Dem strategist says Donna Brazile is joining Fox News ‘for the money’

Democratic strategist Don Calloway told Hill.TV on Tuesday that former interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile is only taking a contributor spot at Fox News “for the money.”

“There’s no space for reasonable dialogue or discourse at Fox News,” Calloway, CEO of Pine Street Strategies, told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”

“Donna Brazile is doing this for the money. God bless her. It’s a silly decision in my opinion,” he continued.

Brazile, reached by Hill.TV for comment on Calloway’s remarks, asked “What makes him an expert on my finances?”

When asked if she could elaborate, Brazile said, “Why? He doesn’t know me. “Why should I give haters the time of day?”

“Seriously. I am more than happy to speak with him. Perhaps he can return to explain himself,” she added.

Calloway said he has worked as a nonpaid contributor for Fox News in the past, but does not appear on the network anymore.

“On Fox News, you’re debating against both the commentator or the host, whoever that might be,” he continued.

Sexton responded, saying conservative commentators get the same treatment at CNN.

“I was paid by CNN for a few years,” Sexton said. “This is true at CNN, too, just so you know.”

Fox News announced on Monday it is signing Brazile, a former CNN political analyst, as a paid contributor.

CNN severed ties with Brazile in October 2016 after it discovered she had shared town hall debate questions with then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Critics have accused Fox News of being too close to the Trump administration, citing President Trump’s frequent praise of Fox News and his relationships with hosts including Sean Hannity.

“I know I’m going to get criticized from my friends in the progressive movement for being on Fox News. My response is that, if we’ve learned anything from the 2016 election, it is that we can’t have a country where we don’t talk to those who disagree with our political views,” Brazile said in a statement.

“There’s an audience on Fox News that doesn’t hear enough from Democrats,” she continued. “We have to engage that audience and show Americans of every stripe what we stand for rather than retreat into our ‘safe spaces’ where we simply agree with each other. For there is no safety in self-limiting numbers.”

“You can be darn sure that I’m still going to be me on Fox News,” Brazile assured. “I’m going to do what I always do: and dish it out straight, exactly as I see it, with just as much New Orleans hot sauce as folks expect.”

— Julia Manchester