Will Cain: Difference between revisions

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Cain was one of ESPN’s most conservative voices, although his ESPN show focused mostly on sports.<ref name=”voice like mine”/> Cain told the ”Washington Post” in 2018, “Has being conservative helped me since I’ve been here? Of course. ESPN doesn’t have a voice like mine.”<ref name=”voice like mine”/> Cain had been critical of [[Donald Trump]];<ref name=”voice like mine”/> in 2011, while he was at CNN, Cain wrote an op-ed that criticized Trump, [[Sarah Palin]], and [[populism]] from a conservative perspective.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/29/cain.trump.palin/index.html|title=The right should denounce Trump and Palin|last=Cain|first=Will|publisher=CNN|date=April 29, 2011|accessdate=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430130529/https://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/29/cain.trump.palin/index.html|archive-date=April 30, 2011}}</ref> On a January 2017 episode of ”First Take”, Cain said that he did not vote for Trump in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]],<ref>{{cite episode|series=First Take|season=10|date=January 24, 2017|network=ESPN|quote=By the end of this segment, I will be vilified for defending a proposition that I neither voted for and have written publicly against. I did not vote for Donald Trump, and I have publicly written against him.}}</ref> which he later reiterated in a 2020 interview discussing his move from ESPN to Fox News.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/mediaite-qa-will-cain-didnt-vote-for-trump-in-2016-now-hes-the-new-co-host-of-fox-friends-weekend/|title=Mediaite Q&A: Will Cain Didn’t Vote For Trump in 2016. Now, He’s the New Co-Host of Fox & Friends Weekend|website=Mediaite|last=DePaolo|first=Joe|date=August 13, 2020|access-date=February 17, 2022|quote=Cain, who says he did not vote for Trump in 2016, says he is undaunted by the prospect of some Twitter criticism from the president.}}</ref>

Cain was one of ESPN’s most conservative voices, although his ESPN show focused mostly on sports.<ref name=”voice like mine”/> Cain told the ”Washington Post” in 2018, “Has being conservative helped me since I’ve been here? Of course. ESPN doesn’t have a voice like mine.”<ref name=”voice like mine”/> Cain had been critical of [[Donald Trump]];<ref name=”voice like mine”/> in 2011, while he was at CNN, Cain wrote an op-ed that criticized Trump, [[Sarah Palin]], and [[populism]] from a conservative perspective.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/29/cain.trump.palin/index.html|title=The right should denounce Trump and Palin|last=Cain|first=Will|publisher=CNN|date=April 29, 2011|accessdate=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430130529/https://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/29/cain.trump.palin/index.html|archive-date=April 30, 2011}}</ref> On a January 2017 episode of ”First Take”, Cain said that he did not vote for Trump in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]],<ref>{{cite episode|series=First Take|season=10|date=January 24, 2017|network=ESPN|quote=By the end of this segment, I will be vilified for defending a proposition that I neither voted for and have written publicly against. I did not vote for Donald Trump, and I have publicly written against him.}}</ref> which he later reiterated in a 2020 interview discussing his move from ESPN to Fox News.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/mediaite-qa-will-cain-didnt-vote-for-trump-in-2016-now-hes-the-new-co-host-of-fox-friends-weekend/|title=Mediaite Q&A: Will Cain Didn’t Vote For Trump in 2016. Now, He’s the New Co-Host of Fox & Friends Weekend|website=Mediaite|last=DePaolo|first=Joe|date=August 13, 2020|access-date=February 17, 2022|quote=Cain, who says he did not vote for Trump in 2016, says he is undaunted by the prospect of some Twitter criticism from the president.}}</ref>

