [[Obama administration]]'s EPA to the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] bureacracy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thenewpress.com/books/strangers-their-own-land|title=Strangers in Their Own Land|website=The New Press|language=en|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-date=May 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525021653/https://thenewpress.com/books/strangers-their-own-land|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Immigration===
Dobbs supported limiting mass immigration.<ref name=latimes2>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-essential-washington-updates-trump-faults-his-justice-department-on-1521633789-htmlstory.html|title=Trump faults his Justice Department on Arizona 'Dreamer' case, citing Lou Dobbs|last=Bierman|first=Noah|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=October 20, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020223740/http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-essential-washington-updates-trump-faults-his-justice-department-on-1521633789-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/lou-dobbs-quits-cnn-just-like-that-2009-11?IR=T|title=Lou Dobbs Quits CNN, Just Like That|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=October 20, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020223923/https://www.businessinsider.com/lou-dobbs-quits-cnn-just-like-that-2009-11?IR=T|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-outrage-industry-9780199928972|title=The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility|date=201|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199928972|series=Studies in Postwar American Political Development|location=Oxford; New York|pages=96, 205–206|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229171814/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-outrage-industry-9780199928972?cc=us&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref> Dobbs was strongly opposed to both [[Illegal immigration to the United States|illegal immigration]] and foreign worker programs as the [[H-1B visa]] program and [[foreign worker|guest-worker]] programs. In a 2006 article, Dobbs expressed frustration at failed legislation to build a southern "border fence to stop the flow of illegal aliens and drugs across our borders." He argued that the "true victims of corporate America's lust for cheap labor" were "American working men and women, taxpayers all."<ref name="Dobbs_CNN_2006_wall">{{cite news |title=Five-weeks off for 'do-nothing Congress' |author=Lou Dobbs |work=[[CNN]] |date=August 2, 2006 |location=New York}}</ref> During efforts to implement comprehensive immigration reform during the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] in 2007, Dobbs devoted more than a quarter of all of his airtime during a three-month period to the subject of immigration, and covered it negatively.<ref name=":18"/>

Dobbs's show made factually incorrect claims, such as the one that illegal immigrants were responsible for bringing 7,000 new cases of [[leprosy]] to the United States in a three-year period, where the actual timeframe was over the last thirty years.<ref>James L. Krahenbuhl, the director of the [[Bureau of Primary Health Care#National Hansen's Disease Program|National Hansen's Disease Program]], cited in {{Cite news| first = David| last = Leonhardt| author-link = David Leonhardt| title = Truth, Fiction and Lou Dobbs| date = May 30, 2007| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/business/30leonhardt.html| newspaper = New York Times| access-date = May 11, 2010| archive-date = March 21, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110321113933/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/business/30leonhardt.html| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> In addressing the leprosy issue, Dobbs in May 2007 compared his critics on the left and right to "[[communism|commies]]" and "[[fascism|fascists]], respectively."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003592316|title=Lou Dobbs Responds to 'Scurrilous' Attack By 'NYT'|date=May 31, 2007|work=[[Editor & Publisher]]|access-date=June 3, 2007}}</ref> Dobbs also falsely claimed that "illegal aliens" were a third of the federal prison population in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lou Dobbs Tonight: Mounting Debate About Options Available to U.S. With Military in Iraq; Turmoil in Iraq Overshadowing President Bush's Efforts to Focus on Other Issues |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0311/04/ldt.00.html |website=[[CNN | CNN Transcripts]] |access-date=February 17, 2021 |date=November 4, 2003 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126055143/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0311/04/ldt.00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Leonhardt |first1=David |title=Immigrants and Prison |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/business/30leonside.html |access-date=February 17, 2021 |agency=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 30, 2007 |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212000337/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/business/30leonside.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dobbs criticized local officials for their approach to border security. In October 2007 he labeled then-[[Governor of New York|New York Governor]] [[Eliot Spitzer]] an "idiot" for advocating the issuance of [[driver's license]]s to illegal immigrants.<ref>{{Cite news | first = Larry | last = McShane | title = Dobbs Shows No Love For Guv | date = October 29, 2007 | url = http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-spitzer1029.artoct29,0,2408884.story | work = courant.com | access-date = October 29, 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071029211705/http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-spitzer1029.artoct29,0,2408884.story | archive-date = October 29, 2007 }}</ref> [[Hillary Clinton]] labeled Dobbs's illegal immigration segments as having "all that hot air."<ref>{{cite web |author=SteveK on |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/dobbs_fires_back_at_clinton_for_hot_air_comment_74182.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128141653/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/dobbs_fires_back_at_clinton_for_hot_air_comment_74182.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 28, 2013 |title=Dobbs Fires Back at Clinton For "Hot Air" Comment |publisher=mediabistro.com – TVNewser |date=January 3, 2008 |access-date=April 12, 2010 }}</ref>

In a November 2009 interview with [[Telemundo]], Dobbs said that the U.S. needed a "rational, effective humane policy" for immigration that included enhanced border security and also "the ability to legalize illegal immigrants on certain conditions."<ref>Angie Drobnic Holan, [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/30/lou-dobbs/did-lou-dobbs-oppose-amnesty-he-doesnt-oppose-it-n/ Did Lou Dobbs oppose amnesty? He doesn't oppose it now] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604112111/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/30/lou-dobbs/did-lou-dobbs-oppose-amnesty-he-doesnt-oppose-it-n/ |date=June 4, 2016 }}, [[PolitiFact]] (November 30, 2009).</ref><ref>Peter Wallsten, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125910998942663259 Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126225820/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125910998942663259 |date=January 26, 2017 }}, ''The Wall Street Journal'' (November 25, 2009).</ref>

