Tom Basile

Last updated
Tom Basile
Tom Basile (cropped).jpg
Basile in 2016
Born (1975-10-22) October 22, 1975 (age 49)
NationalityAmerican
Education Hofstra University (BA)
Fordham University School of Law (JD)
Occupation(s)news anchor, political columnist and commentator, former Republican politician
Political party Republican
Website tombasile.com

Thomas J. Basile (born October 22, 1975 [1] ) is an American television news anchor, political columnist and commentator, and former Republican politician in New York. He served in the George W. Bush administration in various capacities, including in Iraq, and was the executive director of the New York Republican Party from 2009–2011.

Contents

Basile is the host of "America Right Now" on Newsmax TV and a writer on politics, public policy, faith and social topics, and has written for Forbes, Fox News, Newsmax and the Washington Times. [2] He is the author of the 2017 book Tough Sell: Fighting The Media War In Iraq.

Early life and education

Basile grew up in Clarkstown, New York, in Rockland County. [3] He attended Clarkstown High School South. [4] In 1993, he became the first student member of the Clarkstown Board of Education. [5]

Basile graduated from Hofstra University in 1997, with a BA in political science and history. [6] [7] He then earned a JD from the Fordham University School of Law. [8] While he no longer resides in New York, he still maintains his NYS Bar membership. [9]

Career

In 1997, after graduating from Hofstra, Basile ran as a Republican for Clarkstown Town Supervisor. [10] The incumbent Democrat went on to win. [11] From 1997–2000, Basile served in Governor George Pataki's administration as Public Relations Director for the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation. [8] [12]

Basile worked for the 2000 Bush–Cheney presidential campaign and was a consultant to the Republican National Committee during the 2004 Presidential election. [13]

In the George W. Bush administration, Basile served as Director of Communications for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Christine Todd Whitman. From 2003–2004, Basile served in Iraq as senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) under Ambassador Paul Bremer. The U.S. Department of Defense subsequently awarded him the Joint Civilian Service Commendation for his service with the Coalition. [14]

Basile was the press secretary for the second inauguration of George W. Bush in January 2005. [13]

From 2009–2011, Basile was executive director of the New York Republican Party. [13] [15] With David Webb, Basile co-founded TeaParty365, the New York City metropolitan area chapter of the Tea Party movement. [16] [17] [18]

Basile served as an elected councilman in Stony Point, New York, from January 2014 until January 2022. He also served as the Deputy Town Supervisor. [19] [20] Basile and Webb were featured in the 2011 Time Person of the Year report, "The Protester", as leaders in the Tea Party Movement. [21]

In 2018, Basile unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the New York State Senate to represent the 39th district, [22] defeated by Democrat James Skoufis. [23] [24]

Basile founded the strategic communications firm Empire Solutions in 2005 after leaving government and continued until his departure in 2022. [25] Basile is also an adjunct professor at Fordham University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. [6]

Publications and writings

Basile began writing political commentary following his departure from government and was a Forbes Opinion contributor from 2012 until 2018 [26] .  He has written for a number of conservative publications including Fox News [27] and Newsmax. Since 2021 he has been an opinion columnist for the Washington Times [28] and is a contributor to The Daily Caller. [29]

Basile is the author of the 2017 book Tough Sell: Fighting The Media War In Iraq, published by Potomac Books. [30] The book's foreword is by former US Ambassador to the UN and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. [31] In the book, he relates his firsthand experiences in Baghdad during the Iraq War and criticizes the media for biased coverage. While he defends the Bush administration's decision to launch the war, he is critical of the communications strategy to defend the policy. [3] Reviewing the book in the U.S. Army War College journal Parameters , James P. Farwell wrote, "Basile merits high credit for his patriotic service and his thought-provoking book that provides keen insights into what it takes to make strategic communication in war zones a success and into the obstacles to good strategic communication. Tough Sell is highly recommended. [32]

Tom Basile was featured in the 2022 documentary Crime and No Punishment, produced by Secure America Now. [33] Basile began hosting long-form radio programs for Sirius XM in 2016 for the Patriot Channel and the Catholic Channel. Currently contributing to Sunday in America on Sirius XM Patriot radio, a week-in-review political show. [34]