In January 2022, Cain criticized the first year of [[Joe Biden]]’s presidency on his podcast, calling Biden “the worst president of my lifetime.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/joe-biden-worst-president-will-cain|title=Joe Biden is the worst president of my lifetime: Will Cain|last=Cain|first=Will|publisher=Fox News|date=January 19, 2022|access-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref> By 2024, Cain had shifted to a much more supportive stance on Trump, explaining to former ESPN co-host Stephen A. Smith that he believed Trump’s first term policies were effective and calling the then-former president “really, really likable.”<ref>{{cite podcast |date=July 27, 2024 |title=Will Cain on the 2024 election saga |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBi0-A0tmf8 |work=The Stephen A. Smith Show |publisher=YouTube |time=28:49–31:02 |access-date=February 10, 2026}}</ref> By the end of Biden’s presidency and just before the start of Trump’s second term, Cain was described by ”[[The Daily Beast]]” as a “MAGA convert” who was “much less likely to be critical of the president-elect” than the outgoing Neil Cauvto, whom Cain was replacing in Fox News’ 4 p.m. timeslot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fox-news-replaces-anchor-trump-024308321.html|title=Fox News Replaces Anchor Trump Hates With MAGA Convert|work=The Daily Beast|last=Vaillancourt|first=William|date=January 13, 2025|access-date=February 10, 2026|via=Yahoo UK}}</ref>

In January 2022, Cain criticized the first year of [[Joe Biden]]’s presidency on his podcast, calling Biden “the worst president of my lifetime.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/joe-biden-worst-president-will-cain|title=Joe Biden is the worst president of my lifetime: Will Cain|last=Cain|first=Will|publisher=Fox News|date=January 19, 2022|access-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref> By 2024, Cain had shifted to a much more supportive stance on Trump, explaining to former ESPN co-host Stephen A. Smith that he believed Trump’s first term policies were effective and calling the then-former president “really, really likable.”<ref>{{cite podcast |date=July 27, 2024 |title=Will Cain on the 2024 election saga |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBi0-A0tmf8 |work=The Stephen A. Smith Show |publisher=YouTube |time=28:49–31:02 |access-date=February 10, 2026}}</ref> By the end of Biden’s presidency and just before the start of Trump’s second term, Cain was described by ”[[The Daily Beast]]” as a “MAGA convert” who was “much less likely to be critical of the president-elect” than the outgoing Neil , whom Cain was replacing in Fox News’ 4 p.m. timeslot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fox-news-replaces-anchor-trump-024308321.html|title=Fox News Replaces Anchor Trump Hates With MAGA Convert|work=The Daily Beast|last=Vaillancourt|first=William|date=January 13, 2025|access-date=February 10, 2026|via=Yahoo UK}}</ref>

==Personal life==

==Personal life==

American television host and conservative political analyst (born 1975)

Will Cain

Cain in 2025
Born

Charles Williams Cain

(1975-03-28) March 28, 1975 (age 50)
Education Pepperdine University (BA)
University of Texas School of Law (JD)
Occupations
  • Columnist
  • political analyst
  • television host
  • sports commentator
Known for The Will Cain Show on ESPN Radio and Fox News, co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend.
Spouse Kathleen Cain[1]
Children 2

Charles Williams Cain (born March 28, 1975)[2][3] is an American columnist, conservative political analyst, and sports commentator. He hosts The Will Cain Show weekdays at 4 p.m. on the Fox News Channel. Previously, Cain had been a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend. Cain was a contributor for ESPN, joining the network in March 2015,[4] working with the features unit and E:60 and appearing on First Take.[5] He was the host of The Will Cain Show on ESPN Radio, which ran from January 2018 to June 2020. He has also been a contributor for Blaze Media and CNN, appearing frequently on Soledad O’Brien‘s morning program Starting Point.

Early life and education

[edit]

Cain was born and raised in Sherman, Texas.[6][7] Attending Pepperdine University, Cain played one year on the water polo team and graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications in 1997.[8][2] On the Pepperdine water polo team, Cain was a walk-on who scored his only goal in 1996,[6] in a game against UC Santa Barbara.[8] Cain said of the experience in 2010, “Pepperdine water polo was extremely accommodating in its development of a walk-on such as me, and that’s something positively unique about this program. I almost went to USC, and I’m sure that if I did have a water polo career there it would have been much shorter.”[8] In 2000, Cain completed his J.D. degree at the University of Texas School of Law.[8] After law school, Cain moved to a ranch in Montana, where he worked as a ranch hand while trying to write a book.[8]

Following the death of his father in 2001, Cain returned to the Dallas area to help care for his younger brother. While in Texas, Cain bought two community newspapers and started others before selling them to Stephens Media, publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.[8] Around 2006, Cain founded Quince Media, which published a magazine, website, and expos about quinceañeras.[8]

Cain previously worked as a fill-in host for CNN’s In the Arena, where he co-hosted the program with E. D. Hill from February 28, 2011, to August 5, 2011.