In October 2010, ''[[The Nation]]'' published the results of a yearlong investigation detailing undocumented workers who had worked on Dobbs's personal properties. The labor involved upkeep of Dobbs's multimillion-dollar estates in [[New Jersey]] and [[Florida]], including the horses belonging to his daughter, Hillary, a champion show jumper. The article featured interviews with five immigrants who had worked without papers on Dobbs's properties.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/07/dobbs.immigrants.article/index.html |title=Lou Dobbs denies hiring illegal immigrants |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=November 24, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607084701/http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/07/dobbs.immigrants.article/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Dobbs denied ever employing illegal labor and called the allegations "a political assault."<ref>[https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/report-illegal-labor-worked-at-lou-dobbs-homes/ Report: Illegal Labor Worked at Dobbs' homes].  Seattle Times staff October 7, 2010.</ref>

In November 2018, Dobbs falsely claimed that "many" undocumented immigrants voted in the 2018 mid-term elections and that they had an "immense impact."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2018/nov/16/lou-dobbs/no-evidence-many-illegal-immigrants-voted-midterm-/|title=No evidence 'many' illegal immigrants voted in midterms|work=[[PolitiFact]]|access-date=November 20, 2018|language=en|archive-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121021942/https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2018/nov/16/lou-dobbs/no-evidence-many-illegal-immigrants-voted-midterm-/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/16/lou-dobbs-casually-makes-up-story-that-many-illegal-immigrants-voted-midterms-had-immense-impact/|title=Lou Dobbs casually makes up story that 'many' illegal immigrants voted in midterms and had 'immense impact'|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|language=en|access-date=November 20, 2018|archive-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121021833/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/16/lou-dobbs-casually-makes-up-story-that-many-illegal-immigrants-voted-midterms-had-immense-impact/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dobbs's critics, including columnist [[James K. Glassman]], author of ''[[Dow 36,000]]'' and member of the [[American Enterprise Institute]] think tank, accused him of inciting [[xenophobia]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=022206H|title=Good for America|last=Glassman|first=James K|date=February 23, 2006|work=TCS Daily|access-date=June 3, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070512050634/http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=022206H|archive-date=May 12, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Others accused him of [[Hispanophobia]], a charge he denied<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33815|title=Lou Dobbs's Dubious Guest List|last=Berkowitz|first=Bill|date=June 30, 2006|work=Inter Press Service News Agency|access-date=January 17, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115010358/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33815|archive-date=November 15, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> and one which he said offends him deeply, as his wife Debi Segura is a [[Mexican American]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lou-dobbs-advocacy-journalist/|title=Lou Dobbs, "Advocacy" Journalist?|date=May 6, 2007|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=June 3, 2007|archive-date=September 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905093715/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/03/60minutes/main2758082.shtml?source=search_story|url-status=live}}</ref>

After President Donald Trump stated in March 2019 that he supported legal immigration "in the largest numbers ever," Dobbs lamented that Trump was advancing "the interests of the global elite ahead of our citizens," adding, "the White House has simply lost its way."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/us/politics/trump-anti-immigration-groups-betrayal.html|title=Anti-Immigration Groups See Trump's Calls for More Legal Immigrants as a Betrayal|first=Michael D.|last=Shear|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 8, 2019|access-date=September 17, 2019|archive-date=October 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012115821/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/us/politics/trump-anti-immigration-groups-betrayal.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/03/07/lou_dobbs_trump_white_house_has_lost_its_way_on_legal_immigration.html|title=Lou Dobbs: Trump White House Has "Lost Its Way" On Legal Immigration|website=www.realclearpolitics.com|access-date=September 17, 2019|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206005831/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/03/07/lou_dobbs_trump_white_house_has_lost_its_way_on_legal_immigration.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Support for Trump===
Dobbs's fawning coverage of the Trump presidency was described as [[sycophancy|sycophantic]]. Fox News president [[Jay Wallace (journalist)|Jay Wallace]] said in a September 2020 private message to a colleague that "[[Propaganda in North Korea|the North Koreans do a more nuanced show]]" than Dobbs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/26/16552362/lou-dobbs-trump-transcript|title=Lou Dobbs's Trump interview is a masterpiece of sycophancy and nonsense|work=[[Vox (website) | Vox]]|access-date=October 26, 2017|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026163154/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/26/16552362/lou-dobbs-trump-transcript|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-fox-business-network-lou-dobbs-693411|title=Lou Dobbs tells Donald Trump he is 'one of the most loved and respected' presidents in history|date=October 26, 2017|work=[[Newsweek]]|access-date=October 26, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026140509/http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-fox-business-network-lou-dobbs-693411|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-lou-dobbs-donald-trump-mortals_n_5e103dd9c5b6b5a713ba692f|title=Lou Dobbs Turns His Adulation Of Trump Up Yet Another Ridiculous Notch|last=Moran|first=Lee|date=January 4, 2020|website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en|access-date=January 12, 2020|archive-date=January 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112010048/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-lou-dobbs-donald-trump-mortals_n_5e103dd9c5b6b5a713ba692f|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fox News exec said 'the North Koreans do a more nuanced show' than the now-fired host Lou Dobbs: lawsuit |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/lou-dobbs-north-korean-propaganda-nuance-fox-news-jay-wallace-2023-2 |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=February 16, 2023|author1=Cheryl Teh|author2=Jacob Shamsian}}</ref> Dobbs opened a November 2017 interview with Trump with "You have accomplished so much", and later said to Trump that he was "one of the most loved and respected" presidents "in history".<ref name=":2" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the interview as a love-fest and "courtier-like session", as Dobbs "didn't so much ask questions as open his mouth and let rose petals fall out".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/television/president-trump-finds-his-tv-niche-in-softball-interviews.html|title=President Trump Finds His TV Niche in Softball Interviews|last=Poniewozik|first=James|date=November 10, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 10, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110134720/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/television/president-trump-finds-his-tv-niche-in-softball-interviews.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During Trump's presidency, Dobbs was described as a "close informal adviser to President Donald Trump".<ref name="Business Insider">{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/lou-dobbs-tweet-conspiracy-theory-democrats-mail-bombs-2018-10?r=UK&IR=T|title=Lou Dobbs promotes conspiracy theory that Democrats sent explosive devices to Clinton, Obama, and Soros to improve midterm chances|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=October 25, 2018|language=en|archive-date=October 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025190236/http://uk.businessinsider.com/lou-dobbs-tweet-conspiracy-theory-democrats-mail-bombs-2018-10?r=UK&IR=T|url-status=live}}</ref> Trump repeatedly called Dobbs to get his views on various policy issues.<ref name=":14" />

