Fox News host Dana Perino firmly believes that Americans are more alike than they are different.
“We are in a period of pretty extreme polarization, but once you strip away social media and you actually meet people, it doesn’t matter where they are in the country,” Perino, 53, exclusively shared with Us Weekly while promoting her debut novel, Purple State. “We can all get along pretty well. I really am concerned about some of the statistics showing how many people say they would never be friends with or consider dating somebody who has different political views than they do.”
“I think that is cutting off so much opportunity for romance or lifelong commitment, friendships, even career opportunities,” Perino continued. “I wanted to show people that you can be interested in politics, you can work in politics, but you can still wear it lightly and not have it consume your life, and then your eyes and ears can be opened to the humanity that transcends all politics.”
In her latest book, Perino created three female characters who live in New York City. One woman finds herself with the opportunity to visit Wisconsin for one year and work on a presidential campaign with a goal to flip the state from red to blue. Her girlfriends come along for the adventure and discover valuable lessons about work, friendship, love and more.
While chatting with Us, Perino expressed her belief that couples can thrive with different political views and differing religious beliefs.
“I look at, for example, JD Vance and his wife. It’s a pretty good example of a strong marriage,” she said when referring to the vice president’s Catholicism and Usha Vance’s belief in Hinduism. “They’re about to have their fourth baby. Seems like a pretty successful marriage to me.”
“When I think about politics or faith, I realized in this book that some people might think that my ideas and that the plot that two people can come together — one a Democrat, one a Republican — and they can find love and decide to move forward with their relationship in a committed way, some people might say that’s completely unrealistic, that would never happen,” Perino continued. “Well, I don’t think that’s true, but also it is fiction and it is aspirational, and I’m trying to gently pass on a lesson that I think is worth hearing.”
Perino herself has quite the relationship success story. Married to Peter McMahon since 1998, The Five cohost met her husband while traveling on an American Airlines airplane.
After talking for two and a half hours nonstop high above the clouds, Perino believes it was “love at first flight.”
“I think a lot about love has to do with chemistry,” she said. “I don’t think we would have had love at first flight if the chemistry hadn’t been there.”
Purple State: Where Red Meets Blue and Love Is Never Black and White is available on Tuesday, April 21, wherever you buy books.
