On Friday, Fox News confirmed that they had hired former Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) as a paid contributor. The move that could make things slightly awkward at the network. During their coverage of the affair that tarnished Sanford's political future, Fox News hosts and contributors labeled their new coworker (among other things) a “serial liar,” a “laughingstock,” and an “early brain donor.”
During the June 24, 2009, broadcast of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Van Susteren bristled at her guest referring to Sanford as having “misled” people, clarifying that “it's lying. I mean, misled is a nice word, but the guy lied. He lied to his constituents. He lied to his staff. He lied to his wife, not on just one occasion. It's multiple - I mean, he's a serial liar.” (And now he can lie to Fox viewers.)
Fox contributor Tammy Bruce suggested Sanford was an “early brain donor”:
On July 4, 2009, edition of Fox News Watch, host Jon Scott asked his panel if the press should “just stop listening to the governor.” Fox contributor Judy Miller explained, “as long as he is governor, we have to cover him. But clearly the man is having a nervous breakdown, and that's sad to watch.” Guest Marisa Guthrie chimed in, “he's clearly a narcissist. He can't shut up.”
On Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume wasn't sure if Sanford would be able “to ride this out.” The “problem” for Sanford, according to his new coworker, was that “he's a laughingstock.”
Several months after news of his affair died down, Sanford apparently started calling conservative media figures out of the blue to apologize.
In November of 2009, radio host and Fox News contributor Mike Gallagher hosted Fox anchor Chris Wallace on his radio program. Gallagher revealed that Sanford had “called out of the clear blue.” After Wallace joked that Sanford was calling to invite Gallagher to Argentina, Gallagher revealed that Sanford told him, “I let you down. I really blew it. I made a terrible mistake and I wanted to let you know I was sorry.” Wallace informed Gallagher that Sanford had already called him two months prior, leading Gallagher to say “he must have called a lot of people.”
His move to make amends to Fox News figures was a smart one, because he might be running into them in the break room soon.