Dobbs promoted "[[Deep state in the United States|Deep State]]" conspiracy theories. In January 2018, he called for a "war" on what he called the "deep state" of [[FBI]] and the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/370469-lou-dobbs-its-time-to-declare-war-on-deep-state/|title=Lou Dobbs: 'May be time to declare war' on 'deep state'|last=Anapol|first=Avery|date=January 24, 2018|work=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=January 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124193222/http://thehill.com/homenews/media/370469-lou-dobbs-its-time-to-declare-war-on-deep-state#.WmlNOdL_MzY.twitter|url-status=live}}</ref> whom he claimed were clandestinely working to bring down the Trump presidency.<ref name=":3" /> In June 2018, Dobbs promoted a conspiracy which originated on [[Reddit]] and the far-right conspiracy website [[Gateway Pundit]] that "the FBI may have initiated a number of spies" into Trump's 2016 campaign. Trump retweeted Dobbs's assertion and praised Dobbs for a "great interview".<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/trump-fbi-texts-conspiracy-theory/index.html|title=From Reddit to Trump: How the President latched onto a conspiracy theory|author1=Jeremy Herb|author2=Manu Raju|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=June 7, 2018|archive-date=June 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608002843/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/trump-fbi-texts-conspiracy-theory/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In July 2018, Dobbs said that Special Counsel [[Robert Mueller]] was on a "jihad" against Trump, and accused him of seeking to "subvert" and "overthrow" Trump's presidency.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-host-lou-dobbs-mueller-trump-2018-7?r=US&IR=T|title='The hell with Mueller': Fox host Lou Dobbs says the special counsel is on 'jihad' against Trump|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=August 20, 2018|language=en|archive-date=August 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820234820/http://uk.businessinsider.com/fox-host-lou-dobbs-mueller-trump-2018-7?r=US&IR=T|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2018, Dobbs called the FBI "a legion of evildoers" and "politically corrupt."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/421494-lou-dobbs-calls-fbi-a-legion-of-evildoers/|title=Lou Dobbs calls FBI a 'legion of evildoers'|last=Axelrod|first=Tal|date=December 14, 2018|website=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|language=en|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215032858/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/421494-lou-dobbs-calls-fbi-a-legion-of-evildoers|url-status=live}}</ref> That same month, he said that the judge overseeing [[Michael Flynn]]'s sentencing sounded as if he was part of Mueller's "witch hunt".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/12/19/the-judge-in-michael-flynns-case-just-dealt-trump-another-blow/|title=The Judge in Michael Flynn's case just dealt Trump another blow|last=LeTourneau|first=Nancy|date=December 19, 2018|website=Washington Monthly – Political Animal|language=en-US|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223073506/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/12/19/the-judge-in-michael-flynns-case-just-dealt-trump-another-blow/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2018, Dobbs defended the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]]'s decision to ban a CNN reporter from a press event. Multiple Fox colleagues, including Fox News President [[Jay Wallace (journalist)|Jay Wallace]], had shown solidarity with CNN and called on the White House to rescind the ban.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/media/398919-lou-dobbs-to-cnn-after-white-house-bans-cnn-reporter-who-the-hell-are-you/|title=Lou Dobbs to CNN after White House bans reporter: 'Who the hell are you?'|last=Birnbaum|first=Emily|date=July 25, 2018|work=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|access-date=July 26, 2018|language=en|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726065507/http://thehill.com/media/398919-lou-dobbs-to-cnn-after-white-house-bans-cnn-reporter-who-the-hell-are-you|url-status=live}}</ref> His defense led to charges of hypocrisy: in 2012, when a ''[[Daily Caller]]'' reporter was criticized by the White House for shouting out a question during an address by Obama, Dobbs defended the reporter, saying "What is rude is a president not speaking to the American people and taking the questions of the White House press".<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/jake-tapper-calls-out-foxs-lou-dobbs-for-attacking-cnns-kaitlan-collins|title=Jake Tapper Calls Out Fox's Lou Dobbs on 'Colbert' for Attacking CNN's Kaitlan Collins|last=Wilstein|first=Matt|date=July 27, 2018|work=[[The Daily Beast]]t|access-date=July 27, 2018|language=en|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206005832/https://www.thedailybeast.com/jake-tapper-calls-out-foxs-lou-dobbs-for-attacking-cnns-kaitlan-collins|url-status=live}}</ref> CNN's [[Jake Tapper]] suggested that Dobbs was hypocritical.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.salon.com/2018/07/26/fox-news-tries-to-stand-in-solidarity-with-cnn-against-white-house-but-not-everyone-is-on-board/|title=Fox News tries to 'stand in strong solidarity with CNN' – but not everyone is on board|date=July 26, 2018|work=[[Salon.com | Salon]]|access-date=July 27, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726233257/https://www.salon.com/2018/07/26/fox-news-tries-to-stand-in-solidarity-with-cnn-against-white-house-but-not-everyone-is-on-board/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2018, Dobbs ran a segment pushing unsubstantiated claims that [[Google]] was biased against Trump and that Google was promoting anti-Trump stories.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.axios.com/trump-tweet-google-censorship-e5fb9792-069b-419e-8506-03855d3bf9c7.html|title=Go deeper: Tracing Trump's Google censorship tweet|website=[[Axios (website) | Axios]]|date=August 28, 2018 |language=en|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=August 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828203614/https://www.axios.com/trump-tweet-google-censorship-e5fb9792-069b-419e-8506-03855d3bf9c7.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/08/28/a-short-investigation-into-trumps-tweets-on-rigged-google-results-about-himself/|title=Analysis {{!}} A short investigation into Trump's claims of 'RIGGED' Google results against him|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|language=en|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=August 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828151913/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/08/28/a-short-investigation-into-trumps-tweets-on-rigged-google-results-about-himself/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following Dobbs's segment, Trump tweeted that Google was suppressing conservatives and tasked economic adviser [[Larry Kudlow]] to look into regulating Google.<ref name=":9" />

