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Ainsley Earhardt

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Ainsley Earhardt
Earhardt in 2019
Born1975 or 1976 (age 48–49)[1]
Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
EducationFlorida State University
University of South Carolina (BA)
Occupations
  • Television host
  • author
Years active2000–present
EmployerFox News
Spouses
  • Kevin McKinney
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2005; div. 2009)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2012; div. 2019)​
Children1

Ainsley Earhardt (born 1975/1976)[1] is an American conservative television host and author. She is a co-host of Fox & Friends.

Early life and education

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Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Earhardt as a young child moved with her family to the Foxcroft area of Charlotte, North Carolina. Earhardt's family moved to the Columbia, South Carolina, area when she was still in elementary school. She graduated from Spring Valley High School.[2]

After high school, Earhardt attended Florida State University before transferring to the University of South Carolina, where she graduated with a B.A. in journalism.[3][4]

Career

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Earhardt was hired as a reporter for WLTX, the local CBS station in Columbia, South Carolina, before she graduated from University of South Carolina.[5] From 2000 to 2004 she worked as the morning and noon anchor. She traveled to New York City after the September 11 attacks to cover South Carolina middle school students' raising nearly half a million dollars for firefighters to buy a new fire truck to replace one lost at the World Trade Center site.[6]

In 2005, Earhardt moved to San Antonio, Texas, and anchored weekday morning and noon newscasts at KENS-TV.[5][7] While living in Texas, she completed the Austin, Texas half-marathon, went skydiving with the U.S. Army's Golden Knights and, at the Air Force Academy, flew in an F-16 with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.[6]

Earhardt has written three children's books (Take Heart, My Child,Through Your Eyes, and I'm So Glad You Were Born) and a memoir, The Light Within Me.[8]

Fox News

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Earhardt moved to New York City and began working at Fox News Channel in 2007.[6] Earhardt has stated that she "did not know the first thing about politics" before she was hired by Roger Ailes to work at the network.[5] She appeared on Hannity with her own segment called "Ainsley Across America", and has co-hosted Fox and Friends Weekend, All-American New Year's Eve, America's News Headquarters. She has appeared as a panelist on The Live Desk and Greg Gutfeld's Red Eye.[9]

Earhardt became a co-host of Fox & Friends in 2016.[10] President Donald Trump tweeted about the show more than 100 times in the first eight months of his presidency.[5] Earhardt has interviewed both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.[11] During a 2018 interview, she praised Trump for threatening former FBI Director James Comey with alleged audio recordings, stating it "was a smart way to make sure he stayed honest" in congressional hearings.[12][5][13][14][15] Shortly prior to the interview, Trump had withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement; Earhardt asked him, Why did President [Barack] Obama . . . why did his administration think this agreement was okay for America?" In a later interview with Pence, she described the Paris Climate Agreement as "unfair" to the United States.[5]

Earhardt defended Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, saying "he gets to decide who works for him. Someone who works for him who is not supportive of him, he gets rid of them."[16] Amid the Trump administration's negotiations with Kim Jong-Un, Fox & Friends ran North Korean images of Kim Jong-Un touring industry in his country; Earhardt described the images as "very romantic".[17] In 2017, she falsely claimed that "5.7 million . . . illegal immigrants might have voted" in the 2008 election.[18]

In August 2018, Earhardt stated incorrectly on Fox & Friends that the U.S. defeat of "communist Japan" was an event that had made "America great".[19][20] When the U.S. defeated Japan in World War II, Japan was actually an imperial fascist regime and an Axis nation.[21][22] Her co-host, Steve Doocy, tried to mask her blunder, but it soon went viral.[19][20]

In May 2019, after The New York Times documented Trump's "deep financial distress" between 1985 and 1994 that included losing more money than almost any other American taxpayer, Earhardt praised Trump. She said, "It's pretty impressive, all the things that he's done in his life. It's beyond what most of us could ever achieve."[23][24] Earhardt criticized "the liberal media", saying that Republicans will not run for office anymore "because they know the liberal media is going to take them down."[25] In October 2018, after The New York Times documented how Trump obtained nearly half a billion dollars from his father, Fred Trump Sr., through "dubious tax schemes" and possible tax fraud, Earhardt accused the Times of "bashing" Trump's father.[26]

