The Fox News Presidency

"Get me the President. No, get me the President's agent."

With Judge Jeanine Pirro, we’re now up to 23 Fox talking heads running the administration. I guess that’s what 48% of Americans voted for. She's wildly unqualified to be DC's top prosecutor and has been described by her former executive producer as a "reckless lunatic." (Fox pulled her off the air after the 2020 election because she wouldn’t stop spouting lies about voter fraud, contributing to the $787.5M settlement they had to pay Dominion Voting Systems.)

Or, as President Trump said, “She’s the cohost of The Five, one of the highest rated programs on television.” So there.

Yahoo! News has conveniently provided a list of every former Fox News and/or Fox Business alum whom Trump has hired upon his return to the White House:

1. Dan Bongino, Deputy Director of the FBI

2. Tammy Bruce, State Department Spokesperson

3. Monica Crowley, State Department Chief of Protocol

4. Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation

5. Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence

6. Sergio Gor, Director of the Presidential Personnel Office

7. Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism

8. Richard Grenell, Presidential Envoy for Special Missions

9. Kimberly Guilfoyle, Ambassador to Greece

10. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense

11. Tom Homan, Border Czar

12. Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel

13. Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia

14. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner

15. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General of the United States (since pulled)

16. Morgan Ortagus, Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace

17. Alex Pfeiffer, White House Principal Deputy Communications Director

18. Abigail Slater, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice

19. Leo Terrell, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights

20. Michael Waltz, National Security Adviser

21. Scott Bessent, Secretary of Treasury (has appeared on Fox Business, a subsidiary of Fox News, but was never employed)

22. Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial and senate candidate with history of local Fox (Phoenix) anchoring

23. Jeanine Pirro, a long-ago prosecutor and judge

I give Lara Trump, the President’s daughter-in-law, special mention here. She recently stepped down as chair of the Republican National Committee to move to Fox News to host "My View with Lara Trump," which premiered on February 22, 2025. Oh, please Donald, tell that one about merit over nepo-cronyism again. I could use a good laugh.

By plucking her off the air, Fox has made room for everyone to move up a notch. It’s a showcase for the kind of talent (I use that word in the stipulative show business sense, where “talent” is a job description, not an accolade). Or, as CNN put it, “One of the most coveted seats in right-wing media is suddenly up for grabs. ‘The Five’ often ranks as the #1 show across all of cable news, and is a proven launchpad for MAGA media superstardom.”

Fox News Channel in general, and The Five in particular, are the best resumé stuffers for admission to the new administration.

Oh, I know, you’re used to qualifications like academic degrees, military leadership, experience running gargantuan businesses with thousands of employees, and/or long public service histories. In the past—up till now, in fact—the underlying motivation of public servants was to—get this—serve the public good. Suckers. It turns out you don’t need to feel the calling. All you need is a few billion dollars and/or a berth on the Fox News Channel as host or regular guest.

While all previous administrations have researched job candidate’s employment history, writings, and subject matter expertise, to ensure they get the cream of the crop, this administration relies almost exclusively on telegenics: is the candidate easy on the eyes? Does the candidate have good TV presence? Does the candidate get good ratings in the minute-by-minute Neilsen’s?

Sometimes, you don’t even have to be officially inside to be an insider. Take Roger Stone, the self-proclaimed dirty trickster and provocateur, who is also a Fox fave. Lately, he’s impugning American hero, Navy captain, experimental test pilot, astronaut, and United States Senator, Mark Kelly. We simply don’t make them any better than him. So what is Senator Kelly’s sin that found Stone on Fox demanding his trial and execution for treason? Here’s Mark Kelly in his own—non-Fox—words: “I called out Trump for his blatant corruption—making millions of dollars from his own crypto coins—and I co-sponsored a bill to make it illegal for the President, the Vice President, administration officials, and members of Congress to do the same.”

Oh, no wonder. Roll out the guillotine.

Critical thinking? No.

Dissent? No.

Fox News? YES!

©2025 Jon Sinton