The life of Dana Perino: the rare Fox News anchor who's worried about being boring

James PasleyNov 3, 2020, 05:05 IST

Dana Perino at Fox News Channel Studios on July 31, 2018 in New York.John Lamparski/Getty

Dana Perino, 48, is the host of Fox News' "The Daily Briefing," a commentator on the "The Five," and co-host of the Fox podcast "I'll Tell You What."
At age six, Perino told her family that she would one day work in the White House. She studied journalism at graduate school, but after refusing to interview the mother of a murdered 2-year-old child, she decided the profession wasn't for her.
Perino transitioned into communications, in both the public and private sphere, before she worked her way up to becoming former President George W. Bush's press secretary.
After Bush left office, she began contributing to Fox News, first defending Bush's legacy, then providing her own opinions.
During the pandemic, she's been working remotely from her beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, where she hosts her shows from a spare bedroom.

Fox News host Dana Perino has gone from defending a president's opinions to spouting her own.

Perino, a life-long conservative, planned on becoming a journalist, but ended up in communications. She worked her way up to become former President George W. Bush's White House press secretary, delivering 145 press briefings.

She's been on Fox News for nearly a decade, first defending Bush's legacy then discussing her own opinions. She's written two best-selling books, and she calls Bush a second father.

But when Insider spoke (via Zoom) with Perino in August to discuss her life to date, she said: "I worry sometimes, I think the audience might think I'm too boring."

"I've been called the voice of reason. I don't know if that's always true, but I am a voice of calm," she said.

Here's a look at her life and career, in photos, based on interviews with Perino and sourcing from the Washington Post, News Max, Tennessean, Fox News, Diapering.com, University of Illinois Alumni Association, her memoir, Austin Chronicle, The Sunday Times, Denver Post, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Time, NPR, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, USA Today, AP, Deadline, and Salon.

Dana Perino was born on May 9, 1972 in Evanston, Wyoming. Her family moved to Parker, outside of Denver, Colorado, when she was 2 years old.

Dana Perino/Fox News

Politics and the media were early influences. When she was six years old, after her family visited the White House, she climbed onto a milk crate and declared she would one day work there.

Dana Perino/Fox News

Politics and the media were early influences. When she was six years old, after her family visited the White House, she climbed onto a milk crate and declared she would one day work there.

Perino spent her summers on her grandfather’s ranch in Newcastle, Wyoming. She told Fox News the lifestyle helped her keep positive and calm.

Dana Perino/Fox News

Dana and her sister Angie were expected to debate current events at the dinner table. Every afternoon, from third grade on, Perino read the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post before Leo, her father, got home from work.

Dana Perino/Fox News

Dana and her sister Angie were expected to debate current events at the dinner table. Every afternoon, from third grade on, Perino read the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post before Leo, her father, got home from work.

It was Leo’s tradition that got her interested in journalism. She also joined the high school debate team when she was 13, and continued all the way to college. She said debating had a huge impact on her life.

Dana Perino/Fox News

It was Leo’s tradition that got her interested in journalism. She also joined the high school debate team when she was 13, and continued all the way to college. She said debating had a huge impact on her life.

In 1994, she enrolled in Colorado State University Pueblo. She majored in communications and politics, and got a full scholarship through her debating.

Dana Perino/Fox News

She worked as country music DJ from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every weekend to bolster her resume. She was on air while the top song was Bill Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart,” which she had to play once every hour when it was first released.

Country-pop singer Billy Ray Cyrus performs in Nashville on June 9, 1992. Cyrus's song "Achy Breaky Heart" has topped the charts. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

She worked as country music DJ from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every weekend to bolster her resume. She was on air while the top song was Bill Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart,” which she had to play once every hour when it was first released.

Despite a conservative upbringing, she considered voting for former President Bill Clinton after he visited her campus for a rally. She couldn't remember what he said but she recalled the seductive energy of his campaign.

Dana Perino/Fox News

Despite a conservative upbringing, she considered voting for former President Bill Clinton after he visited her campus for a rally. She couldn't remember what he said but she recalled the seductive energy of his campaign.

