Fox News' Harris Faulkner Reveals Deeply Personal News
After a decade as the host of Fox News’ immensely popular noontime show “Outnumbered,” Harris Faulkner has announced her next venture.
The Emmy-winning journalist shared with People Magazine that she is embarking on her most personal project yet: a memoir detailing the influence of her father, a veteran Army combat pilot in the Vietnam War, on her formative years. Faulkner’s limited series, titled “Footsteps of My Father,” premiered on Fox on May 16 and is now available for streaming on its website. In an interview with People, she spoke about the challenges she faced while filming.
“This is the most personal I have ever been in front of the camera,” she said. “Following my dad’s combat trail in Vietnam was almost too much for my heart to take at times.
I carried his burial flag with me in my backpack. When I landed in Vietnam, there was a rush of emotions. I missed my parents more than ever.
“What I thought I knew about that war and his involvement ended up being just a tiny snapshot of the realities of fighting in a war that U.S. citizens would come to protest against. My father served two tours of duty in America’s mission to preserve democracy in a faraway nation threatened by the spread of communism. At home, our own nation was struggling with a violent racial divide. Yet, my father told his younger brothers and anyone who listened, ‘I chose to go fight for America because it was the best place on the planet to live. The U.S. Constitution clearly defines excellence and potential for America.’ He added, ‘The Civil Rights struggle is American freedom on the move.’ My father was a patriot.”
Faulkner explores Vietnam in three episodes, talking with locals who lived through the conflict and “now understand what America was trying to do.” The nation remains stuck in the impenetrable trap of low wages, hazardous working conditions, and a government that suppresses dissent under a communist regime.
“While I felt their kindness and openness to me and my Fox Nation team, they are a communist nation. In my special, you’ll see visible remnants and reinventions of that kind of government. And, you’ll actually hear my dad’s voice telling stories of his survival and near-misses in the war,” Faulkner explained. Her father passed away during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“My dad died on Christmas Day of 2020. He was dressed for the day, looking sharp and at peace. The Lord has him now. Vietnam reminded me of my faith and my singular purpose to live a life that will deliver me to heaven to thank Dad with renewed vigor and understanding for his service to our great nation,” she added.
Faulkner and her husband are preparing their two teenage daughters to think critically in a divided country and to navigate international tensions with nations like Vietnam, influenced by communist regimes such as China, by revisiting her father’s war stories.
“It’s wonderful that Bella and Danika get to witness me living out my career dreams as a TV news anchor and host of two shows, a bestselling author, and more. I teach them to pray for peace, strength, and discernment. And to surround themselves with kind, creative, and hardworking friends. And I remind them that dream chasing is hard work!”