According to Eliza Relman at Business Insider, "few subjects animate [Earhardt] more than stories about alleged attacks on Christianity."[5] When a Missouri sheriff's department was criticized for putting "In God We Trust" decals on their squad cars, Earhardt defended the sheriff's department, asking "What about the majority? I'm so tired of protecting the rights of the minority. What about the rest of the country?"[5]

After Trump ordered the assassination of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general, Qasem Soleimani, citing intelligence he said necessitated it, Earhardt defended the administration against requests that the administration show the intelligence. She said, "I find it interesting that people are critical of the president's decisions, of our intelligence community's decisions, or general's decisions... Everything can't be made public." She paraphrased Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "you just have to trust us." Previously, Earhardt had shown considerable distrust of the intelligence community during Trump's presidency; she had also advanced "deep state" conspiracy theories.[27][28][29]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Earhardt encouraged readers to travel by plane, saying "it's actually the safest time to fly."[30][31] Her comments contradicted guidance from the Center for Disease Control.[30] She criticized Democrats and "the media", saying that they were making the pandemic "political".[32]

In December 2021, Earhardt drew criticism after stating on air: "It's [the Fox Christmas tree] a tree that unites us, that brings us together. It is about the Christmas spirit, it is about the holiday season, it is about Jesus, it is about Hanukkah." Her incorrect characterization of the Christmas tree as a symbol of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah drew ridicule on social media and corrections in the news media.[33][34][35]

Personal life

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Earhardt's first marriage to Kevin McKinney in April 2005 ended in divorce in 2009. In October 2012, Earhardt married former Clemson University quarterback Will Proctor.[36][37][38] They have one child.[39][40] They divorced in 2019.[41]

According to Vanity Fair, in August 2019, Earhardt began a relationship with fellow Fox News personality Sean Hannity after the two arrived together as guests for a wedding at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey.[42] Vanity Fair asserts that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she had been hosting her Fox & Friends program from a remote studio in the basement of Hannity's Long Island mansion.[42] At the time, Earhardt denied any relationship.[42]

