Fox News Channel responded to a New York Magazine hit piece which quoted an anonymous source, described as a “a Republican close to [network chairman Roger] Ailes,” saying Ailes thinks former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is “an idiot.”
Fox News Channels’ executive vice president of programming Bill Shine fired back, saying that Ailes thinks nothing of the sort.
“I know for a fact that Roger Ailes admires and respects Sarah Palin and thinks she is smart,” Shine said in a statement. “He also believes many members of the left-wing media are extremely terrified and threatened by her. Despite a massive effort to destroy Sarah Palin, she is still on her feet and making a difference in the political world. As for the ‘Republican close to Ailes’ for which the incorrect Palin quote is attributed, when Roger figures out who that is, I guarantee you he or she will no longer be ‘close to Ailes.’”