Personal life

Basile currently resides in Tennessee, with his wife and their three children. He is a Knight Commander with Star in the Roman Catholic Order of the Holy Sepulchre. [35] He is a board member of Catholic Dads [36] and an advisory board member of the Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and Public Service Programs (PPPS). [37]

References

  1. ↑ "TRUMP begins to ponder LOSING". Politico. October 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Tom Basile Speaking Fee, Schedule, Bio & Contact Details". Premiere Speakers Bureau: Keynote Speakers, Business Speakers, Motivational Speakers, and Celebrity Speakers. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  3. 1 2 "Stony Point Resident Defends Iraqi Occupation In New Book". Daily Voice. June 23, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Student of Life Enjoys Its Diversity". Rockland Journal-News. May 10, 1993.
  5. ↑ Gutwillig, Richard (10 May 1993). "Student of life enjoys its diversity". The Journal News, White Plains, NY. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
  6. 1 2 "July 2019 Alumna of the Month: Tom Basile". Hofstra University.
  7. ↑ "Meet the 2007 Alumni Award Winners". Hofstra Magazine. December 14, 2007.
  8. 1 2 "Thomas J. Basile". George W. Bush White House Archive.
  9. ↑ Newsmax (2022-06-18). Why I am leaving New York | Tom Basile | 'America Right Now' . Retrieved 2025-06-16– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "GOP backs 22-year-old in Clarkstown supervisor race". Rockland Journal-News. May 24, 1997.
  11. ↑ "Incumbents Almost Make Clean Sweep in Clarkstown". Rockland Journal-News. November 5, 1997.
  12. ↑ "Meet Tom Basile: He's Been Around the World, but Home is where he Hopes to Serve". Rockland County Times. October 9, 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 "Basile New GOP Executive Director". Observer. October 15, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Basile New GOP Executive Director". Observer. 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  15. ↑ "Basile Resigns State GOP Post". State of Politics. June 24, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Tea Party group's co-founder calls Cuomo's tax plan 'smoke and mirrors'". WNYC. December 5, 2011.
  17. ↑ "OWS Getting Under Tea Party's Skin". ABC. November 21, 2011.
  18. ↑ "NYC Tea-off". Crain's New York. May 9, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Larkin endorses Basile as his successor for 39th Senate District". Times-Herald Record. May 5, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Tom Basile". Town of Stony Point. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  21. ↑ "2011 Person of the Year: The Protester". TIME. December 26, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Rockland man waging only-if-Larkin-retires election campaign". Times Herald-Record. March 20, 2018.
  23. ↑ "4 Senate seats emerging as the key battlegrounds in November". Politico. October 11, 2018.
  24. ↑ "39th NY Senate District: Democratic Assemblyman Skoufis beats Republican Basile to take Larkin's seat". Daily Freeman. November 7, 2018. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Tom Basile - Previously held position: Empire Solutions Consulting LLC (Nov. 2004-2022), Principal - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  26. ↑ "Tom Basile - Thomas Basile". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  27. ↑ "undefined". Fox News. 2025-07-02. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  28. ↑ "Tom Basile | Stories - Washington Times". www.washingtontimes.com. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  29. ↑ "Tom Basile". dailycaller.com. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  30. ↑ "Tough Sell by Tom Basile". Kirkus Reviews. March 20, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Basile Pens Book About Iraq War". Rockland County Times. May 4, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Irregular Warfare" (PDF). Parameters. 47 (3): 111–112. Autumn 2017. S2CID   159283445. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-31.
  33. ↑ "Crime and (no) Punishment: A New York Story". Crime and (No) Punishment. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  34. ↑ Sunday In America Welcome HUD Sec. Ben Carson , retrieved 2025-07-09
  35. ↑ "New Knights, Ladies Told to Become Part of the Holy Sepulchre 'Family'". Catholic New York. October 25, 2017.
  36. ↑ "About". CatholicDads.org. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  37. ↑ "About the Kalikow School | Hofstra University". www.hofstra.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
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