Top 5 Cable News On-Air Brawls of 2025 — The Fiery Moments That Defined the Year

Calling 2025 a roller-coaster year for the news hardly feels like an overstatement. From President Donald Trump beginning his second term and reshaping Washington, D.C., to a string of violent incidents that reverberated through political discourse, cable television offered a steady stream of combustible moments for on-air pundits and hosts.

Some exchanges grew heated. Some comments required apologies. And some conversations simply begged to end. Below are five of the most notable on-air confrontations that dominated cable news in 2025.

CNN: Abby Phillip vs. Katie Miller (NewsNight)

In late November on CNN's NewsNight, anchor Abby Phillip and former White House official and podcaster Katie Miller engaged in a tense exchange that centered on platforming and personal attacks. The segment was prompted by an interview that featured white nationalist Nick Fuentes on Tucker Carlson's program. Miller compared that interview to an instance in which a liberal podcaster referred to Phillip's husband, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, as a “Jewish Nazi.”

“[Tucker] didn’t push back, the same way you didn’t push back when someone called someone in my family a Nazi. It’s not different, Abby,” Miller said during the exchange.

The dispute escalated when Miller directly asked Phillip whether she believed her husband was a Nazi. Phillip pushed back, insisting the two situations were not comparable and arguing against conflation of distinct actions and language.

Morning Joe: Mika Brzezinski vs. Tom Homan

On the morning of September 9, Morning Joe hosted a sharp debate between Mika Brzezinski and former Trump border czar Tom Homan over ICE deportation tactics and how to define a “criminal.” Brzezinski pressed Homan on cases of detained immigrants who, she suggested, had not committed offenses beyond immigration violations.

“I don’t know the specifics of that case,” Homan replied when pressed.

Brzezinski accused Homan of avoiding specifics; Homan defended ICE’s enforcement record and argued that policy changes in recent years had constrained enforcement priorities. The back-and-forth grew testy as both sides defended their framing of enforcement, rhetoric and perceived consequences.

CNN Panel: Scott Jennings vs. Colleagues

Conservative commentator Scott Jennings drew fire during a June panel discussion on CNN following testimony by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who said she supported a diversity of viewpoints on campuses. The exchange turned confrontational when panelists debated whether raising questions about hiring Holocaust deniers constituted a legitimate concern or an unfair ‘gotcha’ question.

“Everybody, everybody stop! Everybody stop for a second. Excuse me, Scott. Nobody accused her of being a holocaust denier,” host Abby Phillip urged as she tried to rein in the debate.

Jennings accused others of exaggerating the outrage and defended McMahon’s stance as fostering viewpoint diversity, while opponents pressed for clearer commitments to factual standards in hiring.

Fox News' The Five: Jessica Tarlov vs. Greg Gutfeld

A heated exchange on Fox’s The Five followed the September assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the June killing of former Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband. During a segment about political violence, host Greg Gutfeld argued that recent attacks were primarily aimed at Republicans; Jessica Tarlov countered by raising Hortman’s killing as evidence that violence affects figures across the political spectrum.

“You wanna talk about Melissa Hortman? Did you know her name before it happened? None of us did,” Gutfeld said, prompting Tarlov to reject a simple ‘both sides’ dismissal.

The segment erupted into heated debate, and Gutfeld later apologized for profanity used on air.

Fox News: Laura Ingraham vs. Rep. Yassamin Ansari

In April, Laura Ingraham’s interview with Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia—who was mistakenly sent to the CECOT detention facility in El Salvador—grew increasingly confrontational. Ingraham accused Ansari of staging a political stunt when she traveled to El Salvador; Ansari defended her position and stressed that any case specifics should be resolved in court.

“Just wait. Take a breath!” Ingraham admonished as the interview grew chaotic.

The segment illustrated how emotionally charged immigration stories can quickly break down into personal accusations and interruptions on live television.

NewsNation Town Hall: Stephen A. Smith Walks Off

In October, commentator Stephen A. Smith participated in a NewsNation town hall with Bill O’Reilly and Chris Cuomo. Frustrated with the tone of exchanges between lawmakers on stage, Smith delivered an impassioned critique of lawmakers’ handling of everyday Americans’ struggles tied to a government shutdown and then walked off the stage—an exit that earned an honorable mention among the year’s most talked-about TV moments.

“You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna take a break,” Smith said before leaving.

These on-air clashes reflected the deep polarization and high emotions that shaped cable news coverage throughout 2025, with hosts and guests often exchanging sharp rhetoric as they debated immigration, platforming extremists, political violence and due process.