Fox News announced on Sunday it has cut ties with former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, a decision that comes as Donald Trump is gearing up for a 2024 presidential campaign.
“We appreciate Lara’s valuable contributions across Fox News Media programming,” a Fox News spokesperson told the Washington Post.
A Fox News source told the Post the decision to cut ties with Lara Trump was due to the network’s “ban on political activity.” Fox News apparently does not employ contributors who are running for office. But Lara Trump is not running for office. It appears Fox News has widened its policy to include Donald Trump’s family members.
The Post reported:
Although Lara Trump was weighing the possibility of a U.S. Senate run in her home state of North Carolina at the time she was hired, she did not end up running for the seat — and has not announced any other run for political office. She also does not appear to be working on the Trump 2024 campaign in an official capacity, though she served as a campaign adviser for his 2020 run. Although she is no longer on the network’s payroll, she could still appear on the network as an unpaid guest.
Lara Trump was first hired in 2021, though she was often seen on the network before that. In the first seven and a half months of President Joe Biden’s presidency, Lara Trump appeared 25 times on Hannity.
After Republicans had a lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections, former House Speaker Paul Ryan, now a member of the Fox Corporation Board of Directors, has repeatedly criticized Trump, claiming he will not win the 2024 GOP nomination.
Lara Trump took the opposite position of Ryan. On November 9, Lara Trump touted her father-in-law on the network. “If there is ever a time people are ready for Donald Trump to come back, it could be right now,” she said one day after the midterm election.
Donald Trump announced his third presidential campaign a few days later.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.