Fox News' Harris Faulkner Reveals Life-Changing News
After a decade as the host of Fox News’ highly popular midday 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 chronicling how her father, a veteran Army combat pilot in the Vietnam War, influenced her early life and upbringing. Faulkner’s limited series, titled “Footsteps of My Father,” premiered on Fox on May 16 and is currently available for streaming on its website. In an interview with People, she discussed how the filming challenged her skills as an on-air personality.
“This is the most personal I have ever been in front of the camera,” she stated. “Retracing my dad’s combat trail in Vietnam was almost too much for my heart to handle at times. I carried his burial flag with me in my backpack. When I landed in Vietnam, a wave of emotions hit me. I missed my parents more than ever.
“What I thought I knew about that war and his role in it was just a small piece of the full picture of fighting in a war that U.S. citizens would come to protest against. My father served two tours of duty in America’s significant mission to defend democracy in a distant country that was being overtaken by the spread of communism. At home, our nation was grappling with a violent racial divide. Yet, my father told his younger brothers and anyone who would listen, ‘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 visits Vietnam in three episodes, talking with locals who lived through the conflict and “now understand what America was trying to do.” The country remains ensnared in the third-world trap of low wages, dangerous 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 adaptations of that type of government. And, you’ll actually hear my dad’s voice recounting stories of his survival and close calls 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 lead 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 the increasing international tensions between the United States and countries like Vietnam, which are influenced by communist regimes such as China, by revisiting her father’s war stories.
“It’s wonderful that Bella and Danika get to see 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 pursuing dreams is hard work!”