He’s become an ardent defender of President Donald J. Trump, taking to the public airways to defend the embattled commander-in-chief.
But Paris Dennard—a CNN political commentator and NPR political analyst—is also a staunch advocate for historically Black colleges and universities, as the senior communications director for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the advocacy organization that represents publicly-supported Black colleges.
“Johnny Taylor Jr., our president and CEO got my resume and he literally said, ‘I don’t know what I want you to do at TMCF, but I do know that I want you at TMCF,” Dennard told Diverse in an interview. Dennard is the outspoken politico who regularly spars with CNN host Don Lemon and the liberals that appear on the cable network.
“Johnny said, ‘Paris we have got to be intentional on our engagement outreach in the political space. We’ve got to be working just as much with Democrats and Republicans to get things done for our Black college community,” said Dennard. “And so I took that and Johnny let me run with it, and it’s proved to be a very successful and intentional strategy in government affairs.”
Dennard began his career at TMCF in the department of government affairs. He later became director of government affairs where he did liaison work on Capitol Hill with many different organizations. During the 2016 presidential election, he played a central role in helping HBCU students gain access to the Republican and Democratic Conventions and was able to use his influence and voice in getting students embedded in both political campaigns.
Toward the end of the election cycle, Dennard joined TMCF’s communication department, where he has used his media connection to become the voice of Black colleges.
Despite his work at TMCF, when he is speaking as a political commentator, advancing the causes of the Trump administration, Dennard said that he is certain to point out that he is voicing his own personal views and not those of his TMCF.
“When I appear, I’m not appearing on behalf of TMCF,” he said. “I’m appearing as a GOP political commentator who comments and gives analysis about politics and political opinion,” said Dennard.
