He looks calm every night on Fox. But what happened to his son… shattered everything.
Bret Baier, the polished host of Special Report, is known for his calm, measured delivery.
He doesn’t yell. He doesn’t push drama.
But behind that calm demeanor is a story of trauma, survival—and faith.
When Bret’s first son, Paul, was born, doctors immediately rushed him to emergency surgery.
His heart was failing.
“I went from a proud dad to total panic in 60 seconds,” Bret recalled.
Over the next 13 years, Paul endured:
Four open-heart surgeries.
Dozens of hospital stays.
Years of uncertainty.
“Every broadcast, I’d smile for the camera… then race back to the hospital,” Bret once shared.
Through it all, Baier kept his pain private.
Until one day, he wrote a book—not about politics, but about his son’s survival.
“I didn’t want sympathy. I wanted people to know what strength looks like in the smallest person.”
Today, Paul is thriving.
And Bret? He says nothing on TV will ever feel as hard as those early years.