After graduating, she got a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield. She told Insider she was “absolutely dead set” on becoming a journalist, and took out a student loan to get the degree.

Dana Perino/Fox News

After graduating, she got a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield. She told Insider she was “absolutely dead set” on becoming a journalist, and took out a student loan to get the degree.

Her plan to become a reporter was faltering, and it ended when she refused to interview a woman about her murdered 2 year old son.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino attends the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel March 28, 2007 in Washington. Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images

In August 1995, Perino got a job as a staff assistant to former Rep. Scott McInnis after contacting him for a reference. She had interviewed him during college, and his staff remembered and asked her to come work for him.

Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., Rep. Daniel Schaefer, R-Colo on the left during a 1995 press conference. Laura Patterson/CQ Roll Call / Getty

In August 1995, Perino got a job as a staff assistant to former Rep. Scott McInnis after contacting him for a reference. She had interviewed him during college, and his staff remembered and asked her to come work for him.

Perino networked, making sure to keep in contact with people she met before social media existed, using postcards.

Dana Perino in 2007. Brooks Kraft LLC / Corbis / Getty

In the summer of 1997, Perino heard at a dinner party that George W. Bush was running for re-election as Texas governor. She thought he would use his position to launch a bid for president.

George W. Bush when he was governor of Texas in February 1998. F. Carter Smith/Sygma via Getty Images

In the summer of 1997, Perino heard at a dinner party that George W. Bush was running for re-election as Texas governor. She thought he would use his position to launch a bid for president.

In was around then, in 1997, when she was 25 and living in Washington, that she began to experience a "quarter-life crisis," she wrote in her memoir. Dating was a struggle.

Dana Perino, second from left, in Washington, DC, nearly a decade later in 2006. Chip Somodevilla / Getty

In was around then, in 1997, when she was 25 and living in Washington, that she began to experience a "quarter-life crisis," she wrote in her memoir. Dating was a struggle.

On August 17, 1997, she met her husband Peter McMahon. They were the last two people to board a flight leaving Denver. McMahon was reading John Le Carre's "The Tailor of Panama," which got them talking.

Peter McMahon and Dana Perino attend the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Awards Gala at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, in New York. Charles Sykes / Invision / AP

On August 17, 1997, she met her husband Peter McMahon. They were the last two people to board a flight leaving Denver. McMahon was reading John Le Carre's "The Tailor of Panama," which got them talking.

In 2007, she told The Times: "It gives me chills to think how close I was to not meeting him. I couldn't get him out of my head. I couldn't eat, sleep, or concentrate on work."

Dana Perino/Fox News

In 2007, she told The Times: "It gives me chills to think how close I was to not meeting him. I couldn't get him out of my head. I couldn't eat, sleep, or concentrate on work."

After getting married, they spent a year in England. Perino couldn't work because she didn't have the right visa. She volunteered and read historical fiction. On the weekends she made McMahon take them to the places in her books.

Dana Perino/Fox News

After getting married, they spent a year in England. Perino couldn't work because she didn't have the right visa. She volunteered and read historical fiction. On the weekends she made McMahon take them to the places in her books.

The couple bought a Hungarian Vizsla puppy from Scotland that they named Henry after the British King Henry VIII.

Dana Perino/Fox News

After a year in England, they moved to San Diego, ticking off a dream of Perino's to live in California. For three years, she worked in corporate PR, thinking the skills would transfer easily, but the focus on venture capital wasn't for her.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino steps off Air Force One upon return to Andrews Air Force Base 12 August 2007 in Maryland. Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty

After a year in England, they moved to San Diego, ticking off a dream of Perino's to live in California. For three years, she worked in corporate PR, thinking the skills would transfer easily, but the focus on venture capital wasn't for her.

Perino was still in San Diego when the Bush campaign call finally came through. A friend asked her to volunteer as a campaign spokeswoman in California, but she couldn't afford to — McMahon had just started a new business and they were relying on her job for benefits.

