Ainsley Earhardt | |
|---|---|
 Earhardt in 2019 | |
| Born | 1975or1976(age 47–48) [1] |
| Education | Florida State University University of South Carolina (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Employer | Fox News |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 1 |
Ainsley Earhardt (born 1975/1976) [1] is an American conservative television host and author. She is a co-host of Fox & Friends.
Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Earhardt as a young child moved with her family to the Foxcroft area of Charlotte, North Carolina. Earhardt's family moved to the Columbia, South Carolina, area when she was still in elementary school. She graduated from Spring Valley High School. [2]
After high school, Earhardt attended Florida State University before transferring to the University of South Carolina, where she graduated with a B.A. in journalism. [3] [4]
Earhardt was hired as a reporter for WLTX, the local CBS station in Columbia, South Carolina, before she graduated from University of South Carolina. [5] From 2000 to 2004 she worked as the morning and noon anchor. She traveled to New York City after the September 11 attacks to cover South Carolina middle school students' raising nearly half a million dollars for firefighters to buy a new fire truck to replace one lost at the World Trade Center site. [6]
In 2005, Earhardt moved to San Antonio, Texas, and anchored weekday morning and noon newscasts at KENS -TV. [5] [7] While living in Texas, she completed the Austin, Texas half-marathon, went skydiving with the U.S. Army's Golden Knights and, at the Air Force Academy, flew in an F-16 with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. [6]
Earhardt has written three children's books (Take Heart, My Child,Through Your Eyes, and I'm So Glad You Were Born) and a memoir, The Light Within Me. [8]
Earhardt moved to New York City and began working at Fox News Channel in 2007. [6] Earhardt has stated that she "did not know the first thing about politics" before she was hired by Roger Ailes to work at the network. [5] She appeared on Hannity with her own segment called "Ainsley Across America", and has co-hosted Fox and Friends Weekend, All-American New Year's Eve, America's News Headquarters. She has appeared as a panelist on The Live Desk and Greg Gutfeld's Red Eye . [9]
Earhardt became a co-host of Fox & Friends in 2016. [10] President Donald Trump tweeted about the show more than 100 times in the first eight months of his presidency. [5] Earhardt has interviewed both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. [11] During a 2018 interview, she praised Trump for threatening former FBI Director James Comey with alleged audio recordings, stating it "was a smart way to make sure he stayed honest" in congressional hearings. [12] [5] [13] [14] [15] Shortly prior to the interview, Trump had withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement; Earhardt asked him, Why did President [Barack] Obama . . . why did his administration think this agreement was okay for America?" In a later interview with Pence, she described the Paris Climate Agreement as "unfair" to the United States. [5]
Earhardt defended Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, saying "he gets to decide who works for him. Someone who works for him who is not supportive of him, he gets rid of them." [16] Amid the Trump administration's negotiations with Kim Jong-Un, Fox & Friends ran North Korean images of Kim Jong-Un touring industry in his country; Earhardt described the images as "very romantic". [17] In 2017, she falsely claimed that "5.7 million . . . illegal immigrants might have voted" in the 2008 election. [18]
In August 2018, Earhardt stated incorrectly on Fox & Friends that the U.S. defeat of "communist Japan" was an event that had made "America great". [19] [20] When the U.S. defeated Japan in World War II, Japan was actually an imperial fascist regime and an Axis nation. [21] [22] Her co-host, Steve Doocy, tried to mask her blunder, but it soon went viral. [19] [20]
In May 2019, after The New York Times documented Trump's "deep financial distress" between 1985 and 1994 that included losing more money than almost any other American taxpayer, Earhardt praised Trump. She said, "It's pretty impressive, all the things that he's done in his life. It's beyond what most of us could ever achieve." [23] [24] Earhardt criticized "the liberal media", saying that Republicans will not run for office anymore "because they know the liberal media is going to take them down." [25] In October 2018, after The New York Times documented how Trump obtained nearly half a billion dollars from his father, Fred Trump Sr., through "dubious tax schemes" and possible tax fraud, Earhardt accused the Times of "bashing" Trump's father. [26]
According to Eliza Relman at Business Insider , "few subjects animate [Earhardt] more than stories about alleged attacks on Christianity." [5] When a Missouri sheriff's department was criticized for putting "In God We Trust" decals on their squad cars, Earhardt defended the sheriff's department, asking "What about the majority? I'm so tired of protecting the rights of the minority. What about the rest of the country?" [5]
After Trump ordered the assassination of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general, Qasem Soleimani, citing intelligence he said necessitated it, Earhardt defended the administration against requests that the administration show the intelligence. She said, "I find it interesting that people are critical of the president's decisions, of our intelligence community's decisions, or general's decisions... Everything can't be made public." She paraphrased Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "you just have to trust us." Previously, Earhardt had shown considerable distrust of the intelligence community during Trump's presidency; she had also advanced "deep state" conspiracy theories. [27] [28] [29]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Earhardt encouraged readers to travel by plane, saying "it's actually the safest time to fly." [30] [31] Her comments contradicted guidance from the Center for Disease Control. [30] She criticized Democrats and "the media", saying that they were making the pandemic "political". [32]
In December 2021, Earhardt drew criticism after stating on air: "It's [the Fox Christmas tree] a tree that unites us, that brings us together. It is about the Christmas spirit, it is about the holiday season, it is about Jesus, it is about Hanukkah." Her incorrect characterization of the Christmas tree as a symbol of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah drew ridicule on social media and corrections in the news media. [33] [34] [35]
Earhardt's first marriage to Kevin McKinney in April 2005 ended in divorce in 2009. In October 2012, Earhardt married former Clemson University quarterback Will Proctor. [36] [37] [38] They have one child. [39] [40] They divorced in 2019. [41]
According to Vanity Fair , in August 2019, Earhardt began a relationship with fellow Fox News personality Sean Hannity after the two arrived together as guests for a wedding at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey. [42] Vanity Fair asserts that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she had been hosting her Fox & Friends program from a remote studio in the basement of Hannity's Long Island mansion. [42] At the time, Earhardt denied any relationship. [42]
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owned by the Fox Corporation. It is the most-watched cable news network in the U.S., and as of 2023 generates approximately 70% of its parent company's pre-tax profit. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. Fox News provides a service to 86 countries and territories, with international broadcasts featuring Fox Extra segments during advertising breaks.
