Fox News exec: Biden is 'dumb as an ashtray'

Roger Ailes, chief executive of Fox News, is usually good for pithy quotes and he will not disappoint readers of the forthcoming 'Roger Ailes Off Camera", written by writer Zev Chafets, who was given unprecedented access to Ailes.

 

The pity Ailes unleashed earthy quotes about prominent politicians, both Democrat and Republican. For example, he reportedly referred to former House Speaker and Republican notable Newt Gingrich as a "sore loser."  This followed Gingrich's complaint that the support Fox had leant to presidential candidate Mitt Romney was a reason why Newt lost his primary bid. Ailes reportedly told his personal spokesman, "Newt’s a prick," according to the upcoming book.

 

According to the book, to be published by VanityFair.com, Ailes' spokesman had asked Ailes for guidance on how to respond to the former Speaker.

“Brush him back,” Ailes said, according to Chafets. “He’s a sore loser and if he had won he would have been a sore winner.”

 

Ailes provided other good quotes about other prominent politicos. Of the Florida Republican Senator, Ailes said “I like Marco Rubio,” Ailes told a staff meeting of Fox News Latino when the Cuban-American legislator was mentioned as a vice-presidential choice. “But I don’t know about as a vice-presidential candidate. He’s a nice guy, and that role requires kicking the crap out of your opponents.”

 

Ailes thought about other vice presidents of his acquaintance. “I have a soft spot for Joe Biden,” he said. “I like him. But he’s dumb as an ashtray.”

 

Of President Barack Obama, Ailes said of the former professor and community organizer, “Obama’s the one who never worked a day in his life. He never earned a penny that wasn’t public money. How many fund-raisers does he attend every week? How often does he play basketball and golf? I wish I had that kind of time. He’s lazy, but the media won’t report that.”

 

Ailes apparently evinced some concern over criticisms of Fox News coverage. During a tour of Fox Business' street-level studios in New York City, Ailes discussed with an engineer the installation of bullet-resistant glass. Looking at the large windows facing New York's busy Sixth Avenue, Ailes asked “What’s the stop on this glass?”

 

“Three fifty-seven caliber,” said the engineer.

 

“At what range?”

 

“Close up,” the engineer said.

 

Ailes replied that if a television show is on street level, the network had better be prepared for armed critics.