David Rhodes worked at Fox News before becoming head of news at CBS.

Posted by Inside Trump's Head, Sep 6, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 7 support1 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 90%

Inside Trump's HeadSep 6, 2026

Multiple tier1 and primary sources confirm David Rhodes worked at Fox News (from 1996, rising to vice president of news) before joining Bloomberg and then becoming president of CBS News in 2011.

What was said

… Um, and he said, I remember that he once, he once said, "If you come to work for Fox News, you can never go back to, um, uh, to the mainstream media. They'll never have you." Not true in the case of David Rhodes. David Rhodes worked at Fox News, and then, when his brother Ben Rhodes looked like he was going to become Obama's, ah, one of Obama's close confidants, especially around foreign affairs, David moved from Fox News to become a head of news at CBS. He was not on camera. Oh, okay, not on so it's about the people on the if you're identified as, as a Fox News person, then it is really hard to go back to, uh, um, traditional news. …

Inside Trump's Head · Sep 6, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. Rice University and Paramount press materials state Rhodes started at Fox News Channel in 1996 and later became its vice president of news before leaving.[4][5]

Supports. Reuters and AP report Rhodes served as CBS News president, with the Wikipedia and Adweek accounts noting he moved from Fox News to Bloomberg and then to CBS in 2011.[1][2][6][7]

Supports. Snopes confirms David Rhodes is the brother of Ben Rhodes, an Obama adviser, and notes David previously served at Fox News before CBS.[3]

Context. The claim omits that Rhodes worked at Bloomberg between Fox and CBS, a simplification rather than a contradiction of the sequence.[4][8]

Sources

8 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 3 not rated, 1 tier 2

1CBS News head David Rhodes steps down, Susan Zirinsky to take overreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
2CBS News president steps down, replaced by veteran ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
3You Had a Hunch the News System Was Rigged?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
4Rice alum David Rhodes takes charge at an American institution ...news2.rice.edu · primary source · cited for: supports, context
5CBS ANNOUNCES A NEW AGREEMENT WITH DAVID ...paramountpressexpress.com · not rated · cited for: supports
6David Rhodes (media executive) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
7David Rhodes Joins Comcast to Lead International Business Development for Skyadweek.com · not rated · cited for: supports
8A Onetime Leader of Fox News Returns to the Murdoch Foldnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

Inside Trump's Head · Sep 6, 2026Post →

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