Former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump have been "friends for decades," but Ailes is not formally helping out his campaign with the debates, Trump's new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said Thursday.
"They are friends and he talks to many people, and he talks to many people when we are not around," Conway, the pollster who was promoted to the key role for Trump's campaign, told CNN's "New Day" program, saying they certainly do talk.
However, there is "no formal position for Roger Ailes" in the campaign, she insisted.
Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that Ailes, who resigned from Fox News last month following sexual harassment accusations from several women, would be putting his skills as a political strategist to work for Trump.
Before moving to television, Ailes was an adviser to President Richard Nixon's campaign and helped President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush with their debate preparations. He also worked for Rudy Giuliani during an early, failed 1989 campaign for New York City mayor.
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks also denied the report, using the same terms Conway used on Thursday.
"They are longtime friends, but he has no formal or informal role in the campaign," Hicks told The Washington Post.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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