In September 2018, after Trump inaccurately claimed that the official death count from [[Hurricane Maria death toll controversy|Hurricane Maria]] in Puerto Rico was fabricated by Democrats, Dobbs defended Trump's assertion. Dobbs claimed that "the numbers were inflated" and that the organizations behind the numbers "threw out science, statistics, and evidence to discredit the Trump administration".<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/406644-trump-shares-lou-dobbs-segment-doubling-down-on-his-puerto-rico/|title=Trump shares Lou Dobbs segment praising his Puerto Rico claims|last=Keller|first=Megan|date=September 13, 2018|work=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|access-date=September 14, 2018|language=en|archive-date=September 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914060811/http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/406644-trump-shares-lou-dobbs-segment-doubling-down-on-his-puerto-rico|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2018, when [[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts|CNN and prominent Democrats were targeted with mail bomb]], Dobbs described the bomb attempts as "fake news" and baselessly claimed that the mail bombs were sent by Democrats who sought to increase their support in the upcoming mid-term elections.<ref name="Business Insider"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/413103-fox-business-networks-dobbs-calls-bomb-attacks-fake-bombs-in-since-deleted/|title=Fox Business Network's Dobbs calls bomb attacks 'fake bombs' in since-deleted tweet|last=Nam|first=Rafael|date=October 25, 2018|work=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|access-date=October 25, 2018|language=en|archive-date=October 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025190402/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/413103-fox-business-networks-dobbs-calls-bomb-attacks-fake-bombs-in-since-deleted|url-status=live}}</ref> The pipe bombs were in fact mailed by a fanatical Trump supporter.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/after-arrest-republicans-struggle-with-mail-bombs-fallout After arrest, Republicans struggle with mail bombs fallout], Associated Press (October 26, 2018).</ref><Ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-49584157 Why is billionaire George Soros a bogeyman for the hard right?], BBC News (6 September 2019).</ref> Several Fox News employees expressed dismay over Dobbs's rhetoric, with one employee telling CNN, "It's people like Dobbs who really ruin it for all the hard working journalists at Fox".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/25/media/lou-dobbs-fake-bombs/index.html|title=Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs peddles conspiracy theory about suspicious packages|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=October 25, 2018|archive-date=October 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025205636/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/25/media/lou-dobbs-fake-bombs/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