Reuters

Perino was still in San Diego when the Bush campaign call finally came through. A friend asked her to volunteer as a campaign spokeswoman in California, but she couldn't afford to — McMahon had just started a new business and they were relying on her job for benefits.

Her next career move came in 2001, via another phone call. Perino checked up on a friend of hers working in the Department of Justice after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A few days later her friend asked her to move to DC to work as a spokeswoman for the department, focusing on environmental issues.

Dana Perino in 2007. Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty

Her next career move came in 2001, via another phone call. Perino checked up on a friend of hers working in the Department of Justice after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A few days later her friend asked her to move to DC to work as a spokeswoman for the department, focusing on environmental issues.

In 2002, she was brought into the White House to work on the Bush administration's environmental policy.

Reporter Ann Compton (R) talks with White House spokeswoman Dana Perino (2nd-R) in a stairwell as White House staff stand nearby after a briefing that focused on White House Press Secretary Tony Snow at the White House March 27, 2007 in Washington DC. Mark Wilson / Getty

On Inauguration Day in 2005, Perino became the deputy press secretary for the White House. Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who offered her the job, told the Denver Post it was "one of the best decisions" he had made.

Dana Perino listens to a briefing with other members of the administration in the White House briefing room August 31, 2007 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/Getty

On Inauguration Day in 2005, Perino became the deputy press secretary for the White House. Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who offered her the job, told the Denver Post it was "one of the best decisions" he had made.

In September 2007, she became the official press secretary after Snow had to step down, because he had terminal cancer.

Dana Perino, the new Press Secretary President for George W. Bush, takes questions from the White House press corps during her first day on September 17, 2007 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Perino is 5-foot-1, so during her time as press secretary, the lectern and the White House emblem were lowered so that she and the image were in the same frame.

US Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino speaks at a briefing at the White House 27 March 2007. Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty

She was a big fan of Bush's. As James Gerstenzang put it for the Los Angeles Times: "Clearly, she cares about her subject. And that subject is all things Bush."

Bush hugs Perino in 2007. Ron Edmonds / AP

She mostly kept her cool under pressure. She told NPR that she imagined Bush watching and only said things that he'd be proud of. When a reporter really got under her nerves, she said she "would flip him the bird" hidden behind the podium.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino holds up her finger in 2007. Gerald Herbert / AP

She mostly kept her cool under pressure. She told NPR that she imagined Bush watching and only said things that he'd be proud of. When a reporter really got under her nerves, she said she "would flip him the bird" hidden behind the podium.

Perino might not have been as combative as Snow, but she didn't take things lying down. When ABC swapped its reporter Jessica Yellin for then up-and-coming reporter Jake Tapper, and robbed Yellin of a question at a press briefing, Perino was annoyed.

Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Perino might not have been as combative as Snow, but she didn't take things lying down. When ABC swapped its reporter Jessica Yellin for then up-and-coming reporter Jake Tapper, and robbed Yellin of a question at a press briefing, Perino was annoyed.

Pandemics were briefly a subject of concern during Perino's time in the White House. She told Insider that after Bush read up on the Spanish Flu, he was worried about whether the US was ready for another pandemic, and ordered the cabinet to carry out a test drill.

Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino briefs the press in Crawford, Texas, August 15, 2007. Larry Downing / Reuters

Pandemics were briefly a subject of concern during Perino's time in the White House. She told Insider that after Bush read up on the Spanish Flu, he was worried about whether the US was ready for another pandemic, and ordered the cabinet to carry out a test drill.

In December 2008, Perino got a black eye on the job in Iraq. A microphone swung into her face after a Secret Service agent knocked it trying to protect Bush from an Iraqi journalist who had thrown a shoe at the president.

An Iraqi man throws a shoe at President George W. Bush during a new conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, in Baghdad. Evan Vucci / AP

In December 2008, Perino got a black eye on the job in Iraq. A microphone swung into her face after a Secret Service agent knocked it trying to protect Bush from an Iraqi journalist who had thrown a shoe at the president.

