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Harris Faulkner falsely reports on DHS chief's resignation amid Trump interview, mocked for 'embarrassing' error

The Fox anchor wrongly reported that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had resigned and then she apologized and corrected herself

Harris Faulkner has been trending on social media for all the wrong reasons. On Monday, March 22, during an interview with ex-president Donald Trump, the Fox anchor wrongly reported that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had resigned. Right in the middle of a live interview with the former president, she dropped some false information before correcting herself after consulting with her producers. 

Trump and Faulkner were talking over the phone and discussing the US-Mexico border crisis with the former president blaming Joe Biden and his administration for the situation. Trump bashed Biden's border policy and the increasing number of people trying to enter America via the Mexican border, coincidentally, the same topic that he launched his 2015 career with. According to the latest reports, the US is in the custody of at least 15,000 unaccompanied minors that have sought entrance to the country through the southern border since Biden took office.

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While Trump talked, Faulkner interjected, saying, “I want to double-check this with our producers: the DHS secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, has resigned, Mr President. Your first–”

Trump jumped in and said, “Well I’m not surprised. Good. That’s a big victory for our country.” But the host was quick to stop the discussion. After some brief confusion, she received a message from her production team that Mayorkas had indeed not resigned. She then corrected her remarks and apologized for the mistake. “Let’s clean up on aisle seven there, he has not resigned,” Faulkner said.

According to the latest reports, a Fox News spokesperson said the issue “stemmed from an audio issue in a virtual working environment.” The spokesperson added, “We corrected the mistake and continued on with the interview." Social media was quick to catch the faux pas. "Bizarre: Harris Faulkner falsely reports live on air that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has resigned, then immediately walks it back," a social media user shared the video on Twitter. 

If you were wondering, it is indeed unusual for a national news anchor to incorrectly report the resignation of a cabinet secretary. Mayorkas was in the news for visiting a child migrant facility last week. Following that, he appeared on every Sunday news program to declare that the border is closed to illegal immigrants. Especially "bizarre" since there was no reason to believe that such a resignation would happen.

And social media users are having a gala time over Faulkner's mistake with many slamming her, others mocking her and some others getting angry at the state of the channel. ".@FoxNews host Harris Faulkner exemplifies why a rigorous scientific survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University found that Fox News viewers were less informed about current events than people who didn't follow the news at all," a user slammed the channel. Another user said along similar lines, "Fox News is such a damn mess Harris Faulkner just announced on live TV while on the phone with Trump that DHS Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, has resigned. In the same breath she then had to admit that she lied while making them both look stupid as fuck. It never fails..."

Some pointed out how it was embarrassing for the host herself to have made such an error on live tv. "Harris Faulkner lost her credibility a while ago, that THIS is supposed to be one of the Fox “news” shows is embarrassing and a farce," one slammed her. "Typical Fox News reporting. Embarrassing for @HARRISFAULKNER You don't say something like that live on air without a full confirmation," another user tweeted.