When the Trump administration rescinded CNN White House correspondent [[Jim Acosta]]'s press pass, Dobbs supported the administration. At the same time, numerous media organizations, including Fox News, spoke out against the Trump administration's decision. When U.S. District Court Judge [[Timothy J. Kelly]], a Trump appointee, temporarily restored Acosta's press pass, Dobbs described the ruling as "absurd".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/lou-dobbs-loses-his-mind-after-cnn-defeats-white-house-over-acostas-press-access|title=Lou Dobbs Loses His Mind After CNN Defeats White House Over Acosta's Press Access|last=Melendez|first=Pilar|date=November 16, 2018|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|access-date=November 20, 2018|language=en|archive-date=November 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122033453/https://www.thedailybeast.com/lou-dobbs-loses-his-mind-after-cnn-defeats-white-house-over-acostas-press-access|url-status=live}}</ref> When the Trump administration complied with the ruling, Dobbs called on the administration to ignore the ruling and tell the "district court judge to go to hell".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/lou-dobbs-freaks-after-trump-surrenders-to-cnns-jim-acosta-says-president-should-tell-judge-to-go-to-hell|title=Lou Dobbs: Trump Should Tell Judge in CNN Case to 'Go to Hell'|last=Wilstein|first=Matt|date=November 20, 2018|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|access-date=November 20, 2018|language=en|archive-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207103201/https://www.thedailybeast.com/lou-dobbs-freaks-after-trump-surrenders-to-cnns-jim-acosta-says-president-should-tell-judge-to-go-to-hell|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thewrap.com/lou-dobbs-suggests-trump-should-have-ignored-court-order-on-jim-acosta/|title=Lou Dobbs Suggests Trump Should Have Ignored Court Order on Acosta|date=November 20, 2018|work=TheWrap|access-date=November 20, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120182712/https://www.thewrap.com/lou-dobbs-suggests-trump-should-have-ignored-court-order-on-jim-acosta/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2019, Dobbs described [[Mitt Romney]] as a "traitor" and "treasonous" after he wrote an op-ed published in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' criticizing Trump's character.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900049110/utah-sen-mike-lee-suggests-sen-mitt-romney-take-mulligan-on-harsh-words-for-trump.html|title=Utah Sen. Mike Lee suggests Sen. Mitt Romney take 'mulligan' on harsh words for Trump|last=Romboy|first=Dennis|date=January 4, 2019|website=DeseretNews.com|language=en|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119232210/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900049110/utah-sen-mike-lee-suggests-sen-mitt-romney-take-mulligan-on-harsh-words-for-trump.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In July 2019, Dobbs referred to U.S. military generals who raised concerns about Trump's decision to put on a July 4 military show in Washington D.C. as "[[snowflake (slang)|snowflake]] generals".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-host-lou-dobbs-calls-generals-snowflakes-over-fourth-july-2019-7|title=Fox host Lou Dobbs said that generals uncomfortable with Trump's Fourth of July military show are 'snowflakes'|last=Porter|first=Tom|website=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=July 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712133153/https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-host-lou-dobbs-calls-generals-snowflakes-over-fourth-july-2019-7|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/451720-lou-dobbs-calls-generals-snowflakes-for-not-supporting-trump-4th-of-july/|title=Lou Dobbs calls generals 'snowflakes' for not supporting Trump's July 4 speech|last=Miller|first=Maggie|date=July 4, 2019|website=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=July 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712133153/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/451720-lou-dobbs-calls-generals-snowflakes-for-not-supporting-trump-4th-of-july|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[First impeachment trial of Donald Trump|impeachment trial of Donald Trump]], ''The New York Times'' reported that former Trump national security advisor and 11-year paid contributor to Fox News [[John Bolton]] had written in his forthcoming book that Trump had told him that he wanted to continue withholding aid to Ukraine until the country investigated Democrats and the Bidens. On his show the following day, Dobbs asserted that Bolton had been "reduced to a tool for the radical Dems and the deep state with his allegation".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-unloads-oppo-dump-on-rino-john-bolton-tool-for-the-radical-dems-and-the-deep-state/|title=Lou Dobbs Unloads Oppo Dump on 'RINO' John Bolton|work=Mediaite|date=January 28, 2020|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128234006/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-unloads-oppo-dump-on-rino-john-bolton-tool-for-the-radical-dems-and-the-deep-state/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2020/01/28/john-bolton-from-fox-news-contributor-to-criticism-stelter-pkg-ctn-vpx.cnn |title=Brian Stelter: Fox News turns on its one-time employee John Bolton |work=[[CNN]] |date=January 28, 2020 |access-date=January 28, 2020 |archive-date=January 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128215707/https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2020/01/28/john-bolton-from-fox-news-contributor-to-criticism-stelter-pkg-ctn-vpx.cnn |url-status=live }}</ref>

The day senior Justice Department officials intervened in the case of longtime Trump associate [[Roger Stone]] with a recommendation of a lighter sentence than had been recommended by DOJ prosecutors the prior day, Dobbs stated on his program that attorney general [[Bill Barr]] was "doing the Lord's work" by intervening.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/news/doing-the-lords-work-lou-dobbs-scoffs-at-notion-that-doj-is-independent-does-cartwheels-over-trumps-meddling/ |title=Lou Dobbs Praises Bill Barr for DOJ Intervention in Stone Case |work=Mediaite |date=February 13, 2020 |access-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215040235/https://www.mediaite.com/news/doing-the-lords-work-lou-dobbs-scoffs-at-notion-that-doj-is-independent-does-cartwheels-over-trumps-meddling/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The intervention raised questions about the political neutrality of the DOJ.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/us/politics/roger-stone-sentencing.html |title=Prosecutors Quit Roger Stone Case After Justice Dept. Intervenes on Sentencing |first1=Katie |last1=Benner |first2=Sharon |last2=LaFraniere |first3=Adam |last3=Goldman |date=February 11, 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215054709/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/us/politics/roger-stone-sentencing.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The next day, Barr stated in a televised interview that Trump's comments about ongoing DOJ investigations "make it impossible to do my job", causing Dobbs to state on his program, "I guess I am so disappointed in Bill Barr, I have to say this – it's a damn shame when he doesn't get what this president has gone through, and what the American people have gone through, and what his charge is as attorney general."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/news/lou-dobbs-unloads-on-bill-barr-a-damn-shame-that-he-doesnt-get-what-this-president-has-gone-through/|title=Lou Dobbs Goes Off On Bill Barr: 'A Damn Shame That He Doesn't Get What This President Has Gone Through!'|date=February 14, 2020|work=Mediaite|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215040236/https://www.mediaite.com/news/lou-dobbs-unloads-on-bill-barr-a-damn-shame-that-he-doesnt-get-what-this-president-has-gone-through/|url-status=live}}</ref> The following day, after the Justice Department stated it would not prosecute former FBI deputy director [[Andrew McCabe]], a frequent target of Trump's ire, Dobbs stated on his program, "I have serious, serious questions tonight about the integrity of the Justice Department under Attorney General Barr."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-i-have-serious-questions-about-the-integrity-of-the-doj-under-bill-barr/ |title=Lou Dobbs: I Have Questions About Integrity of Bill Barr DOJ |date=February 15, 2020 |work=Mediaite |access-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215040308/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-i-have-serious-questions-about-the-integrity-of-the-doj-under-bill-barr/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

