'The Squawk Box' Host Joe Kernen Is Absent From His Show, and No One Knows Why

Because it's more business-oriented than its sister network MSNBC, CNBC also has a more mixed lineup of hosts. Joe Kernen, a long-time CNBC host who is one of the co-hosts on Squawk Box, has made his political alignment with Donald Trump and the GOP crystal clear.

Although Joe has been hosting the show since 1995, he has been missing from more recent episodes. Here's what we know about why he's missing, and whether CNBC has offered any explanation.

Joe Kernen has been gone since sometime in mid-January, there hasn't been a ton of explanation as to why. This has led to some speculation on social media about his absence, but as of yet, we don't have any real answers about what happened to him.

"Where has Joe Kernen been? I don't miss him at CNBC but he must have done something wrong," one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"Where is Joe Kernen on Squawk Box? Why doesn't anyone say anything about it? He's been gone for like two weeks. No one mentions it," another person added.

The stated explanation for Joe's absence appears to be illness, but we don't know much more beyond that basic explanation. There are also some online who think that explanation might be a cover for something else, but until we know more, it's difficult to say for sure.

It's not clear if Joe Kernan is sick. Given the length of his absence, it seems possible that if he has an illness he's suffering from, it could be quite serious.

Joe hasn't posted on his Twitter account since Inauguration Day, so he hasn't provided any personal updates on his condition either. If he's sick, he's not telling the public about it.

Whatever the reason for his absence might be, there are plenty regular Squawk Box viewers who seem to be OK with the fact that he's not currently on the show.

"Squawk Box is so much more watchable w/o Joe Kernen. He is insufferable and way too militant to be a normal host. Everyone deserves better than being subjected to his craziness & abusive behavior. There are plenty of other non-crazy conservatives to replace him. Please fire him," one person wrote.

"So true. No passive-aggressive condescension and vile hate from Kernen," another person added. "They'll never fire him. He's married to a producer at CNBC. But if he was a woman, he'd be long gone. As soon as a woman gets 'older' they're out."

While Joe definitely has his fans, public opinion on him is pretty divided.

Because we don't know exactly why he's not on the show, we also don't have a clear sense of when he might be back. For now, then, fans will wait with either dread or anticipation to see when Joe finally makes his return to Squawk Box. There's been no indication, though, that he won't be back on the network.