Bush saw her crying, and thought it was because of the shoe. She corrected him quickly, according to NPR. She said: "Well, sir, I adore you, but I grew up in Wyoming and I'm a little tougher than that."

Dana Perino was slightly bruised in the shoe-throwing melee during President Bush's news conference at the Prime Minister's Palace in Baghdad. Jim Watson / AFP / Getty

Bush saw her crying, and thought it was because of the shoe. She corrected him quickly, according to NPR. She said: "Well, sir, I adore you, but I grew up in Wyoming and I'm a little tougher than that."

The last seven months of Bush's tenure were the hardest, she wrote in her memoir.

Dana Perino in 2008. Bill O'Leary/The The Washington Post / Getty

Perino told Insider that travel was one of the biggest things that has stayed with her from her time in the White House, especially a visit to Africa in 2008.

Newly promoted White House Press Secretary Dana Perino poses with U.S. Marines during a visit to Al-Asad airbase with U.S. President George W. Bush in Anbar Province September 3, 2007. Jason Reed / Reuters

After leaving the White House, Perino spent a brief period vacationing and volunteering in South Africa, before she returned to the public eye, taking a contributor role at Fox News in April 2009.

White House Spokesperson Dana Perino gestures toward the door during the last daily press briefing of the Bush Administration at the White House January 16, 2008 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/Getty

After leaving the White House, Perino spent a brief period vacationing and volunteering in South Africa, before she returned to the public eye, taking a contributor role at Fox News in April 2009.

She told Business Insider she wanted to defend Bush's record, because the first two years after a president leaves involve constant comparisons. She talked to CNN about a role, as well, but said it was never a serious discussion.

Sean Hannity, Dana Perino and Bob Beckel during the FOX News "Hannity with Sean Hannity" 15th anniversary show at Olympic Centennial Park on October 6, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. Chris McKay / Getty

She told Business Insider she wanted to defend Bush's record, because the first two years after a president leaves involve constant comparisons. She talked to CNN about a role, as well, but said it was never a serious discussion.

Transitioning from spokeswoman to opinion-maker did not come easily, at least not right away.

Dana Perino host of "The Five" interviews Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush during "The Five" at Fox News Studios on November 13, 2017 in New York City. John Lamparski/Getty Images

In July 2011, Fox News launched "The Five," a talk show with five hosts, one of those being Perino, to fill the void of Glenn Beck leaving. It was only meant to run for five weeks. It's still going nine years later.

Sen. Marco Rubio during his appearance on "The Five" television program, on the Fox News Channel, in New York, Monday, March 30, 2015. Richard Drew / AP

In July 2011, Fox News launched "The Five," a talk show with five hosts, one of those being Perino, to fill the void of Glenn Beck leaving. It was only meant to run for five weeks. It's still going nine years later.

In 2015, she released a memoir about her time as Bush's spokeswoman titled: "And the Good News Is…Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side."

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino hands out boxes of presidential M&M candy to journalists in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC January 20, 2009. Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty

In 2015, when Donald Trump announced he was running for president, Perino publicly ridiculed it, and questioned on which planet it would be a good idea.

Dana Perino at Fox News Channel Studios on July 31, 2018 in New York. John Lamparski/Getty

In April 2017, she was filling in for former anchor Bill O'Reilly when he was fired due to a series of sexual harassment allegations.

Ilya S. Savenok / Stringer/Getty Images

In September 2017, Fox News announced a shake-up of its daytime lineup. Perino got her own show called "The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino" at 2 p.m. ET.

Dana Perino of FOX News poses for a photo at FOX Studios on October 17, 2017 in New York City. Rob Kim/Getty

Insider asked whether she saw herself as a journalist after diverting from that path decades earlier. She said: "I do."

Fox News contributor and Host of the Daily Briefing, Dana Perino, right, interviewing former Vice President Dan Quayle, left, at Fox Studios in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

In April, she invited renowned biologist Dr. William Haseltine onto Fox News. Haseltine dismissed hydroxychloroquine, the controversial malaria drug that had been touted elsewhere by other Fox News anchors like Laura Ingraham.