As Trump, his surrogates and supporters made baseless claims of voting fraud in the aftermath of his 2020 election defeat, Dobbs chastised Republicans for not helping the president to claim "what is rightfully his".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/business/election-security-letter-trump.html|title=Election Security Experts Contradict Trump's Voting Claims|first=Nicole|last=Perlroth|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 16, 2020|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=November 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117050559/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/business/election-security-letter-trump.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/us/politics/voting-fraud.html|title=The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud|first1=Nick|last1=Corasaniti|first2=Reid J.|last2=Epstein|first3=Jim|last3=Rutenberg|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 11, 2020|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=November 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116035455/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/us/politics/voting-fraud.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/top-officials-elections-most-secure-66f9361084ccbc461e3bbf42861057a5|title=Repudiating Trump, officials say election 'most secure'|date=November 13, 2020|website=[[Associated Press | AP News]]|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115030026/https://apnews.com/article/top-officials-elections-most-secure-66f9361084ccbc461e3bbf42861057a5|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/525969-lou-dobbs-casts-election-results-as-effort-to-deny-trump-what-is-rightfully/|title=Lou Dobbs demands GOP help Trump fight for 'what is rightfully his'|first=Sarah|last=Polus|date=November 14, 2020|website=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|access-date=November 14, 2020|archive-date=November 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114191342/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/525969-lou-dobbs-casts-election-results-as-effort-to-deny-trump-what-is-rightfully|url-status=live}}</ref> He said that Republicans who voted to certify [[Joe Biden]]'s Electoral College win were "criminal".<ref>{{Cite web|title=After Deadly Capitol Riot, Fox News Stays Silent On Stars' Incendiary Rhetoric|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/13/955694096/after-deadly-capitol-riot-fox-news-stays-silent-on-stars-incendiary-rhetoric|access-date=January 17, 2021|website=[[NPR]]|language=en|archive-date=January 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117125403/https://www.npr.org/2021/01/13/955694096/after-deadly-capitol-riot-fox-news-stays-silent-on-stars-incendiary-rhetoric|url-status=live}}</ref> After Attorney General Bill Barr said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the election, Dobbs said that Barr was "compromised" and had become part of the "deep state".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Baragona|first=Justin|date=December 1, 2020|title=Lou Dobbs Accuses Bill Barr of Being 'Compromised' and Part of the 'Deep State'|language=en|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/lou-dobbs-accuses-bill-barr-of-being-compromised-and-part-of-the-deep-state|access-date=December 6, 2020|archive-date=December 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206052214/https://www.thedailybeast.com/lou-dobbs-accuses-bill-barr-of-being-compromised-and-part-of-the-deep-state|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In December 2020, Dobbs aired a segment on his show debunking the very same conspiracy theories that had been amplified on his show; this was in response to a legal threat by the voting technology company Smartmatic which had been the subject of some of the conspiracy theorizing.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020|title=Lou Dobbs debunks his own claims of election fraud—after a legal demand from Smartmatic|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/12/19/lou-dobbs-debunk-fact-check-smartmatic/|access-date=December 20, 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111034649/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/12/19/lou-dobbs-debunk-fact-check-smartmatic/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|date=2020|title=After legal threat, Fox airs news package debunking election fraud claims made by its own hosts|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/19/business/fox-smartmatic-news-package/index.html|access-date=December 20, 2020|website=[[CNN]]|archive-date=December 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219235001/https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/19/business/fox-smartmatic-news-package/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Speaking to Republican consultant [[Ed Rollins]] during his January 4, 2021, broadcast, Dobbs said:

<blockquote>We're eight weeks from the election, and we still don't have verifiable, tangible support for the crimes that everyone knows were committed—that is, defrauding other citizens who voted with fraudulent votes. We know that's the case in Nevada, we know it's the case in Pennsylvania and a number of other states, but we have had a devil of a time finding actual proof. Why?<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/election-2020/lou-dobbs-asks-why-it-has-been-so-hard-finding-actual-proof-of-trumps-baseless-election-claims/|title=Lou Dobbs Asks Why It Has Been So Hard 'Finding Actual Proof' of Trump's Baseless Election Claims|date=January 4, 2021|access-date=January 5, 2021|archive-date=January 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105000346/https://www.mediaite.com/election-2020/lou-dobbs-asks-why-it-has-been-so-hard-finding-actual-proof-of-trumps-baseless-election-claims/|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

