Rob Finnerty | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Finnerty in 2025 | |
| Born | May 1, 1982 (1982-05) (age 43) Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Fairfield University |
| Occupation | News host |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Television | Newsmax News Host (2021–present) WTSP 10 Tampa Bay Morning Anchor (2017–2020) KCTV Kansas City (2016–2017) KBAK Bakersfield NECNNew England Cable News |
Rob Finnerty (born May 1, 1982) is an American television news anchor and host. He previously hosted the morning news/talk programWake Up America onNewsmax TV.[1] In October 2024, Finnerty started hosting a nightly Newsmaxprimetime show,Finnerty, starting October 8.Finnerty airs at 8 pmET, a timeslot previously occupied byEric Bolling before exiting Newsmax earlier in the year.[2]
Finnerty was born in Massachusetts and attendedFairfield University in Connecticut.[3]
Finnerty worked forWTSP inTampa Bay as a morning news anchor.
He also worked for one year atKCTV in Kansas City andKBAK-TV inBakersfield,California.[1]
He currently[when?] works atNewsmax TV.
In November 2008, Finnerty was charged with homicide and operating under the influence after hitting and killing a pedestrian in Boston.[4][5] The homicide charges were ultimately dropped when the Suffolk District Attorney dismissed the charge[6] after a collision analysis report showed there was no way any driver – impaired or sober – could have avoided striking the pedestrian when he stepped into the street. Finnerty pleaded guilty to OUI in November 2009.[6]
On May 10, 2021, Finnerty made national headlines when he confronted former Obama speechwriterDavid Litt for trying to insert Newsmax criticisms during an interview aboutElon Musk andSaturday Night Live.[7]
On April 1, 2022, Finnerty interrupted his show with the false breaking news that "Russia has apparently surrendered" to Ukraine, then asking unaware guestMark Halperin for his thoughts.[8] When Halperin began to respond, Finnerty cut him off "to gleefully say that the whole thing was a prank" and mock Halperin for falling for it, upsetting fellow Newsmax employees behind the scenes, according to several news outlets.[9]
On December 12, 2022, Finnerty stirred controversy when he complained that theAmerican Girl doll company had gone "wokeified," because he couldn’t find a single doll that resembled his “cute little 6-year-old white girl" during a recent visit to the company's flagship store in New York City'sRockefeller Center.[10] However, multiple observers and journalists subsequently identified numerous white dolls prominently displayed in the same Rockefeller Center store,[11] as well as dozens on the company's website.[12]
He is married with two children – a son and a daughter.[3]