Donald Trump said he only speaks with Roger Ailes “on occasion” following the former Fox News chief’s departure from the network due to sexual harassment allegations, and avoided discussing the scandal during his latest TV appearance.
“I just don’t know anything about it,” he said during a Newsmax appearance on Thursday. “I only speak to Roger on occasion now.”
“The job he’s done at Fox is probably unprecedented in television history,” Trump added. “That’s the only thing I know.”
Many pundits speculated that Ailes, who has advised numerous successful GOP campaigns in the past, would eventually join the Trump campaign, but when asked if Ailes is serving as an advisor in any capacity, the Republican presidential candidate replied, “No, he’s not.”
Netflix host Chelsea Handler recently joked to TheWrap that she wanted Ailes to join the Trump campaign, but it appears she won’t get her wish.
“This is the only campaign in politics where they would take someone coming off of a sexual harassment lawsuit who had to step down and hire them for a campaign. Like, that’s the strategy. Let’s get somebody who just had to step down from a 20-year job,” Handler said.
Before starting Fox News, Ailes was involved in campaigns for Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush, among others. He moved from advising political campaigns to building television networks until everything fell apart last month.
“He’s a man who has done an amazing job building Fox, an amazing job, but I think he’s given credit for that.” Trump said.
Trump and Ailes have an interesting history. Before declaring himself a presidential candidate, Trump had a cozy relationship with Fox News and appeared on the network regularly. Then Trump feuded with Fox News host Megyn Kelly after last summer’s GOP debate and repeatedly attacked her on Twitter.
Ailes had Kelly’s back throughout the process, refusing to pull her off a follow-up debate, which resulted in Trump skipping the event all together. Trump and Ailes eventually made up, and the GOP nominee even appeared on Kelly’s broadcast special on Fox. Trump has gone back to regularly appearing on Fox News.