Dana Perino speaks at The 2017 Concordia Annual Summit at Grand Hyatt New York on September 19, 2017 in New York City. Riccardo Savi/Getty

In April, she invited renowned biologist Dr. William Haseltine onto Fox News. Haseltine dismissed hydroxychloroquine, the controversial malaria drug that had been touted elsewhere by other Fox News anchors like Laura Ingraham.

Perino told Insider the biggest concerns Republicans had going forward were the coronavirus, its effect on the economy, law and order, and racial conflicts.

Dana Perino/Fox News

As staff work remotely during the pandemic, Perino is no longer working from the Fox News studio in New York. She's been hosting from her beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, and has been a key part of Fox New's 2020 election coverage.

Dana Perino/Fox News

As staff work remotely during the pandemic, Perino is no longer working from the Fox News studio in New York. She's been hosting from her beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, and has been a key part of Fox New's 2020 election coverage.

The common thread of her life has been being at the right place at the right time, she said. And for the first time she's not concerned about what she's going to do next.

Dana Perino/Fox News

The common thread of her life has been being at the right place at the right time, she said. And for the first time she's not concerned about what she's going to do next.

Only 10 presidents have not won reelection, and polling suggests Trump could join them

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The life of Dana Perino: the rare Fox News anchor who's worried about being boring

Dana Perino was born on May 9, 1972 in Evanston, Wyoming. Her family moved to Parker, outside of Denver, Colorado, when she was 2 years old.

Politics and the media were early influences. When she was six years old, after her family visited the White House, she climbed onto a milk crate and declared she would one day work there.

Perino spent her summers on her grandfather’s ranch in Newcastle, Wyoming. She told Fox News the lifestyle helped her keep positive and calm.

Dana and her sister Angie were expected to debate current events at the dinner table. Every afternoon, from third grade on, Perino read the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post before Leo, her father, got home from work.

It was Leo’s tradition that got her interested in journalism. She also joined the high school debate team when she was 13, and continued all the way to college. She said debating had a huge impact on her life.

In 1994, she enrolled in Colorado State University Pueblo. She majored in communications and politics, and got a full scholarship through her debating.

She worked as country music DJ from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every weekend to bolster her resume. She was on air while the top song was Bill Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart,” which she had to play once every hour when it was first released.

Despite a conservative upbringing, she considered voting for former President Bill Clinton after he visited her campus for a rally. She couldn't remember what he said but she recalled the seductive energy of his campaign.

After graduating, she got a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield. She told Insider she was “absolutely dead set” on becoming a journalist, and took out a student loan to get the degree.

Her plan to become a reporter was faltering, and it ended when she refused to interview a woman about her murdered 2 year old son.

In August 1995, Perino got a job as a staff assistant to former Rep. Scott McInnis after contacting him for a reference. She had interviewed him during college, and his staff remembered and asked her to come work for him.

Perino networked, making sure to keep in contact with people she met before social media existed, using postcards.

In the summer of 1997, Perino heard at a dinner party that George W. Bush was running for re-election as Texas governor. She thought he would use his position to launch a bid for president.

In was around then, in 1997, when she was 25 and living in Washington, that she began to experience a "quarter-life crisis," she wrote in her memoir. Dating was a struggle.

On August 17, 1997, she met her husband Peter McMahon. They were the last two people to board a flight leaving Denver. McMahon was reading John Le Carre's "The Tailor of Panama," which got them talking.

In 2007, she told The Times: "It gives me chills to think how close I was to not meeting him. I couldn't get him out of my head. I couldn't eat, sleep, or concentrate on work."

After getting married, they spent a year in England. Perino couldn't work because she didn't have the right visa. She volunteered and read historical fiction. On the weekends she made McMahon take them to the places in her books.

The couple bought a Hungarian Vizsla puppy from Scotland that they named Henry after the British King Henry VIII.

After a year in England, they moved to San Diego, ticking off a dream of Perino's to live in California. For three years, she worked in corporate PR, thinking the skills would transfer easily, but the focus on venture capital wasn't for her.

