Donald Trump Appears On Gretchen Carlson’s Former Show In Apparent Show Of Support For Roger Ailes

Hours after news broke that former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson had filed a “sexual harassment/retaliation” lawsuit against Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump appeared by phone for a rare interview on Carlson’s former show, The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson.

Trump appeared on The Real Story only twice from May 1, 2015, through May 3, 2016, for a total of 19 minutes and 13 seconds, according to a Media Matters analysis. By contrast, during the same period Trump spent more than eight hours on Fox & Friends and more than 17 hours on Hannity.

The complaint filed earlier today by Carlson’s lawyers alleged that Ailes “retaliated against Carlson in various ways,” including “ostracizing, marginalizing, and shunning her,” as well as “terminating her employment,” because she would not have a “sexual relationship with him.” Carlson’s contract with Fox News was terminated on June 23, according to the complaint.

An hour before the news of Carlson’s complaint broke, Fox’s Kimberly Guilfoyle tweeted that she would be hosting the program, which would feature “special guest” Trump. As ThinkProgress’ Judd Legum noted, such a daytime Fox appearance is unusual for Trump, suggesting “an effort to spike ratings post-Carlson.”

Ailes has a reported pattern of misogyny and sexism that mirrors his network’s sexist coverage.