Anyone who watches Fox News knows the cable giant is pulling out all the stops for the nation’s 250th birthday, a celebration that now includes a major book launch from the network’s publishing arm.
“All American Patriotism: Celebrating 250 Years of America’s Greatness” features personal stories, family photos and inspiring reflections from 29 of the network’s personalities — a project spearheaded by “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy.
“They were all tasked with the same thing: Tell me why you love America,” Ms. Campos-Duffy told The Washington Times. “And they all did it in different ways.”
The 30 responses are divided into four sections: “The Land That I Love,” “Home of the Brave,” “The American Dream” and “One Nation Under God.”
“Some of them talked about their American dream story,” said Ms. Campos-Duffy. “Some of them talked about their relative who served in World War II and why that’s so meaningful to them. Others talked about a road trip they took as a kid. It’s just interesting to see the take that everybody has on it.”
The publication is slated for release Tuesday by Fox News Books, part of the HarperCollins conservative imprint Broadside Books, a vehicle for nonfiction works by Fox hosts, reporters and contributors.
“All America Patriotism” represents the 19th title from Fox News Books, which has sold 3.6 million tomes since its inception in 2020. All 19 of the books have been national bestsellers.
Ms. Campos-Duffy said she modeled the project after her 2021 book, “All American Christmas,” a collection of holiday stories from her Fox colleagues that was a New York Times bestseller.
“People loved it. They heard stories from the different hosts that they’re familiar with, they saw their pictures, and it was really upbeat and fun,” she said. “In honor of America 250, we kind of followed the same template.”
Each reflection begins with an introduction by Ms. Campos-Duffy offering her inside take on the authors.
They include Maria Bartiromo (“cares for her elderly mother, Josephine”), Bill Hemmer (“a ray of sunshine”), Dana Perino (“advocate for foster children”) and Stuart Varney (“isn’t a Meghan Markle fan”).
In other words, “All American Patriotism” may be a must-have for the network’s fans, who are legion.
The right-tilting network has long dominated the cable-news ratings — and frequently beats the broadcast channels — partly by forging a relationship between its audience and its on-air team.
CNN viewers, be forewarned: The book makes no secret of its conservative political leanings.
Ms. Campos-Duffy dedicated the work to President Trump.
Erika Kirk, widow of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, wrote the foreword.
One chapter is authored by Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, who hosts Fox’s “My View With Lara Trump.”
The book’s only non-Fox personality is Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a former Fox Business host and husband of Ms. Campos-Duffy, who recalls a family trip to Arizona that took a perilous turn during a hike down the Grand Canyon.
In addition to personal accounts, the book offers positive patriotic reflections to counter what Ms. Campos-Duffy described as a national “identity crisis.”
“In academia, even in our public elementary and high schools, there’s been this narrative that we should be ashamed of our founding, our history,” she said. “I think culture really matters, and when you see people vandalizing Plymouth Rock, or tearing down statues of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, or putting ‘trigger warnings’ on our founding documents, I think you’re sending a lot of very dangerous messages to children and young adults. That somehow they should be embarrassed by the most remarkable place on earth.”
One of the most inspiring stories comes from Ms. Campos-Duffy herself. Her father, a first-generation Mexican American, and her mother, a naturalized citizen from Spain, brought up their children as U.S. patriots, insisting they speak English in the home and instructing them on the horrors of communism.
All four of the kids went on to earn post-graduate degrees and enjoy remarkable success in their professional fields.
Ms. Campos-Duffy, who has nine children with her husband, said of her parents, “They really instilled in us that it would not happen anywhere else except America, and to be really grateful that we were born here. It’s sort of the lottery ticket.”
After her husband was elected to Congress from Wisconsin in 2010, the Duffys headed to Washington and entered the U.S. Capitol for the first time.
“Neither one of us had ever been inside the Capitol,” she said. “It was just this remarkable moment when we both were there during orientation and [House Speaker] John Boehner said, ‘You can walk inside the chamber.’ And he [Sean] just sort of broke down in tears.”
Certain themes emerge from the book’s accounts. Most of the Fox personalities grew up in middle-class homes well outside the nation’s power centers. Several hail from military families. Nearly all were influenced by parents or grandparents who were strong role models.
Ms. Campos-Duffy said the book’s stories offer “a real appreciation for what this country promises and delivers for those who believe in the dream.”
“I think if you read this book, that’s the common thread that goes through the entire story,” she said. “Everyone talks about hard work and personal responsibility, those secret sauce ingredients of what it takes to achieve the American dream.”
