Dana Perino on Trump’s White House, Fox News, and … Love

Honestly with Bari Weiss

The Free Press

News, Society & Culture

4.6 • 7.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sometimes we have a guest who needs no introduction. You know Dana Perino. She took on the job of White House press secretary when President George W. Bush was at his most unpopular—back in 2007 and 2008, as the Iraq War dragged on. She did not receive a warm welcome from those covering the White House—outlets like The New Republic called her clueless, and she was even injured after an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at Bush. It was not an easy job, but, as anyone who served in the press corps back then will tell you, she did it masterfully. Then she went to Fox News, where she quickly became a fixture. Today, she co-hosts America’s Newsroom in the morning and also co-hosts the highest-rated show on cable—Fox News’ The Five—where she is both the moral arbiter and the straight man. Today on Honestly, Bari asks Dana about the moments of great tumult at Fox News and in news media more broadly. She asks Dana what she makes of Trump’s media strategy—including the administration’s open mocking of deportees. On top of that, Dana’s also pretty well-known for being a mentor, and she has a new book that allows those who don’t know her to access her wisdom. It’s called I Wish Someone Had Told Me . . . : The Best Advice for Building a Great Career and a Meaningful Life, and it just hit bookstores. It’s full of practical advice from Dana and her friends, including many of her news colleagues. Her book covers everything from starting off in the workplace to keeping your career afloat during all the ups and downs that will inevitably come your way. Dana talks about how to stay healthy, keeping yourself financially secure, dealing with bosses and coworkers, handling your personal relationships, and the endless struggle of balancing work and life. From her time at Fox and Republican politics, Dana knows quite a bit about navigating through total chaos and keeping your head above water—you’re going to learn a lot from this one. The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article. Visit ⁠clearme.com/honestly⁠ for two months free! Go to ⁠groundnews.com/Honestly⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Last year, Amazon was the world's largest corporate buyer of renewable energy.
0:07.0	Seeing all and more of our energy come from wind farms like this one.
0:14.0	Guys, what happened to recording at the solar farms?
0:18.0	To learn more, visit about amazon.com. recording that the solar bomb.
0:21.8	To learn more,
0:27.1	visit about Amazon.com at UK forward slash sustainability.
0:33.6	From the free press, this is honestly, and I'm Barry Weiss.
0:38.3	Sometimes we have a guest on this show who truly needs no introduction. You know Dana Perino.
0:39.3	She took on the job of White House Press Secretary when President George W. Bush was at his most unpopular,
0:46.3	back in 2007 and 2008, as the Iraq war dragged on.
0:50.3	She did not receive, suffice it to say, a warm welcome from those covering the White House.
0:55.3	Outlets like the New Republic called her clueless, and she was even injured when an Iraqi
0:59.9	journalist threw his shoes at the president. It was not an easy job. But as anyone who
1:05.4	served in the White House Press Corps back then will tell you, she did it masterfully.
1:10.2	Then she went on to Fox News, where Dana quickly
1:12.8	became a fixture. Today she co-hosts America's Newsroom in the morning and is the lead anchor of the
1:18.7	highest rated show on cable, Fox News is the Five, where she is both the moral arbiter and the straight man.
1:25.8	Today on Honestly, I asked Dana about the moments of great
1:29.0	tumult at Fox News and in news media more broadly. I ask her what she makes of Trump's media
1:35.1	strategy, including the way the administration openly mocks deportees. But Dana's also pretty
1:41.4	well known for being a mentor, and she has a new book out that allows those who don't know her to access that wisdom.
1:48.0	It's called, I Wish Someone Had Told Me, the Best Advice for Building a Great Career and a Meaningful Life, which just hit bookstores.
	...

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