Following the [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|storming of the United States Capitol]] by Trump supporters in January 2021, Dobbs was among those who advanced the baseless conspiracy theory that people associated with [[antifa (United States)|antifa]] were responsible for the attack.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zadrozny|first1=Brandy|author-link1=Brandy Zadrozny|last2=Collins|first2=Ben|date=January 7, 2021|title=Trump loyalists push evidence-free claims that antifa activists fueled mob|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trump-loyalists-push-evidence-free-claims-antifa-activists-fueled-mob-n1253176|access-date=January 7, 2021|publisher=[[NBC News]]|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107014141/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trump-loyalists-push-evidence-free-claims-antifa-activists-fueled-mob-n1253176|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Demsas|first=Jerusalem|date=January 7, 2021|title=The far right is falsely blaming antifa for the pro-Trump insurrection on Capitol Hill|url=https://www.vox.com/22217747/republicans-antifa-storm-the-capitol-trump-washington-dc-stop-steal-impeachment-election-hawley-cruz|access-date=January 7, 2021|work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107011639/https://www.vox.com/22217747/republicans-antifa-storm-the-capitol-trump-washington-dc-stop-steal-impeachment-election-hawley-cruz|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Armus|first=Teo|date=January 7, 2021|title=Rep. Matt Gaetz and other GOP politicians baselessly suggest antifa is to blame for pro-Trump mob rioting into Capitol|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/07/antifa-capitol-gaetz-trump-riot/|access-date=January 7, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107140416/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/07/antifa-capitol-gaetz-trump-riot/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===George Soros conspiracy theories===
Dobbs was a proponent of numerous conspiracy theories about the Jewish-American philanthropist and businessman [[George Soros]]. Dobbs referred to him as an "evil SOB" and insidious.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/28/media/lou-dobbs-fox-news-guest/index.html|title=Fox condemns rhetoric used by Lou Dobbs guest as channel's star host faces growing criticism|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|work=[[CNN Business]]|access-date=November 5, 2018|archive-date=November 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105032332/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/28/media/lou-dobbs-fox-news-guest/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dobbs's Fox Business Channel shows stirred controversy in October 2018 when a guest on Dobbs's show used what many described as an anti-Semitic trope to suggest that the [[State Department]] was "Soros-occupied" territory echoing the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory of a "[[Zionist-occupied government]]".<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/minutes/151926/lou-dobbs-extreme-even-fox-business-news|title=Lou Dobbs is too extreme even for Fox Business News.|magazine=The New Republic|access-date=November 5, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106004646/https://newrepublic.com/minutes/151926/lou-dobbs-extreme-even-fox-business-news|url-status=live}}</ref> The remarks came days after bombing attempts on Soros and leading Democrats, and the remarks were replayed on Fox Business hours after an anti-Semitic gunman at a [[Pittsburgh synagogue shooting|Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/413542-fox-business-exec-condemns-rhetoric-of-guest-who-blamed-migrant-caravan-on/|title=Fox Business drops guest who blamed migrant caravan on 'Soros-occupied State Department'|last=Anapol|first=Avery|date=October 28, 2018|work=[[The Hill (newspaper) | The Hill]]|access-date=November 5, 2018|language=en|archive-date=October 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030144147/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/413542-fox-business-exec-condemns-rhetoric-of-guest-who-blamed-migrant-caravan-on|url-status=live}}</ref>

After widespread condemnation, Fox stated that the guest, Chris Farrell of [[Judicial Watch]], would no longer be booked and that the program episode would be withdrawn from the Fox News archives.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/10/29/lou-dobbs-controversy-fox-bans-george-soros-conspiracy-theory-guest/1804634002/ |title=Fox bans Lou Dobbs' guest over George Soros conspiracy theory |work=[[USA Today]] |access-date=November 5, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=September 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908095426/https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/10/29/lou-dobbs-controversy-fox-bans-george-soros-conspiracy-theory-guest/1804634002/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":11" /> In the midst of the [[2019 Trump–Ukraine scandal|Trump–Ukraine scandal]] in November 2019, attorney [[Joseph diGenova]] made similar comments on Dobbs's program, falsely claiming that "George Soros controls a very large part of the career foreign service of the United States State Department. He also controls the activities of FBI agents overseas who work for NGOs – work with NGOs. That was very evident in Ukraine."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/lou-dobbs/lou-dobbs-guest-joe-digenova-says-george-soros-controls-large-part-state-department-and |title=Lou Dobbs guest Joe diGenova says George Soros controls a large part of the State Department and activities of FBI agents |first=Media Matters |last=Staff |website=Media Matters for America |date=November 13, 2019 |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114194805/https://www.mediamatters.org/lou-dobbs/lou-dobbs-guest-joe-digenova-says-george-soros-controls-large-part-state-department-and |url-status=live}}</ref> Dobbs did not dispute diGenova's claim.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-soros-founded-group-calls-fox-news-ban-guest-joe-digenova-1254835 |title=George Soros-Founded Group Calls for Fox News to Ban Guest |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 14, 2019 |language=en |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228014528/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-soros-founded-group-calls-fox-news-ban-guest-joe-digenova-1254835 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Other views===
Dobbs opposed [[gun control]] and, though he was a fiscal conservative, supported some government regulations, as revealed in a ''[[60 Minutes]]'' interview.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lou-dobbs-advocacy-journalist/ |title=Lou Dobbs, 'Advocacy' Journalist? |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=May 6, 2007 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-date=January 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129173348/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/03/60minutes/main2758082_page3.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> He was critical of trade policies that he said encourage "sending jobs overseas".<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.today.com/popculture/cnns-lou-dobbs-man-mission-wbna4670239 | title = CNN's Lou Dobbs is a man on a mission | work = Today.com | access-date = June 3, 2007 | agency = Associated Press | date = April 9, 2004 | archive-date = February 6, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210206005831/https://www.today.com/popculture/cnns-lou-dobbs-man-mission-wbna4670239 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Dobbs's stance on trade earned plaudits from some [[Labor unions in the United States|trade union]] activists on the traditional [[Modern liberalism in the United States|political left]], while his stance on immigration tended to appeal to the [[American conservatism|right]].<ref name="Madashell"/>

Dobbs was the author of ''War on the Middle Class'', in which he claimed both Democrats and Republicans are harming the middle class. In it, he came out strongly against the [[Bush tax cuts]], which he argued favor the wealthy, and argued for raising the U.S. [[minimum wage]] from what was then $5.15 an hour.<ref>{{Cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/10/Dobbs.Oct11/index.html | title = Dobbs: Middle class needs to fight back now | date = October 18, 2006 | access-date = January 17, 2006 | work=[[CNN]] | archive-date = October 18, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061018204500/http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/10/Dobbs.Oct11/index.html | url-status = live}}</ref>

