Why didn't Fox suspend Palin and Huckabee too?
Fox News benches Newt Gingrich until he decides if he's running for president or not. Does this mean that his fellow Fox contributors Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee aren't running?
![While their Republican colleagues (and potential presidential contenders) are suspending their Fox News consulting gigs, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee remain on contract with the network.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3FnRk94tBbQMjDG8me5kJR-415-80.jpg)
Fox News suspended the contracts of probable 2012 GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum on Wednesday, giving them until May 1 to either decline to run or forfeit their Fox paychecks. Critics have long argued that presidential aspirants unfairly benefit from their perch as paid Fox contributors. But there are at least three other potential 2012 candidates on the Fox payroll: Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and John Bolton. Which "begs an obvious question," says TIME's Amy Sullivan: "Does this mean Palin and Huckabee have notified Fox that they are not running for president?"
Palin and Huckabee will face the same choice... eventually: Fox made it clear that all candidates, once they officially declare, will have to give up their paid gigs with the network, says Daniel Foster in National Review. That said, it's a "mighty queer distinction" for Fox to claim that "Huckabee and Palin aren't yet 'serious' enough in their presidential aspirations to warrant such action," but Gingrich and Santorum are.
"Fox News 'suspends' Gingrich, Santorum"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fox had to start somewhere: This was an easy call for Fox, says Joe Gandelman in The Moderate Voice. It has to at least start tackling the "ticklish issue" of the GOP hopefuls on its payroll if it wants to be "taken seriously as a news organization." But it sets up some tough choices for Palin, Huckabee, and the others: Keep the "big bucks" from Fox or chase the White House dream, knowing that if you "crash and fizzle too badly," Fox won't want you anymore.
"Gingrich and Santorum suspended as Fox News paid contributors"
Fox is skating on thin ice: Nobody thinks there's a "genuine difference" in the progress or seriousness of the would-be candidacies of Palin, Huckabee, Gingrich, and Santorum, says Patrick Ishmael in Hot Air. Which leaves some "deeply troubling" motives on Fox's part. It either knows Palin and Huckabee aren't running, which means it's unethically "withholding news," or it has decided that more "minor candidates" can be thrown under the bus, while "major league" frontrunners are too valuable to ditch.
"Fox News's definition of a 'candidate for President' fails the laugh test"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published