Cain began working at ESPN in 2015 as a radio personality, hosting the program Will and Kate with Kate Fagan and serving as a fill-in for other ESPN Radio anchors. He was a frequent contributor to Outside the Lines and eventually became a fill-in host and frequent guest on First Take.[6] Cain then was named co-host of The Ryen Russillo Show but Russillo soon left the show.[9] Cain began hosting his own show, The Will Cain Show, on ESPN Radio in 2018.[10] The Washington Post observed about Cain’s ESPN presence in 2018: “Cain’s growing profile comes amid consistent charges of liberal bias at ESPN for its coverage of social and political issues in sports.”[6] By 2018, Michael McCarthy of Sporting News argued that Cain “provides a valuable balance to ESPN” and noted he had become a “virtual third debate partner” with Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim on First Take.[11] Cain continued to appear sporadically on First Take until his final appearance on June 24, 2020,[12] while his final episode of The Will Cain Show aired two days later.[13]

2020–present: Fox News

[edit]

In 2020, Cain left ESPN to move to Fox News as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend (along with Jedediah Bila and Pete Hegseth).[14][15] His first appearance on Fox & Friends Weekend was in August 2020.[15] On April 5, 2021, Cain launched The Will Cain Podcast,[16] combining his commentary in news, politics, and sports.[17] In addition to hosting Fox & Friends Weekend, Cain serves as a regular fill-in host on programs such as The Five and Jesse Watters Primetime.

In May 2023, Cain served as an interim host of Fox News Tonight following the firing of Tucker Carlson.[18]

On January 13, 2025, Fox News announced that he would become the permanent host of the network’s 4 p.m. hour following the departure of long-time anchor Neil Cavuto. Cain ended his run on Fox & Friends Weekend on January 18 and The Will Cain Show debuted on January 21, 2025.[19] On September 10, 2025, Cain was tasked with reporting the confirmation of Charlie Kirk‘s death following his assassination at Utah Valley University.[20][21] Cain had hosted Kirk’s final television interview on his show the previous day.[22]

Cain was one of ESPN’s most conservative voices, although his ESPN show focused mostly on sports.[6] Cain told the Washington Post in 2018, “Has being conservative helped me since I’ve been here? Of course. ESPN doesn’t have a voice like mine.”[6] Cain had been critical of Donald Trump;[6] in 2011, while he was at CNN, Cain wrote an op-ed that criticized Trump, Sarah Palin, and populism from a conservative perspective.[23] On a January 2017 episode of First Take, Cain said that he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 election,[24] which he later reiterated in a 2020 interview discussing his move from ESPN to Fox News.[25]

In January 2022, Cain criticized the first year of Joe Biden‘s presidency on his podcast, calling Biden “the worst president of my lifetime.”[26] By 2024, Cain had shifted to a much more supportive stance on Trump, explaining to former ESPN co-host Stephen A. Smith that he believed Trump’s first term policies were effective and calling the then-former president “really, really likable.”[27] By the end of Biden’s presidency and just before the start of Trump’s second term, Cain was described by The Daily Beast as a “MAGA convert” who was “much less likely to be critical of the president-elect” than the outgoing Neil Cavuto, whom Cain was replacing in Fox News’ 4 p.m. timeslot.[28]

Cain met his wife, Kathleen, in college. The couple has two children, Charlie and West.[29]

