Bill Shine, former co-president of Fox News, is in talks with the White House about a post in President Donald Trump’s communications team, according to the New York Times. Shine, 54, resigned from Fox News in May amidst pressure when he was named in sexual harassment lawsuits related to founder Roger Ailes.
Trump fired his communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, July 31, after 10 days on the job. Scaramucci and Shine know each other from Scaramucci’s days as a Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network host. Press secretary Sean Spicer left the White House communications corps last month.
An email to the White House seeking clarification was not returned at presstime.
Shine, Fox News host Sean Hannity, President Trump and his wife Melania dined at the White House last week. Hannity relayed to the Times that Shine's employment did not come up during the dinner. Hannity is close with President Trump and to Shine. He publicly defended Shine before the executive was pushed out, saying Shine’s departure would spell “the total end of the FNC as we know it.”
Trump is an eager consumer of Fox News Channel.
According to the New York Times, the administration is considering a behind-the-scenes role for Shine, a low-key personality, that taps his experience producing and staging televised events.
(Photo via Diego Cambiaso's Flickr. Image taken on July 6, 2017 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)
