Paris Dennard

Last updated

Paris Dennard
Personal details
BornAugust 18, 1982 (1982-08-18) (age 41)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Political party Republican
Residence Arlington, Virginia
Education Pepperdine University (BA)

Paris Dennard (born August 18, 1982) is a Republican political commentator, columnist, and communications strategist. He previously worked from 2005 to 2009 in the White House of President George W. Bush, [1] and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for over four years [2] as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications. He has appeared as a conservative commentator on many national outlets including Fox News, Black News Channel, Newsmax, CNN and NPR. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

While attending Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona, Dennard served as Student Body President, the chairman of the Arizona Teenage Republicans and spoke at the 2000  Republican National Convention  in  Philadelphia. [4] After graduating from Brophy in 2000, Dennard attended Pepperdine University on several scholarships including one for students of color. [5] [6] He was featured with Sean Combs for an MTV special and interview at the 2004 Republican National Convention. [7] Dennard graduated from Pepperdine in 2005 with a B.A. in political science and public relations. [8]

Professional career

White House staff

Between 2005 and 2009, Dennard worked in George W. Bush's White House at the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of Political Affairs, and the Office of Public Liaison. During that time, he served as White House Director of Black Outreach; coordinated the meetings and travels of the President,  First Lady   Laura Bush, and the House of Representatives; and planned various events in the White House. Between 2009 and 2011, Dennard worked at the  Republican National Committee  as an associate director for Coalitions.

Communications consulting

Dennard is also a consultant through his own firm on strategic communication, political management, image and brand development, and media training issues.

Political commentary and activism

Dennard is a member of the American Enterprise Institute's Leadership Network. [9] Dennard served on the advisory board for "Black Voices for Trump" [10] for the 2020 re-election campaign for Donald Trump.

Dennard has been a political TV commentator on C-SPAN, BBC, OANN, Newsmax TV, Hill TV, KTOE's "Al in the Afternoon", and TV One where he was a regular on NewsOne Now with Roland S. Martin, BET's State of the Union coverage, MSNBC, and was a paid political commentator with CNN [11] from 2016 to 2018 and NPR's Here and Now . Dennard also writes opinion articles that have appeared in The Daily Caller and The Hill on a host of topics. [12]

Dennard is known for his pro-Donald Trump commentary; [13] he frequently defended Trump and his administration in his CNN appearances. [14] Trump praised Dennard during a White House Black History Month event [15] and a "Black Voices for Trump" event in Atlanta, Georgia. [16] In 2018, Trump appointed Dennard to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. [17]

After Trump was defeated by Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Dennard was hired as a national spokesman for the Republican Party. [14] As Trump promoted false claims of election fraud, Dennard refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the results of the 2020 presidential election. [14]

Sexual harassment allegations

Dennard was employed by the Arizona State University's McCain Institute for International Leadership from 2013 to 2015. [18] In 2018, The Washington Post reported that, according to documents and a university official, Dennard had been fired in 2015 from his position as an events director at the institute for making sexually explicit comments and gestures toward women. [19] Dennard had "told a recent college graduate who worked for him that he wanted to have sex with her" and "pretended to unzip his pants in her presence, tried to get her to sit on his lap, and made masturbatory gestures." [19] A 2014 university report obtained by the Washington Post stated that Dennard did not dispute the claims, but said he made the remarks and gestures jokingly. [19] A second female employee also said that Dennard's actions made her uncomfortable. [19]

After the Washington Post report was published, CNN and Boston NPR member station WBUR-FM announced they had suspended Dennard with pay pending further investigation. [20] [21] After Dennard's contract expired, CNN did not renew it. [13]

In 2019, Dennard sued the Arizona State University for nearly $10 million, claiming that the university had intentionally leaked the report. [22]

