President Donald Trump has named more Fox News personalities for positions in his administration than belong to his beloved Village People. More than could play in the starting offense of his hometown New York Jets. More than there are groups in the periodic table.
So far, he has selected at least 19 former Fox News hosts, journalists and commentators for senior positions in his second White House term. Of those, seven were working for Fox at the time Trump announced them.
Some of the posts count among the most important in the land. He's tapped former Fox & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, former Fox pundit and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence and former Fox Business host, U.S. Rep. and reality show star Sean Duffy as transportation secretary. All of those require confirmation by the U.S. Senate to take office.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former star of the Fox show The Five, left the network and soon after became engaged to Donald Trump Jr. They have since split, but the president has picked her to be Ambassador to Greece.
"It's ironic that as much as President Trump has criticized Fox News over the last few years for being allegedly unfair to him, he's still apparently enamored with the bright lights and star power of so many of the Fox News television hosts," former Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson tells NPR.
Fox, with its heavily pro-Trump audience, has been a mainstay of support for Trump. When it wavers, as Carlson's remarks suggest, he publicly pulls its stars back into line.
"Fox should be very happy," says Eric Bolling, a former Fox host for eight years who supports and has advised Trump. "Their talent is front and center in the news day to day. That shows their audience that they [Fox] are on the right Trump track, even if Donald himself pokes Fox from time to time."
Bolling adds, "He does that to course correct them. And it tends to work."
It's hardly a new dynamic for the 45th and now 47th president. Trump named 20 Fox-affiliated people to his administration during his first four-year term, according to the liberal watchdog group Media Matters. This time, however, he almost matched that figure at the outset of his second term.
Not all of his picks are prominent or even have been on the air. The new head of Trump's White House personnel office, Sergio Gor, was a booker, scheduling guests for Fox News more than a decade ago. In recent years, he has been a close adviser to Trump and his inner circle.
Several former Democratic officials – and even anti-Trump Republican officials – have found a home on MSNBC. Yet the Fox-to-Trump farm system is unlike anything ever seen before.
Trump even named people that he doesn't seem to like very much. Morgan Ortagus was briefly a Fox News national security commentator before becoming a State Department official in Trump's first term in office. When Trump named her as the deputy to his new special envoy to the Middle East, the president made clear it wasn't his preference:
"Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson," Trump posted on Truth Social. "These things usually don't work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for them. Let's see what happens."
Fox News President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace told The New York Times that the network will cover Trump's presidency with the same critical distance with which it approaches any administration. (Fox News declined comment through a spokesperson.)
Fox's lineup has moved in his direction; the comic personality Greg Gutfeld, who started skeptical of Trump, has warmed up considerably on the show The Five and now has his own primetime show that mocks the president's critics. Fox News and Fox Business Network Host Neil Cavuto, who critically scrutinized Trump's statements and policies, announced late last year he would be leaving the network. He hosted 12 hours a week. Will Cain, who replaces Cavuto on his 4 p.m. weekday show on Fox News, is far more amenable to the president.
Former Time magazine Managing Editor Richard Stengel, who was a senior State Department official under President Barack Obama, says there's nothing inherently wrong with hiring media personalities for administration positions. But, he says, Trump's focus on presentation is notable.
"His primary concern is always communications, not policy," Stengel said. "So, of course, he wants 'comms' people. That, to him, is his consummate skill, not policy expertise or government experience.
"His highest praise is 'central casting,' and that's what TV is all about. It's not whether you can do the job, but whether you can play the role. These are all people who have played the role."
Bolling says Trump wants to surround himself with those who are loyal to him. "As for vetting," he says, "With Fox talent, Trump can simply watch clips for proof of loyalty."
That's a change from Trump's first term, "where he hired a lot of traditional 'establishment' types who often turned on him once they were inside," Bolling adds.
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