Sean Patrick Hannity is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a self-titled political commentary program on Fox News since 2009.
James Brien Comey Jr. is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until his termination in May 2017. Comey was a registered Republican for most of his adult life; however, in 2016, he described himself as unaffiliated.
Mark Reed Levin is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show, as well as Life, Liberty & Levin on Fox News. Levin worked in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese. He is the former president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, an author of seven books, and contributor to media outlets such as National Review Online. Since 2015, Levin has been editor-in-chief of the Conservative Review and is known for his incendiary commentary.
Fox & Friends is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade and Lawrence Jones on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Pete Hegseth host on weekends.
Fox News is an American basic cable and satellite television channel currently owned by Fox Corporation. Since its inception by Rupert Murdoch's original News Corporation in 1996, it has been the subject of several controversies and allegations.
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William Proctor is a former starting quarterback for the Clemson Tigers at Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference in NCAA Division I-A, and for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended Trinity Preparatory School. In 2003 at Clemson, as third-string QB, he saw the field in four games at wide receiver. He was the backup of Charlie Whitehurst until the 2006–2007 season. In his first start at Clemson, he recorded 232 yards of total offense against the Duke Blue Devils in 2005. In the 2006–2007 regular season, Proctor completed 60% of passes.
Hannity's America is a weekly American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by Sean Hannity. It was replaced in January 2009 with Hannity.
The Fox News Channel (FNC) is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that was founded by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996. It competes as one of the top-three cable news networks in the United States, often leading its rivals MSNBC, and CNN.
Michael S. Schmidt is an American journalist, author, and correspondent for The New York Times in Washington, D.C. He is also a producer of a Netflix show. He covers national security and federal law enforcement, and has broken several high-profile stories about politics, media and sports. He is also a national security contributor for MSNBC and NBC News.
Mollie Ziegler Hemingway is an American conservative author, columnist, and political commentator. She is the editor in chief of the online magazine The Federalist and a contributor for Fox News.
Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway and Herneitha Rochelle Hardaway Richardson, known as Diamond and Silk, respectively, were a pair of American conservative political commentators and vloggers. They are known for their support of former U.S. president Donald Trump. Both have served as contributors for conservative news channel Newsmax.
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Bombshell is a 2019 American drama film directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph. The film stars Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie, and is based on the accounts of the women at Fox News who set out to expose CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, and Allison Janney appear in supporting roles.
Reactions to the Special Counsel investigation of any Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election have been widely varied and have evolved over time. An initial period of bipartisan support and praise for the selection of former FBI director Robert Mueller to lead the Special Counsel investigation gave way to some degree of partisan division over the scope of the investigation, the composition of the investigative teams, and its findings and conclusions.
The Russia investigation origins counter-narrative, or Russia counter-narrative, is a narrative embraced by Donald Trump, Republican Party leaders, and right-wing conservatives attacking the legitimacy and conclusions of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and the links between Russian intelligence and Trump associates. The counter-narrative includes conspiracy theories such as Spygate, accusations of a secretive, elite "deep state" network, and other false and debunked claims. Trump in particular has attacked not only the origins but the conclusions of the investigation, and ordered a review of the Mueller report, which was conducted by attorney general William Barr – alleging there was a "deep state plot" to undermine him. He has claimed the investigations were an "illegal hoax", and that the "real collusion" was between Hillary Clinton, Democrats, and Russia – and later, Ukraine.
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In a statement from Earhardt, 42, via a Fox News spokesperson on Tuesday, she announced that the pair had separated after six years of marriage.
2007 - Ainsley Earhardt, '99 BA
As for Earhardt, she finalized her own divorce from Proctor in 2019 after the couple first filed in October 2018. The pair wed in 2012.
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