In March 2009, Dobbs said he thought there should not be a [[St. Patrick's Day]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lou Dobbs attacks St. Patrick's Day: 'How about an American day?'|url=https://thinkprogress.org/lou-dobbs-attacks-st-patricks-day-how-about-an-american-day-e61c94b1d3aa|date=March 18, 2009|work=[[ThinkProgress]]|access-date=October 14, 2016|archive-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012452/https://thinkprogress.org/lou-dobbs-attacks-st-patricks-day-how-about-an-american-day-e61c94b1d3aa/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==
Journalist [[Amy Goodman]] criticized Dobbs's [[journalistic ethics]], accusing him of making flagrant errors in his reporting and assailing his staff's association with what she describes as disreputable sources.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goodman|first=Amy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MVVgX2xfuEC&q=%22amy+goodman%22+%22history+and+context+count%22&pg=PA162|chapter=The Dubious Mr. Dobbs (December 4, 2007)|title=Breaking the Sound Barrier|pages=162–164|place=Chicago|publisher=Haymarket Books|year=2009|isbn=978-1931859-99-8|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Awards==
Dobbs won numerous major awards for his television journalism, including a [[Emmy Award|Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award]] and a [[Cable ACE Awards|Cable Ace Award]]. He received the [[Peabody Award|George Foster Peabody Award]] for his coverage of the [[Black Monday (1987)|1987 stock market crash]]. He also has received the Luminary Award of the Business Journalism Review in 1990, the [[Horatio Alger, Jr.|Horatio Alger]] Association Award for Distinguished Americans in 1999 and the National Space Club Media Award in 2000. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' has named Dobbs "TV's Premier Business News Anchorman". In 2004, Dobbs was awarded the Eugene Katz Award For Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration by the [[Center for Immigration Studies]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz2004.html | title = 2004 Eugene Katz Award For Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803231123/http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz2004.html| archive-date =August 3, 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref> an anti-immigrant think tank founded by white supremacist [[John Tanton]], and in 2005 he received the now-defunct [[Alexis de Tocqueville Institution|Alexis de Tocqueville Institution's]] Statesmanship Award.<ref>{{cite press release | url = https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2005/03/07/323990/73929/en/Reporter-Analyst-Dobbs-is-AdTI-Statesman-Brown.html | title = Reporter, analyst Dobbs is AdTI Statesman | date = March 7, 2005 | access-date = January 16, 2007 | archive-date = December 10, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181210125242/https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2005/03/07/323990/73929/en/Reporter-Analyst-Dobbs-is-AdTI-Statesman-Brown.html | url-status = live}}</ref> In 2008 Dobbs received the American Legion Public Relations Award from the National Commander of The [[American Legion]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lou Dobbs: PR Award Recipient, 2008|url=https://www.legion.org/prawards/2008/lou-dobbs|publisher=[[American Legion]]|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401054856/https://www.legion.org/prawards/2008/lou-dobbs|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Dobbs divorced his first wife in 1981 and later married Debi Lee Segura, a former CNN [[sports anchor]].<ref name=":14" /> The couple raised four children together.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2024/07/18/g-s1-12019/lou-dobbs-dead-cnn-fox-news-obit|title=Lou Dobbs, the controversial Fox News host, has died|work=NPR|quote=The Texas-born commentator is survived by his wife, Debi Lee Roth-Segur, and four children from their decades-long union.|date=July 18, 2024}}</ref>

Dobbs died on July 18, 2024, at the age of 78.<ref name="WaPoObit" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/lou-dobbs-dead-cnn-host-1236077441/|title=Lou Dobbs, Conservative Pundit and Former CNN Host, Dies at 78|publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=July 18, 2024|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>

==Books==
* Lou Dobbs, with James O. Born, ''Border War'', Forge (2014). {{ISBN|978-0765327710}}.
* Lou Dobbs, ''Independents Day: Awakening the American Spirit'', Viking (2007). {{ISBN|978-0-670-01836-9}}.
* Lou Dobbs, ''Exporting America: Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Overseas'', Warner Books (2004). {{ISBN|0-446-57744-8}}.
* Lou Dobbs, ''Space: The Next Business Frontier'' with [[HP Newquist]], Pocket Books (2001). {{ISBN|0-7434-2389-5}}.
* Lou Dobbs, ''War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back'', Viking (2006). {{ISBN|0-670-03792-3}}.
* Ron Hira and Anil Hira, with foreword by Lou Dobbs, ''Outsourcing America: What's Behind Our National Crisis and How We Can Reclaim American Jobs''. (AMACOM) American Management Association (May 2005). {{ISBN|0-8144-0868-0}}.
* Lou Dobbs, ''Upheaval'', Threshold Editions (2014), {{ISBN|978-1-4767-2885-8}}.
* Lou Dobbs and James O. Born, ''Putin's Gambit: A Novel'' (2017), {{ISBN|978-0765376527}}.
* Lou Dobbs and Dennis Kneale, ''The Trump Century: How Our President Changed the Course of History Forever'' (2020), {{ISBN|978-0-06-302904-0}}.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lou Dobbs}}
{{Wikiquote|Lou Dobbs}}
* [http://loudobbs.com Official website]
* {{IMDb name|id=1463161|name=Lou Dobbs}}
* {{C-SPAN|19203}}

{{CNN personnel}}
{{Authority control}}

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