Katie Pavlich Runs Her Own Race
By Emma Foley
Facts first. Opinions second.
That’s the name of the game every weeknight at 10 P.M. on NewsNation and the principle that has defined Katie Pavlich’s career, from her early days in journalism to her role as a prominent conservative voice.
Broadcasting from Washington, D.C.—just steps from Capitol Hill—she brings that approach to her eponymous show, Katie Pavlich Tonight.
Earlier this year, the show’s premiere brought viewers to the White House, where Pavlich, in a striking red suit and coordinating heels, sat across from her first guest, President Donald Trump. While the moment marked the debut of her new role as host, it also picked up a conversation more than five years in the making.
Back in the summer of 2020, Katie Pavlich conducted her first interview with President Trump during his first term.
“I interviewed him outside the Oval Office, right next to the Rose Garden,” Pavlich shared in an exclusive interview with The Conservateur.
“He took me to walk around and asked if I could walk in heels in the grass—because the Rose Garden, now paved over, was still grass,” she recounted. “And I of course, said, ‘Oh, sure, I can walk across the grass in my heels.’”
“Tiptoeing across the grass,” she chuckled, “I only had about ten minutes with him.” This time around, the conversation filled a television hour.
Despite years between the two interviews, a couple of themes endured: unrest across American cities and the need for a renewed respect for law enforcement. But the dynamic had shifted. The conversation, she said, carried a greater sense of established rapport, with the president moving with a confident command among his team, his Cabinet, his Party, and the press.
“There was a difference in the way he presented himself,” Pavlich noted. “The second time around, he was more at ease.”
Adjusting to D.C. is familiar territory for Katie Pavlich, who spent the majority of her life in northern Arizona, where snow-coated pine trees adorn the roads and where driving for an hour-and-a-half will land you 100 miles away (as opposed to rush-hour’s three). “You see the sun every day,” she reminisced.
Pavlich’s own instincts were shaped not in Washington, but in the wide-open West. And it was there that she was introduced to big game hunting.
“My dad bought me my first rifle when I was 10. I shot my first deer and my first elk in the same weekend when I was 11,” she said proudly. “I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Pavlich slipped away from city life a couple years ago for a horseback antelope hunt with her father in Wyoming. For Pavlich, hunting is more than sport; it instills discipline, conservationism, a respect for animals and the environment, and a sense of connection impossible to replicate.
“I can see this beautiful view. I can smell. I can touch things. I can feel the wind on my face,” she explained. “It connects you—to your humanity and to your soul in a way that you can’t get through material things or in a city.”
But a vital switch flipped in Pavlich when she realized the West, which she held so dear, had an older sister in the East—its revolutionary spirit a precursor both to Manifest Destiny and to her own family’s roots.
Katie Pavlich is a Daughter of the American Revolution, a distinction held for women who can prove lineal, bloodline descent to a patriot who aided in achieving American Independence. Pavlich’s mother’s side immigrated to America before the nation was founded, and an ancestor fought in the Revolution in Massachusetts.
“Virginia, I started to realize, contains a lot of my own family history, in the sense there’s a lot of Revolutionary history here.” She noted that George Washington’s Mount Vernon stood within driving distance.
Pavlich has learned to appreciate the patchwork of America, rather than compare its pieces. The lesson extends beyond geography; it grounds her work. She recalled one of the best pieces of advice she received in the media industry: “Run your own race.”
“It’s very easy, especially in the age of social media and virality, to try and do what everyone else is doing,” she stated. “I’ve prided myself on putting in the work, paying my dues. I’ve always seen myself as wanting to be a little black dress, not the fad of the season.”
Steady and consistent, Katie Pavlich built her credibility over a decade and a half of tenacious, investigative reporting. The groundwork was laid early during her time at the University of Arizona, where she studied broadcast journalism, worked at the student television station, and interned at Townhall in Washington, D.C.
Upon graduation, Katie Pavlich returned to Townhall, dedicating much of her early twenties to reporting on the Obama-era Fast and Furious scandal, covering the story as it unfolded over several years. The work, she noted, came with pressure and intimidation from both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Department of Justice. At the center of it all was Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s murder—a tragedy that, in her view, underscored the stakes of the operation and the urgency of bringing it to light.
Her reporting—and her 2012 book, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-Up—helped elevate the scandal to national prominence. Katie Pavlich had not only established her credibility; she demonstrated that, when pursued with persistence, journalism can influence the course of American politics. The media landscape she stepped into, however, was far from settled.
“Trust in the media is at an all-time low,” she acknowledged. “I don’t think it’s very honest for people in the media to say they have no political leanings or bias.”
Pavlich has contributed to what she calls a conservative “dent” made in the digital landscape, though the industry, she believes, is still outnumbered by liberal, leftist media and outlets that call themselves moderate.
Over time, her own career expanded beyond reporting alone. As a contributor on Fox News, Pavlich moved fluidly between reporting and commentary, bringing the same facts-first approach to both.
“Being open and honest about your opinion is a way to be transparent with an audience,” she said. She aims to build that trust at NewsNation by approaching stories from a fresh perspective—grounded in facts and allowing viewers to form their own conclusions.
With gratitude, she reflected on the latitude provided by her places of work. “They’ve allowed me to run my own race.” But it was a license earned—not given—through years of steady, disciplined work.
For NewsNation, which saw an appetite in its base for conservative commentary, Katie Pavlich was a natural addition to its primetime lineup.
For Pavlich, the slot offers her a wide-open, uncharted frontier.
“At 10 P.M., we can drive the news cycle for the next morning,” she explained. Though based in the nation’s capital, she hopes to extend focus beyond the Beltway, opening the floor for stories and voices from across the country—perspectives often absent in the broader media.
Since Pavlich welcomed the President of the United States on her show, other guest interviews have included Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard. Broadening the conversation, Pavlich has also welcomed former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and emerging TikTok opinionist Harry Sisson.
“I’m excited to provide a different perspective on the biggest stories of the day,” said Pavlich.
“Having a front row seat to history every single day—watching things unfold and being able to be part of the process of what we’re going to look back on as historic moments,” Pavlich shared, “is an honor and a privilege. I love being a part of it.”
Katie Pavlich Tonight airs on NewsNation, Monday through Friday, at 10 P.M. ET.
Emma Foley is the Media Relations Coordinator for the Network of enlightened Women. She has held roles in digital media production at National Review and the Howie Carr Radio Network. Originally from Pennsylvania and a graduate of the Boston College Carroll School of Management, she is based in New York City.
