Donald Trump’s campaign has denied multiple reports that disgraced Fox News creator Roger Ailes has been brought in to help the candidate prepare to face Hillary Clinton on the debate stage next month.
“He is not advising Mr Trump or helping with debate prep,” Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email to the Guardian on Tuesday, referring to Ailes. “They are longtime friends, but he has no formal or informal role in the campaign.”
Ailes resigned last month from the network he co-founded and ran for 20 years, following allegations that he sexually harassed numerous subordinates, including former host Gretchen Carlson and star anchor Megyn Kelly. Last week Rupert Murdoch, who own the network’s parent company, created a co-presidency to replace Ailes, who received a $40m severance.
The Trump camp issued its denial after media outlets including the New York Times, New York Magazine and CNN, citing unnamed sources, reported that Ailes had signed on with the Trump campaign to help with debate prep and other matters.
In addition to his broadcast expertise, Ailes is a seasoned counselor to Republican presidents, having served as a top aide to Richard Nixon and advised both Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush on debate strategy in particular.
The Trump campaign has billed the three scheduled presidential debates, which begin on 26 September, as the Republican candidate’s best chance to make up ground on Clinton, who for three weeks has steadily pulled away from Trump in voter surveys.
While Ailes has an undisputed track record at capturing certain audiences – Fox News has charted $1.5bn in profits last year – his network is not known for its appeal to the voters Trump needs most: women, political moderates and nonwhite voters.
A role in the Trump campaign for Ailes would represent a climbdown from tensions between the two men early in the Republican primary campaign, when Trump accused Fox News of unfair treatment and complained for weeks about Kelly.
At least one of the dust-ups, in August, was fixed by a friendly phone call. “Well, I have a great relationship with Roger Ailes, and actually I didn’t understand what went wrong, because I felt it wasn’t really – I was not treated fairly,” Trump explained at the time. “And Roger called me the other day, and it’s absolutely fine.”
Ailes released a corroborating statement. “I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness and balance,” the statement said.