  1. ^ Mutheu, Victoria (January 23, 2025). “Will Cain Fox News, Bio, Age, Height, Wife, Religion, Salary, Net Worth”. thebiographybytes.
  2. ^ a b “Spring Commencement: Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences”. Malibu, California: Pepperdine University. April 25, 1997. p. 7. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Orlovsky, Dan [@danorlovsky7] (March 28, 2020). “[Replying to @willcain] Happy birthday to a guy I consider a legit real friend and one I legit admire!” (Tweet). Retrieved January 16, 2022 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Quinn, Dan (May 19, 2015). “ESPN’s Will Cain joins baseball team in midst of 55-game road trip – ESPN Front Row”. ESPN Front Row. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  5. ^ “Will Cain”. ESPN Press Room U.S. ESPN Press Room. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Strauss, Ben (September 18, 2018). “‘ESPN doesn’t have a voice like mine’: Will Cain’s view from the right”. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  7. ^ @willcain (September 2, 2017). “Born and raised in Sherman, TX…in…” (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g “Water Polo Where Are They Now? Will Cain”. Pepperdine Waves. November 9, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  9. ^ Boren, Cindy (December 20, 2017). “ESPN’s Ryen Russillo is leaving his radio show, will do a podcast through next summer”. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  10. ^ “Host: Will Cain”. ESPN Radio. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  11. ^ McCarthy, Michael (March 5, 2018). “ESPN’s outspoken Will Cain not afraid to mix it up with anybody”. Sporting News. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  12. ^ Keeler, Ricky (June 24, 2020). “Will Cain Blasts NASCAR, Media in Final First Take Appearance”. Barrett Sports Media. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  13. ^ McKeone, Liam (June 27, 2020). “Audio: Will Cain Gives Emotional Sign-Off on Last Day at ESPN”. The Big Lead. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Strauss, Ben (April 29, 2020). “Will Cain set to leave ESPN, return to Fox News political coverage”. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Petski, Denise (June 29, 2020). “Former ESPN Radio Host Will Cain Named Co-Host Of Fox & Friends Weekend“. Deadline. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  16. ^ Moore, Thomas (March 1, 2021). “Fox News Audio expands stable of podcasts by adding five new shows”. The Hill. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  17. ^ “Fox News Audio Expands Podcast Lineup” (Press release). Fox News. March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  18. ^ “‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ Host Will Cain Next to Pinch-Hit in Tucker Carlson’s Old Primetime Slot (Exclusive)”. Yahoo Life. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  19. ^ “Media Relations | Fox News”. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  20. ^ Korach, Natalie (September 10, 2025). “On Fox News, Where Charlie Kirk Was a Frequent Presence, Anchors Processed His Death in Real Time”. Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  21. ^ Searight, Garrett (September 16, 2025). “Fox News’ Will Cain Rose to the Occasion in Horrible Circumstances of the Charlie Kirk Tragedy”. Barrett Media. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  22. ^ Ede-Osifo, Uwa (September 11, 2025). “Charlie Kirk’s last TV interview was with Dallas-based Fox News host Will Cain”. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  23. ^ Cain, Will (April 29, 2011). “The right should denounce Trump and Palin”. CNN. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  24. ^ First Take. Season 10. January 24, 2017. ESPN. By the end of this segment, I will be vilified for defending a proposition that I neither voted for and have written publicly against. I did not vote for Donald Trump, and I have publicly written against him.
  25. ^ DePaolo, Joe (August 13, 2020). “Mediaite Q&A: Will Cain Didn’t Vote For Trump in 2016. Now, He’s the New Co-Host of Fox & Friends Weekend”. Mediaite. Retrieved February 17, 2022. Cain, who says he did not vote for Trump in 2016, says he is undaunted by the prospect of some Twitter criticism from the president.
  26. ^ Cain, Will (January 19, 2022). “Joe Biden is the worst president of my lifetime: Will Cain”. Fox News. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  27. ^ “Will Cain on the 2024 election saga”. The Stephen A. Smith Show (Podcast). YouTube. July 27, 2024. Event occurs at 28:49–31:02. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  28. ^ Vaillancourt, William (January 13, 2025). “Fox News Replaces Anchor Trump Hates With MAGA Convert”. The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 10, 2026 – via Yahoo UK.
  29. ^ Mutheu, Victoria (January 23, 2025). “Will Cain Fox News, Bio, Age, Height, Wife, Religion, Salary, Net Worth”. thebiographybytes. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Will Cain.

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