REPORT: Trump Considering Disgraced Ex-Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy

Position Had Been Held by Former TIME Editor Richard Stengel 

The federal government without question is a wide sprawling bureaucracy and there are countless positions, many extremely important, which many people are unaware even exist. Take the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, a vital job within the State Department.

Here’s how the State Department explains the responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, a position held until just last week by former TIME editor Richard Stengel.

“The mission of American public diplomacy is to support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and Government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world.”

“Bruce Wharton, Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs leads America’s public diplomacy outreach, which includes messaging to counter terrorism and violent extremism. The Under Secretary oversees the bureaus of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Public Affairs, and International Information Programs, as well as the Global Engagement Center, and participates in foreign policy development.”

To put it another way, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy in some ways acts as a source of information around the world to advocate for the U.S. Government’s point of view.

According to Al Jazeera reporter Mehdi Hasan, Donald Trump is considering disgraced former Fox News CEO and chairman Roger Ailes to be the next Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, although the Trump team is now denying the claim (see below).

Ailes, a longtime friend of Trump, resigned from Fox News, the company he built for Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp, under a cloud of multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Hasan tweeted the news:

He followed up that tweet with more:

Hasan adds that a “State Dept source also tells me Trump wants to take away independence,” from the Broadcasting Board of Governors and turn Voice of America, a foreign news service funded by the U.S. Government “into a ‘RT’-type ra-ra PR channel,” referring the the Russian government’s propaganda channel, RT News.

The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy requires Senate confirmation.

Some responses from journalists via Twitter:

Hasan also notes it’s not been decided, but the Trump team could have floated the leak to test the waters.

UPDATE: 3:30 PM EST –
Trump transition team spokesperson reportedly is denying that Ailes is being considered, per CNN’s Dylan Byers:

Again, Trump team could have floated the leak to test the waters…

UPDATE II: 3:42 PM EST –
Whether or not the Ailes part of this story will happen, Politico reports that Trump will be able to turn U.S. government information operations, like Voice of America (which is not under the purview of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy,) into propaganda machines, like RT and other Russian operations. Coincidentally (or not…) Mike Pence had wanted to create a state-run media organization as governor of Indiana.

“President-elect Donald Trump is about to inherit a newly empowered Voice of America that some officials fear could serve as an unfettered propaganda arm for the former reality TV star who has flirted for years with launching his own network,” Politico reported Monday. “A provision tucked into the defense bill guts the Voice of America board, stoking fears that Trump could wield a powerful propaganda arm.”

“Essentially, Trump is finally getting his Trump TV — financed by taxpayers to the tune of $800 million per year. And some of the few people in the know aren’t happy about it.”

“There’s some fear among the folks here, that the firewall will get diminished and attacked and this could fall victim to propaganda,” a Republican official told Politico. “They will hire the person they want, the current CEO does not stand a chance. This will pop up on Steve Bannon’s radar quickly. They are going to put a friendly person in that job.”

 

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