JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department has some strong thoughts about the Pentagon, familiar to viewers of Fox News.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PETE HEGSETH: The Pentagon likes to say, our diversity is our strength. What a bunch of garbage. In the military, our diversity is not our strength. Our unity is our strength.
SUMMERS: That's Pete Hegseth, who's been a host on the show "Fox & Friends Weekend." That said, Trump has been returning to the well over at Fox repeatedly to fill out his administration. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik has been tracking the relationship between Trump and Fox for years. He joins us now. Hey there.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: So, David, let me start by asking you this. What does Trump's fascination with the stars over at Fox tell us about him and his administration?
FOLKENFLIK: Well, I think it's worth remembering that the developer Donald Trump came to national front of mind really as a reality TV star. He sees this as casting and the nominees as talent. And I think we got to remember that the key facet of their talent is their willingness to put loyalty paramount. You look at Pete Hegseth. He sure looks the part - decorated infantry officer but not relevant job experience overseeing enormous institutions or high levels of the military. You know, his relevant experience is on Fox. That's where Trump knows his opinions from.
Earlier, he had been something of a critic of Trump. Now he's really clearly a MAGA loyalist. And it's loyalty to Trump - the key thing. You think back to the first term, Trump hired a number of folks from Fox, but he also said, hey, I'm gonna hire the best generals. He liked the way they looked in uniform, talked about it. Turned out many of them had their own ideas once they were in positions of power and pushed back.
SUMMERS: David, it's been a big week for personnel announcements. So I'm hoping you can just remind us, who are some of the Fox news personalities that President-elect Trump has chosen?
FOLKENFLIK: Sure. So there's Hegseth at defense. You've got Tulsi Gabbard, his pick to be Director of National Intelligence. She was a former Democratic Congresswoman but became a paid Fox commentator. Tom Homan, the pick to lead Homeland Security - a paid Fox commentator. Mike Huckabee, designated to be the ambassador to Israel - he had his own show on Fox for a while after coming up short in his 2012 race for the White House.
And there were also a bunch of guests who became familiar faces for Fox viewers. Fox has been something of an audition stage. If you think of Matt Gaetz, yes, he's been for sure an acerbic and formidable presence at the far right of the - at the Republican Conference, the House of Representatives. But he's also been a real cable warrior, a constant present on Fox.
RFK Jr. - like Gabbard, a Democrat, but really became incredibly prominent for potential Republican voters and a voice that Fox turned to again and again not as a paid contributor, but as a critic of the Biden-Harris administration from the left. RFK, of course, has now been selected to be Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services.
SUMMERS: Right. Last thing, David - what should be the big takeaway for us here? How - what should we conclude about the influence of Fox News on the incoming Trump administration?
FOLKENFLIK: Right, Well, the past is prologue, right? So if you look at the first term, yes, there were some folks there loaded with Fox talent, but Trump also drew so much on Fox stars as advisors - Sean Hannity, primetime star. Maria Bartiromo had something like 17 hours on Fox - Tucker Carlson back when he was with Fox. And, you know, the controlling owner of Fox, Rupert Murdoch, struck an alliance with Trump for that first term, and he's doing it once more. So you see these figures stocked with loyal Trump folks just as he knows at the top, there's real loyalty. And people know not only that if you want - go down to Mar-a-Lago if you want to get Trump's ear, but you also have to go on Fox.
SUMMERS: NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. David, thank you.
FOLKENFLIK: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