Earhardt is a Christian.[43][44]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Stone, Natalie (October 9, 2018). "'Fox & Friends' ' Ainsley Earhardt Announces Separation from Husband After 6 Years of Marriage". People. In a statement from Earhardt, 42, via a Fox News spokesperson on Tuesday, she announced that the pair had separated after six years of marriage.
  2. ^ Rogers, Aida (November 2017). "Fox News Ainsley Earhardy Soars". Columbia Metropolitan. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  3. ^ "Outstanding Young Alumni Award". My Carolina Alumni Association. University of South Carolina. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2019. 2007 - Ainsley Earhardt, '99 BA
  4. ^ Langmuir, Molly (August 7, 2018). "How Ainsley Earhardt Became America's (President's) Sweetheart". ELLE. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Relman, Eliza (October 8, 2017). "How Fox's 'southern gal' Ainsley Earhardt became the darling of 'the most powerful TV show in America'". Business Insider. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Ainsley Earhardt". FOX News. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  7. ^ Santaella, Tony (September 27, 2007). "Former News19 Anchor Ainsley Earhardt Drops By". WLTX. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  8. ^ Browder, Jenna (April 3, 2018). "'Fox and Friends' Host Ainsley Earhardt: 'I Love Jesus and I Can't Hide That'". CBN News. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Ainsley Earhardt". simonandschuster.com. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "Ainsley Earhardt to Join FOX & Friends as New Co-Host". Business Wire. February 16, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Gearan, Anne; Ellison, Sarah (August 28, 2018). "How Trump's television diet has become a to-do list for aides". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via The Boston Globe.
  12. ^ Wemple, Erik (October 9, 2017). "Trump propagandist on 'Fox & Friends' speaks: 'I want to be a journalist'". The Washington Post.
  13. ^ Memoli, Michael A. (June 23, 2017). "In tweet, Trump promotes appearance on 'Fox & Friends'". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  14. ^ Nelson, Louis (June 23, 2017). "Trump on Comey tapes: 'My story didn't change'". Politico. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  15. ^ Wilstein, Matt (June 23, 2017). "'Fox & Friends' Host Tells Trump He Was 'Smart' to Threaten Comey with Tapes". Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Chang, Alvin (August 7, 2017). "We analyzed 17 months of Fox & Friends transcripts. It's far weirder than state-run media". Vox. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  17. ^ Levine, Jon (August 9, 2018). "'Fox & Friends' Praises Kim Jong Un: 'He's Quite the Romantic'". The Wrap. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  18. ^ Sherman, Amy (June 22, 2017). "Following Trump voter fraud allegations, claim that 5.7 million noncitizens voted is wrong". PolitiFact. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  19. ^ a b Richards, Alexandra (August 17, 2018). "Fox News host claims the US 'defeated communist Japan' in bizarre patriotic rant that leaves her red-faced". Evening Standard.
  20. ^ a b Osaki, Tomohiro (August 17, 2018). "Fox News presenter Ainsley Earhardt makes 'communist Japan' gaffe". The Japan Times.
  21. ^ Taylor, Blaine (December 23, 2018). "Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and Fascist Italy: Why the Allies Feared the Axis Powers". Yahoo! News. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  22. ^ "Japan surrenders, bringing an end to WWII". History. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  23. ^ Galioto, Katie (May 8, 2019). "'Fox & Friends' hosts defend Trump's massive losses as sign of 'impressive' business chops". Politico. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  24. ^ Wise, Justin (May 8, 2019). "'Fox & Friends' host: Report Trump had $1 billion in losses shows how much he can 'achieve'". The Hill. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  25. ^ Iati, Marisa (May 8, 2019). "Fox & Friends: Trump's financial loss isn't bad news. It's proof of his 'impressive' success". The Washington Post.
  26. ^ Rupar, Aaron (May 8, 2019). "Fox & Friends wants you to think Trump losing $1 billion is impressive". Vox. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  27. ^ Wilstein, Matt (January 7, 2020). "Seth Meyers Exposes 'Self-Serving Hypocrite' Fox News Host". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  28. ^ Stieb, Matt (January 6, 2020). "Fox News Welcomes 'Deep State' Intelligence When It Leads to Conflict With Iran". Intelligencer. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  29. ^ "Fox & Friends' Ainsley Earhardt suddenly trusts U.S. intelligence again". Yahoo! News. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  30. ^ a b Funke, Daniel (March 13, 2020). "Fox & Friends host says now is 'the safest time to fly.' It's not". PolitiFact. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  31. ^ Relman, Eliza (March 13, 2020). "Fox News hosts urge viewers to fly, claiming the 'safest time' to do is during a pandemic, despite health officials' warnings". Business Insider. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  32. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M.; Abrams, Rachel (February 28, 2020). "Right-Wing Media Says Virus Fears Were Whipped Up to Hurt Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  33. ^ Kampeas, Ron (December 9, 2021). "Fox News host: Christmas tree is about Jesus — and Hanukkah". The Times of Israel. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  34. ^ Kampeas, Ron (December 8, 2021). "'It's about Hanukkah,' Fox News host says about Christmas trees after her network's burns down". The Forward. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  35. ^ Lewis, Bobby [@revrrlewis] (December 8, 2021). "Ainsley Earhardt on the Fox Christmas tree..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ^ Stone, Natalie (June 11, 2020). "Fox's Ainsley Earhardt Said She 'Would Love to Find Love Again,' Is Open to More Kids After Divorce". People. As for Earhardt, she finalized her own divorce from Proctor in 2019 after the couple first filed in October 2018. The pair wed in 2012.
  37. ^ Dean, Janice (September 27, 2012). "Ainsley's Bridal Shower!". FOX News Weather Blog. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  38. ^ "Ainsley Earhardt & Will Proctor's Wedding Registry". AmazingRegistry.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  39. ^ Earhardt, Ainsley [@ainsleyearhardt] (November 6, 2015). "We are absolutely thrilled to welcome our new baby girl, Hayden, into this world. My husband and I are overjoyed!!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 7, 2015 – via Twitter.
  40. ^ Earhardt, Ainsley [@ainsleyearhardt] (November 6, 2015). "We love her so much already. Welcome to this world, Hayden Ramis Dubose Proctor" (Tweet). Retrieved November 7, 2015 – via Twitter.
  41. ^ Triggs, Charlotte; Carlson, Adam; Harmata, Claudia (June 11, 2020). "Fox News' Sean Hannity & Ainsley Earhardt Have Been Dating 'Very Secretively for Years'". People. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  42. ^ a b c Sherman, Gabriel (June 11, 2020). "Scoop: Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt Are the First Couple of Fox". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  43. ^ "Ainsley Earhardt: I Asked God to Come into my Life and Change Me". ToddStarnes.com. Todd Starnes. April 25, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  44. ^ Olsen, Alex (April 3, 2018). "Fox News Host Opens Up About Christianity, Jesus in Powerful Interview". Faith Family America. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019.
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