Forbes editor warns companies that might hire Trump press secretaries: Magazine will assume everything they say is a lie
The editor of Forbes, Randall Lane, has urged companies not to hire communications officials from President Donald Trump's administration.
- Lane wrote that there should be a «truth reckoning» after Wednesday’s siege at the US Capitol.
- As part of that reckoning, Lane said there should be «repercussions» for those who had lied on behalf of Trump.
- Lane called out former Trump press secretaries by name and suggested any companies employing them would be viewed as a «potential funnel of disinformation.»
In the wake of Wednesday’s siege at the US Capitol, Forbes’ editor issued a warning to any companies thinking about hiring former communications officials from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Businesses that choose to hire Trump spokespeople will, the editor said, be held to close scrutiny.
«Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie,» the magazine’s editor, Randall Lane, wrote. «We’re going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we’d approach a Trump tweet.»
In the article titled «A Truth Reckoning: Why We’re Holding Those Who Lied For Trump Accountable,» Lane reflected on the lies that spurred rioters to ransack the US Capitol.
The easiest way for American democracy to recover from the insurrection, he wrote, is to «create repercussions for those who don’t follow the civic norms.»
In the Forbes article, Lane called out by name Trump’s press secretaries Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany as well as Trump’s former White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, a group to which he referred as «Trump’s fellow fabulists.»
Politico reported on Thursday that some White House staff members were worried about securing their next job.
Administration officials told the media outlet that they feared Wednesday’s events would damage their reputations, finances, and future careers.
Lower-level Trump staffers are also «trying to save face for future employment,» a source told Politico.
Several high-profile Trump officials have resigned since Wednesday, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao; the Northern Ireland special envoy Mick Mulvaney, a former acting White House chief of staff; Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham; Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews; and the deputy national security advisor Matthew Pottinger.
