Fox Business host Stuart Varney says the MeToo movement is on its way to Wall Street and that in many ways, the tsunami has already hit the shores.
“It’s come already with Steve Wynn and Wynn casinos,” Varney told TheWrap. “I think it’s a conversation that needs to come to everywhere. We need to establish the rules of the road going forward.”
In January, the Wall Street Journal reported multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the casino magnate. The story ultimately resulted in Wynn’s resignation as CEO of Wynn Resports and as finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Paul Marciano, a co-founder of Guess, has also found himself in hot water for similar reasons.
“It’s a conversation we should have, no question about it,” said Varney, speaking from the set of his Fox Business program “Varney & Co.” “We need to establish the rules of the road. And how specific it should be? That’s an awful difficult thing to say.”
The subject is a thorny one in the Fox empire that gave us Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes — both ousted after accusations of misconduct toward female staffers. And Varney stressed repeatedly that sexual misconduct was not something he was keen to speak about on his show.
“I don’t have any strong feelings on [MeToo] one way or the other. I am an observer of what’s going on,” he said. “I have not really dwelt on that subject on my program.”
Speaking as staffers powdered his nose and forehead just before he went live, Varney said he was much more keen on President Donald Trump’s “growth economy” and offered a string of defenses for many of the president’s biggest scandals.
“Tax returns?” Varney scoffed at Trump’s broken promise to release them. No bother. Their value to the American people? “Marginal.”
“It would be interesting but I’m not going to dwell on it,” Varney said. “I think we can ask for them and if they don’t want to give them, don’t give them.”
Varney conceded that the president’s remarks about not wanting immigrants from “s—hole countries” was bad but then played the ultimate Trump card — what about Hillary?
“When Hillary Clinton went off on deplorables during the campaign, that touched a nerve in me. I did not like it. I resented it bitterly to this day,” he said, adding that — despite his proudly diverse family — the “s—hole” stuff didn’t bother him in the same way.
It wasn’t “quite the same level,” he said.
Varney, who said the key to his program was to be both informative and entertaining, said he saw the very same quality in Trump.
“He is entertaining and he has a very large following,” said Varney. “We’re going to have a hard time getting used to this man.”