Republican National Committee

In March 2020, Dennard was hired by the Republican National Committee, subsequently working as a national spokesperson and as director of Black media affairs. [23] During the 2020 presidential campaign, he also served on the advisory board of Black Voices for Trump. [23] The RNC fired Dennard in August 2022. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Frum</span> Canadian-American political commentator (born 1960)

David Jeffrey Frum is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is currently a senior editor at The Atlantic as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the first book about Bush's presidency written by a former member of the administration. He has taken credit for the famous phrase "axis of evil" in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teen Age Republicans</span> American political youth organization

National Teen Age Republicans (TARs) is one of the youth wings of the United States Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Halperin</span> American journalist

Mark Evan Halperin is an American journalist, television cable host, and commentator for the conservative Newsmax TV. Halperin previously had worked as the political director for ABC News, where he also served as the editor of the Washington, D.C., newsletter The Note. In 2010, Halperin joined MSNBC, becoming the senior political analyst and a contributor. Along with John Heilemann, Halperin served as co-managing editor of Bloomberg Politics. Halperin and Heilemann co-wrote Game Change and Double Down: Game Change 2012, were co-hosts of MSNBC and Bloomberg's With All Due Respect, and produced and co-starred with Mark McKinnon in Showtime's The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth, which followed the presidential candidates behind the scenes of their campaigns in the 2016 United States Presidential Election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick M. Byrne</span> Former president, CEO and chairman of Overstock.com

Patrick Michael Byrne is an American businessman and conspiracy theorist. In 1999, Byrne launched Overstock.com after leading two smaller companies. Byrne led Overstock as chief executive officer for two decades, from 1999 to 2019. In 2002, Byrne took Overstock public. Early in his tenure he attracted public attention for a long-running legal battle against short sellers and "naked short selling." He eventually resigned as CEO in August 2019, following revelations that he had been in an intimate relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Hassett</span> American economist (born 1962)

Kevin Allen Hassett is an American economist who is a former Senior Advisor and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. He has written several books and coauthored Dow 36,000, published in 1999, which argued that the stock market was about to have a massive swing upward and would reach 36,000 by 2004. Shortly thereafter, the dot-com bubble burst, causing a massive decline in stock market prices. The Dow finally did reach 36,000 as the Covid pandemic receded in late 2021.

In the United States, black conservatism is a political and social movement rooted in African-American communities that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. Black conservatism emphasizes social conservatism, traditionalism, patriotism, capitalism and free markets. What characterizes a "black conservative" has changed over time, and proponents do not necessarily share the same political philosophy.

Newsmax TV is an American conservative television channel owned by Newsmax. The network primarily focuses on political opinion-based talk shows. It carries a news/talk format throughout the day and night, with documentaries and films on weekends. During and after the 2020 United States presidential election, it grew rapidly by broadcasting conspiracy theories and allegations of voter fraud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Lewandowski</span> American political operative and commentator

Corey R. Lewandowski is an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator and author who is politically associated with Donald Trump. He was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and was fired by Trump during the Republican Primary. He later became a political commentator for One America News Network (OANN), Fox News and CNN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond and Silk</span> Former American political commentary duo (1971 – 2023)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racial views of Donald Trump</span> Review of the racial opinions of Donald Trump

Donald Trump, former president of the United States, has a history of speech and actions that have been viewed by scholars and the public as racist or white supremacist. Journalists, friends, family, and former employees have accused him of fueling racism in the United States. Trump has repeatedly denied accusations of racism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayleigh McEnany</span> American political commentator and author (born 1988)

Kayleigh McEnany is an American conservative political commentator, television personality, and writer who served the administration of Donald Trump as the 33rd White House press secretary from April 2020 to January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Spicer</span> American political aide (born 1971)

Sean Michael Spicer is a former American political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications director of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017, and its chief strategist from 2015 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronna McDaniel</span> American political strategist (born 1973)

Ronna Romney McDaniel is an American political strategist who served as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2017 until her resignation in 2024. A member of the Republican Party and the Romney family, McDaniel was chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign</span> 2020 presidential campaign

President Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party, unsuccessfully sought reelection in the 2020 United States presidential election. He had been inaugurated for his first term as president of the United States on January 20, 2017, and officially announced his re-election campaign on June 18, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Urban</span> American lobbyist (born 1964)

David Urban is an American lobbyist and political commentator for CNN. He is the managing director for BGR Group and serves on the board of directors for numerous companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronny Jackson</span> American veteran, physician and politician (born 1967)

Ronny Lynn Jackson is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy rear admiral, retroactively retired in the grade of captain. He is the U.S. representative for Texas's 13th congressional district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate election in Arizona</span>

The 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Arizona.

Brian Jack is an American political advisor and who served as White House Political Director under President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2021. He is currently a senior advisor on Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karrin Taylor Robson</span> American lawyer and politician

Karrin Margaret Taylor Robson is an American attorney, land use consultant, and Republican Party politician from Arizona. Taylor Robson was a member of the Arizona Board of Regents from 2017 until 2021. She was appointed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.

References

  1. ↑ Friedman, Roger (January 11, 2008). "White House Says 'No' to Denzel Washington's 'Great Debaters'". Fox News .
  2. ↑ DeRuy, Emily (October 17, 2016). "The Unlikely Union Between a Trump Supporter and Historically Black Colleges". The Atlantic .
  3. ↑ cmaadmin (August 7, 2017). "A Public But Controversial Spokesman for HBCUs".
  4. ↑ "Republican National Convention Day 1 Morning". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  5. ↑ Silverstein, Stuart (January 22, 2004). "Pepperdine Defends Its Minority Scholarships". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  6. ↑ Leingang, Rachel (April 2, 2019). "Paris Dennard, conservative commentator, wants nearly $10M for 'leaked' ASU investigation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  7. ↑ Gerhart, Ann (September 3, 2004). "Citizen Diddy". The Washington Post. p. C1. Archived from the original on September 22, 2005.
  8. ↑ Commencement Program, April 2005, Pepperdine University, 2005, p. 13, retrieved February 18, 2020
  9. ↑ "Convening to increase opportunity: AEI hosts leadership summit - AEI". AEI. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Black Voices for Trump". blackvoices.donaldjtrump.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  11. ↑ "CNN's Paris Dennard Enrages Fmr CIA/FBI Official Phil Mudd: "Everyone In Washington DC Knows" Consultants Get Paid More With A Security Clearance". Real Clear Politics . August 20, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Media — Paris Dennard". Paris Dennard. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Concha, Joe (December 11, 2018). "Pro-Trump pundit Paris Dennard lashes out at former network CNN: 'I will not be silenced'". The Hill .
  14. 1 2 3 Bump, Philip (May 11, 2021). "'Biden is the president' has become the GOP's base-pleasing cop-out". The Washington Post .
  15. ↑ "President Trump Holds African American History Month Listening Session". C-SPAN . February 1, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ "President Trump Remarks at "Black Voices for Trump" Rally". C-SPAN . November 9, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  17. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration | The White House". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved November 29, 2018– via National Archives.
  18. ↑ Commentator seeks $10M from ASU after misconduct report, Associated Press (April 2, 2019).
  19. 1 2 3 4 Davis, Aaron (August 22, 2018). "Trump called this White House defender 'wonderful.' He was fired from his previous job for alleged sexual harassment". The Washington Post . Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  20. ↑ Barr, Jeremy (August 22, 2018). "CNN Suspends Contributor Paris Dennard Following Sexual Misconduct Report". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  21. ↑ "WBUR Responds To Misconduct Allegations Against Paris Dennard". WBUR. August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  22. ↑ Leingang, Rachel (April 2, 2019). "Paris Dennard, conservative commentator, wants nearly $10M for 'leaked' ASU investigation". The Arizona Republic.
  23. 1 2 3 Isenstadt, Alex (August 26, 2020). "RNC fires national spokesperson". Politico.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.