Maria Bartiromo makes first public appearance since Fox firing - at Melania’s event

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Conservative news anchor Maria Bartiromo has made her first public appearance since being fired by Fox.

Bartiromo went to the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan Wednesday to help kick off first lady Melania Trump’s IMPERIA summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Conservative media personality Stella Escobedo shared a video of Bartiromo at the Wall Street event Wednesday morning, surrounded by several men in suits. She greeted one of them, waving and saying, “Hi,” and then she took a photo with two others.

Behind Bartiromo were signs that read: “IMPERIA: The women who determine the next decade of business.”

Melania was at the Stock Exchange ringing the opening bell Wednesday during the launch of IMPERIA, a new initiative to bring together women business executives. The first lady was joined behind the bell by several women CEOs, New York Stock Exchange President Lynn Martin and Fox Business anchor Liz Claman.

“The initiative will provide a forum and network for powerful women to do business together, move capital, influence policy, collaborate between sectors,” Marc Beckman, senior advisor to Melania, told USA TODAY ahead of IMPERIA’s launch.

During a keynote speech at the event, Melania said, “This room holds incredible power. You represent nearly every major business sector.”

“For generations, women fought for a seat at the table. The next chapter is about owning, growing and making space for the women who come next.”

Bartiromo attended the invite-only event nearly three weeks after being fired from Fox.

Her departure was so abrupt that she didn’t even get to say goodbye on air to fans of her Fox Business shows, Mornings with Maria and Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, and her Fox News show, Sunday Morning Futures.

Fox thanked Bartiromo for more than 12 years of service to the company and sent well wishes in a September 3 announcement, but did not explain the departure.

Media watchdog Status reported that after Trump gave a speech in July with unfounded claims of election interference, Fox Business officials told the network’s on-air talent not to discuss the topic.

Fox News agreed to pay a company formerly called Dominion Voting Systems about $787 million in a defamation lawsuit after the network promoted conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election.

Bartiromo violated the terms of her employment agreement after leaking the company directive to the White House, Status reported.

Bryan Freedman, Bartiromo’s lawyer, subsequently told The Independent, “Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.”

Bartiromo has not directly spoken out about the specific details surrounding her ousting, but she did thank her fans for their support in a cryptic social media message.

“Thank you to all friends & followers for your amazing words I am so grateful for the outpouring of love. I love you all,” she wrote in a September 10 X post.

Bartiromo made a name for herself on Wall Street during her two decades of reporting for CNBC, starting in 1993. She was notably the first person to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

She joined Fox Business in 2014 and, in recent years, became a loyal supporter of Trump, often promoting his policies on her shows.