Perino was still in San Diego when the Bush campaign call finally came through. A friend asked her to volunteer as a campaign spokeswoman in California, but she couldn't afford to — McMahon had just started a new business and they were relying on her job for benefits.

Her next career move came in 2001, via another phone call. Perino checked up on a friend of hers working in the Department of Justice after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A few days later her friend asked her to move to DC to work as a spokeswoman for the department, focusing on environmental issues.

In 2002, she was brought into the White House to work on the Bush administration's environmental policy.

On Inauguration Day in 2005, Perino became the deputy press secretary for the White House. Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who offered her the job, told the Denver Post it was "one of the best decisions" he had made.

In September 2007, she became the official press secretary after Snow had to step down, because he had terminal cancer.

Perino is 5-foot-1, so during her time as press secretary, the lectern and the White House emblem were lowered so that she and the image were in the same frame.

She was a big fan of Bush's. As James Gerstenzang put it for the Los Angeles Times: "Clearly, she cares about her subject. And that subject is all things Bush."

She mostly kept her cool under pressure. She told NPR that she imagined Bush watching and only said things that he'd be proud of. When a reporter really got under her nerves, she said she "would flip him the bird" hidden behind the podium.

Perino might not have been as combative as Snow, but she didn't take things lying down. When ABC swapped its reporter Jessica Yellin for then up-and-coming reporter Jake Tapper, and robbed Yellin of a question at a press briefing, Perino was annoyed.

Pandemics were briefly a subject of concern during Perino's time in the White House. She told Insider that after Bush read up on the Spanish Flu, he was worried about whether the US was ready for another pandemic, and ordered the cabinet to carry out a test drill.

In December 2008, Perino got a black eye on the job in Iraq. A microphone swung into her face after a Secret Service agent knocked it trying to protect Bush from an Iraqi journalist who had thrown a shoe at the president.

Bush saw her crying, and thought it was because of the shoe. She corrected him quickly, according to NPR. She said: "Well, sir, I adore you, but I grew up in Wyoming and I'm a little tougher than that."

The last seven months of Bush's tenure were the hardest, she wrote in her memoir.

Perino told Insider that travel was one of the biggest things that has stayed with her from her time in the White House, especially a visit to Africa in 2008.

After leaving the White House, Perino spent a brief period vacationing and volunteering in South Africa, before she returned to the public eye, taking a contributor role at Fox News in April 2009.

She told Business Insider she wanted to defend Bush's record, because the first two years after a president leaves involve constant comparisons. She talked to CNN about a role, as well, but said it was never a serious discussion.

Transitioning from spokeswoman to opinion-maker did not come easily, at least not right away.

In July 2011, Fox News launched "The Five," a talk show with five hosts, one of those being Perino, to fill the void of Glenn Beck leaving. It was only meant to run for five weeks. It's still going nine years later.

In 2015, she released a memoir about her time as Bush's spokeswoman titled: "And the Good News Is…Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side."

In 2015, when Donald Trump announced he was running for president, Perino publicly ridiculed it, and questioned on which planet it would be a good idea.

In April 2017, she was filling in for former anchor Bill O'Reilly when he was fired due to a series of sexual harassment allegations.

In September 2017, Fox News announced a shake-up of its daytime lineup. Perino got her own show called "The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino" at 2 p.m. ET.

Insider asked whether she saw herself as a journalist after diverting from that path decades earlier. She said: "I do."

In April, she invited renowned biologist Dr. William Haseltine onto Fox News. Haseltine dismissed hydroxychloroquine, the controversial malaria drug that had been touted elsewhere by other Fox News anchors like Laura Ingraham.

Perino told Insider the biggest concerns Republicans had going forward were the coronavirus, its effect on the economy, law and order, and racial conflicts.

As staff work remotely during the pandemic, Perino is no longer working from the Fox News studio in New York. She's been hosting from her beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, and has been a key part of Fox New's 2020 election coverage.

The common thread of her life has been being at the right place at the right time, she said. And for the first time she's not concerned about what she's going to do next.