Paris Dennard

Paris Perrial Dennard (born August 18, 1982) is an American conservative political speaker. He previously worked in the Administration of President George W. Bush,[1] the Republican National Committee (RNC), and has appeared as a conservative commentator on many national outlets including CNN and NPR,[2] and is the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.[3]

Paris Dennard
Personal details
Born
Paris Perrial Dennard

August 18, 1982 (1982-08-18) (age 38)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceArlington, Virginia
EducationPepperdine University (BA)

Early life and education

While attending Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona, Dennard served as the chairman of the Arizona Teenage Republicans and spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.[4] After graduating from Brophy in 2000, Dennard attended Pepperdine University on a scholarship for students of color.[5][6] He was featured with Sean Combs for an MTV special and interview at the 2004 Republican National Convention.[7] Dennard graduated from Pepperdine in 2005 with a B.A. in political science and public relations.[8]

Professional career

White House staff

Between 2005 and 2009, Dennard worked for U.S. President George W. Bush, including at the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of Political Affairs, and the Office of Public Liaison. During that time, he served as White House Director of Black Outreach; coordinated the meetings and travels of the President, First Lady Laura Bush, and the House of Representatives; and planned various events in the White House. Between 2009 and 2011, Dennard worked at the Republican National Committee as an Associate Director for Coalitions.

In 2018, Dennard began serving as a commissioner on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.[9]

Communications consulting

Dennard is also a consultant through his own firm on strategic communication, political management, image and brand development, and media training issues, and is the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.[10] 

Political commentary and activism

Dennard is a member of the American Enterprise Institute's Leadership Network.[11] Dennard serves on the Advisory Board for Black Voices for Trump[12] for the 2020 re-election campaign for Donald Trump.

Dennard has been a political TV commentator on C-SPAN, BBC, OANN, Newsmax TV, Hill TV, and TV One where he was a regular on NewsOne Now with Roland S. Martin, BET's State of the Union coverage, MSNBC, and was a paid political commentator with CNN[13] from 2016-2018 and NPR's Here and Now. Dennard also writes opinion articles that have appeared in the Daily Caller and The Hill on a host of topics.[14]

On August 22, 2018, The Washington Post reported that, according to documents and a university official, Dennard had been fired in 2015 from his position as an events director for Arizona State University's McCain Institute for International Leadership for allegedly In one instance, telling a subordinate 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," according to the Post. The report also included an allegation that Dennard once touched a female employee's "neck with his tongue" and came up behind her at a work event and "whispered in her ear that he wanted to ‘f---’ her," the Post reported. The Washington Post claims the report states that Dennard did not dispute those claims but said he committed the acts jokingly.[15] Following the publication of the Washington Post's report, CNN and Boston NPR member station WBUR-FM announced they had suspended Dennard with pay pending further investigation.[16][17] President Trump publicly praised Dennard during his Black History Month listening session at the White House for his work as a political commentator,[18] and singled him out several times in his remarks during the Black Voices for Trump[19] launch in Atlanta, GA.

See also

References
  1. Friedman, Roger (January 11, 2008). "White House Says 'No' to Denzel Washington's 'Great Debaters'".
  2. cmaadmin (August 7, 2017). "A Public But Controversial Spokesman for HBCUs".
  3. DeRuy, Emily. "The Unlikely Union Between a Trump Supporter and Historically Black Colleges".
  4. "Republican National Convention Day 1 Morning". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  5. Silverstein, Stuart (January 22, 2004). "Pepperdine Defends Its Minority Scholarships". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  6. Leingang, Rachel (April 2, 2019). "Paris Dennard, conservative commentator, wants nearly $10M for 'leaked' ASU investigation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  7. Gerhart, Ann (September 3, 2004). "Citizen Diddy". The Washington Post. p. C1. Archived from the original on September 22, 2005.
  8. Commencement Program, April 2005, Pepperdine University, 2005, p. 13, retrieved February 18, 2020
  9. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration | The White House". The White House. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  10. cmaadmin (August 7, 2017). "A Public But Controversial Spokesman for HBCUs". Diverse. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  11. "Convening to increase opportunity: AEI hosts leadership summit - AEI". AEI. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  12. "Black Voices for Trump". blackvoices.donaldjtrump.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  13. "CNN's Paris Dennard Enrages Fmr CIA/FBI Official Phil Mudd: "Everyone In Washington DC Knows" Consultants Get Paid More With A Security Clearance". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  14. "Media — Paris Dennard". Paris Dennard. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  15. Davis, Aaron (August 22, 2018). "Trump called this White House defender 'wonderful.' He was fired from his previous job for alleged sexual harassment". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  16. Barr, Jeremy (August 22, 2018). "CNN Suspends Contributor Paris Dennard Following Sexual Misconduct Report". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  17. "WBUR Responds To Misconduct Allegations Against Paris Dennard". WBUR. August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  18. "President Trump Holds African American History Month Listening Session". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  19. "President Trump Remarks at "Black Voices for Trump" Rally | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
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