Paris Dennard (born August 18, 1982) is an American conservative political commentator, columnist, and communications strategist. He previously worked from 2005 to 2009 in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
of President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, and the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is a non-profit organization that supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 55 member-schools that include public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), medical school ...
for over four years as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications. He has appeared as a conservative commentator on many national outlets including
Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
,
Black News Channel
The Black News Channel (BNC) was an American pay television news channel, targeting the African American demographic. The channel was based in Tallahassee, Florida, and launched on February 10, 2020.Newsmax,
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
and
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, Dennard served as Student Body President, the chairman of the Arizona Teenage Republicans and spoke at the 2000
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. After graduating from Brophy in 2000, Dennard attended
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...
on several scholarships including one for students of color. He was featured with
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...
for an
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
special and interview at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Dennard graduated from Pepperdine in 2005 with a B.A. in political science and public relations.
Professional career
White House staff
Between 2005 and 2009, Dennard worked in
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...
, and the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
; and planned various events in the White House. Between 2009 and 2011, Dennard worked at the
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
as an associate director for Coalitions.
Communications consulting
Dennard is also a consultant through his own firm on strategic communication, political management, image and brand development, and media training issues.
Political commentary and activism
Dennard is a member of the
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
's Leadership Network. Dennard served on the advisory board for "Black Voices for Trump" for the 2020 re-election campaign for Donald Trump.
Dennard has been a political TV commentator on
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...
,
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, OANN, Newsmax TV, Hill TV, KTOE's "Al in the Afternoon", and TV One where he was a regular on NewsOne Now with Roland S. Martin,
BET
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...
's State of the Union coverage,
MSNBC
MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
, and was a paid political commentator with
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
from 2016 to 2018 and
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's '' Here and Now''. Dennard also writes opinion articles that have appeared in '' The Daily Caller'' and '' The Hill'' on a host of topics.
Dennard is known for his pro-
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
commentary; he frequently defended Trump and his administration in his CNN appearances. Trump praised Dennard during a White House
Black History Month
Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...
event and a "Black Voices for Trump" event in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. In 2018, Trump appointed Dennard to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
After Trump was defeated by Democratic challenger
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' reported that, according to documents and a university official, Dennard had been fired in 2015 from his position as an events director at the institute for making sexually explicit comments and gestures toward women. Dennard had "told a recent college graduate who worked for him that he wanted to have sex with her" and "pretended to unzip his pants in her presence, tried to get her to sit on his lap, and made masturbatory gestures." A 2014 university report obtained by the ''Washington Post'' stated that Dennard did not dispute the claims, but said he made the remarks and gestures jokingly. A second female employee also said that Dennard's actions made her uncomfortable.
After the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' report was published,
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
and
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
NPR member station
WBUR-FM
WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. Its programming is also known as WBUR News. The station is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and W ...
announced they had suspended Dennard with pay pending further investigation. After Dennard's contract expired, CNN did not renew it.
In 2019, Dennard sued the Arizona State University for nearly $10 million, claiming that the university had intentionally leaked the report.
Republican National Committee
In March 2020, Dennard was hired by the
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
, subsequently working as a national spokesperson and as director of Black media affairs. During the 2020 presidential campaign, he also served on the advisory board of Black Voices for Trump. The RNC fired Dennard in August 2022.
See also
*
Black conservatism in the United States
In the United States, black conservatism is a political and social movement rooted in African-American communities that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. Black conservatism emphasizes social c ...