New president nominates 19 people with network connections: NPR

President Donald Trump has nominated more Fox News personalities to positions in his administration than his beloved Village People. He is more than capable of playing in the starting offense of his hometown New York Jets. There are more groups than there are on the periodic table.

So far, he has selected at least 19 former Fox News hosts, journalists and commentators to fill key positions in his second term in the White House. Seven of them were working at Fox at the time of President Trump’s announcement.

Some of the posts are among the most important in the country. He will appoint former Fox & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, former Fox commentator and U.S. House of Representatives member Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, and former Fox Business host and U.S. House of Representatives member as secretary of transportation. Lawmaker and reality TV star Sean Duffy have been appointed. Both require approval by the U.S. Senate to take office.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, former star of the Fox show “The Five,” left the network and got engaged to Donald Trump Jr. shortly after. The two subsequently broke up, but the president chose her as ambassador to Greece.

“Ironically, even though President Trump has criticized Fox News in recent years for being unfair to him, he remains enamored with the bright lights and star power of many Fox News television hosts. It seems like there is,” former Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson told NPR.

Fox, which has a large number of pro-Trump viewers, has become a mainstay of Trump support. When it wavers, as Carlson’s remarks suggest, he publicly brings its stars back into alignment.

“Fox should be very happy,” said Eric Bolling, a former Fox host for eight years who has supported and advised President Trump. “Their talent is at the center of the news every day. Even if Donald himself makes fun of Fox from time to time, it shows viewers that they (Fox) are on the right Trump path.”

Boling added, “He does it to get back on track, and it tends to work out.”

This is hardly a new dynamic for the 45th and now 47th president. According to the liberal watchdog group Media Matters, Trump nominated 20 Fox officials to his administration during his first four years in office. This time, however, the numbers were almost equal to those at the beginning of his second term.

Not all of his selected works are notable and have never even been broadcast. More than a decade ago, Sergio Go, the new director of Trump’s White House personnel office, was a booker booking guests for Fox News. In recent years, he has served as a close aide to Mr. Trump and his inner circle.

Several former Democratic officials and even anti-Trump Republican officials have found a home on MSNBC. But the Fox to Trump farming system is unlike anything seen before.

President Trump even named someone he doesn’t seem to like very much. Morgan Ortagus briefly served as a national security commentator for Fox News before joining the State Department during President Trump’s first term. When President Trump nominated her to be his new deputy envoy for the Middle East, he made it clear that was not his preference.

“Mr. Morgan fought me for three years early on, and I hope I have learned my lesson from her,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support. I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for them. We’ll see what happens. Sho.”

Jay Wallace, president and editor-in-chief of Fox News, told the New York Times that the network will cover President Trump’s inauguration with the same critical distance it approaches other administrations. (FOX News declined to comment through a spokesperson.)

The Fox lineup is moving in his direction. Comic personality Greg Gutfeld started out skeptical of Trump, but he became quite friendly on his show The Five and now has his own prime-time show mocking the president’s critics. Fox News and Fox Business Network host Neil Cavuto, who has been a critical scrutinizer of President Trump’s statements and policies, announced his departure from the network late last year. He hosted for 12 hours a week. Will Cain, Kabuto’s successor on Fox News’ 4pm show, is far more amenable to the president.

Richard Stengel, a former Time Magazine editor-in-chief who served as a senior State Department official under President Barack Obama, says there’s nothing inherently wrong with hiring media people for management positions. But Trump’s emphasis on presentation is notable, he says.

“His main concern has always been communication, not policy,” Stengel said. “So, of course, he wants someone who will ‘communicate.’ For him, that is his consummate skill, not policy expertise or government experience.

“His highest praise was ‘central casting.’ That’s what television is all about. It’s not about whether you can do the job, it’s about whether you can play the role. They all played the role. These are the people who came.”

Boling said Trump wants to surround himself with people who are loyal to him. “When it comes to vetting, with Fox’s talent, President Trump only needs to watch a clip to prove his loyalty,” he says.

This is a change from President Trump’s first term, where he “hired a lot of traditional ‘establishment’ types of people who, once inside, were often hostile to him.” Boling added.