Interview with Fox News Channel's Harris Faulkner

Interview with Fox News Channel's Harris Faulkner

Harris Faulkner is a multiple Emmy award-winning newscaster and trailblazer in her field. Faulkner joined Fox News Channel in 2005, where she anchors a daily daytime show Outnumbered Overtime with Harris Faulkner (weekdays at 1 p.m. ET) in addition to co-hosting Outnumbered (weekdays at 12 p.m. ET). Faulkner is the author of the New York Times bestseller “9 Rules of Engagement: A Military Brat’s Guide to Life and Success.” She is hosting a special Town Hall America with Harris Faulkner on Sunday, April 14th at 8PM/ET in Urbandale, Iowa as part of the network’s special 2020 election coverage.

You cover a lot of difficult subjects, what do you do to escape and relax?

I look for a way to get my feet on solid ground.  When I am stressed out and when I have worked a number of days in a row, such as hosting a Town Hall America or working on election night, whatever the things are or the harder the news may be… the more foundation I need. And so, I like to slip off my shoes and socks and find solid ground. It could be in my own backyard or it could be in the middle of winter, but in bare feet - I like to let my feet hit the earth.

Aside from that, there are certain places that I find myself regularly and I’m not even really conscious of it all the time. We will be planning a vacation and then all of a sudden my husband will say there is a theme here - we are going to be doing a lot of hiking. I see that. And so, some of the things I find relaxing are hiking, building sand castles with my two young daughters, Bella and Danika, who are in 6th and 4th grade, respectively.

Spa is a verb for me so some of my favorite spas are Mii amo at Enchantment in Sedona, Arizona. I love it because there is such a divine sense of peace there and you are so far away from everything yet you are in this red rock mountain forest that you can hike and climb. One of my other favorite places to use spa as a verb is El Conquistador in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. There is something for the kids there at all times so when Mom takes her day at the spa (and yes, I said day… in a vacation - I get a whole day) so what that means is Tony (my husband) can golf with the girls. There is a water park there with all of these things the kids can do and it is self-contained out facing out to another island called Palomino. And it’s just beautiful - so peaceful. So those are a couple of my favorite places to go to get my spa on.

Do you have any favorite places to travel?

My favorite places to travel are Sedona, Arizona; Crane Beach, Barbados; Acadia National Park, Maine and Montauk, New York. We hit Montauk probably most often because the beaches there are intense and you don’t have to take a flight to get there. We have recently adopted a couple of guinea pigs. My girls adopted them as little newborns, their names are Paris and London. So these days we are taking more road trips then plane trips but Montauk is a couple of hours away from New Jersey and New York City so it is fantastic.

What are some of your must haves when traveling? 

There is a theme of relaxation here so let’s roll with it. Slippers. I have to have slippers. Quality slippers. So I travel with them since I never know what I will find.  I take my own silk pillow case because it is good for the skin and hair. I also take my own scented favorite soap. I just love having those particular items.

While traveling I also do a lot of hiking and I go in and out of places where it may be hot one day. We have a second home in Scottsdale and so we may hike around that area where it is 100 degrees or we may go sometimes during the winter. But I have a brand or vest that I love it’s called Herno Iconico. I love these because they are lightweight. They literally will fold up to a size of a napkin. I can take them anywhere I want to go. The wrinkles fall out of it and if I am slightly chilled, but don’t want to wear a coat, its perfect. If it’s a hot day but we are going in and out of air conditioned spaces, it’s perfect. I don’t leave home without it when I am traveling.

Do you have a best or worst travel story?

First of all, I am on vacation so it’s always good, better, best situation. So I guess maybe the worst case scenario is it rains all the time or its inclement weather and then I sleep - which makes it a very good vacation.

But the best vacation I have taken in my lifetime is my honeymoon. I had not been to the state of Hawaii and wanted to see quite a bit of it. We started off in Oahu and we went on to the big island which was beautiful. My favorite place was Lanai and I loved it there because it was my honeymoon party, but also because it was beautiful. It was hot and it was tropical. Lots of moisture in the air - I really loved it. As I write this, it is my 16th wedding anniversary today, April 12th.  So, I don’t know when this will hit but it is heavily on my mind. It’s an island that has peace, and quiet, and views - you might catch a sight in the distance of a humpback whale. It is really is very special.

Tell us about your upcoming Town Hall in Iowa.

I am hosting Town Hall America in Des Moines, Iowa and my point of view on it is simple. Go to Americans and listen to them – that’s what this is all about. I know the place in history as we head into 2020 that Iowa plays with its 99 counties. They know their place in history too. They are some of the most informed electorate in the world and I happen to think Americans are some of the most informed electorate in the world and Iowa is just a micro chasm of that.

Iowa is a place you can go and talk about all sorts of issues and topics, politically and news wise, and they are up to speed.  Americans are brilliant, and they are resilient. They know what they need to know or they go in search of it which is why it is so hardtop to predict what they’ll do in the voting booth with what they’ve seen. We know at Fox we are number one in all of cable and so we know they are watching us, but they are watching and reading a whole bunch of things. The state is a delicious mix of being informed and being enticed and ignited to go to the polls and do what is the most American thing we do which is vote. And of course they are the first in the nation with their caucuses. So everybody has Iowa on their tongue at this time.  I just took an elevator ride and people were talking about Iowa - people who have never been to Iowa, but they know the importance of it as we lead up to 2020

You will have been in Iowa three times in a little over a month. What are some of your favorite parts about the state?

There is a reason why I started off my speaking tour in Iowa. Quad Cities, and then most recently this week Cedar Rapids, and now I am headed to Des Moines for this town hall. Here’s the simple reason why:  I love the people in Iowa. People show up and it’s not just about attendance, they are present, engaged, and vibrant. My game as a journalist and a motivational speaker ascends when I am around them. Those Midwestern values have lifted up my career through the years. I worked for eight years in primetime television in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in Kansas. My second baby was born in Kansas. I met my husband while working on the air and won six Emmys in the state of Minnesota.  There is a little cluster there in the center of the country that’s got it going on and Iowa is part of that - the people are part of that. So it felt natural to start off my speaking tour there and to do this town hall there for all those reasons. I cannot wait to get back to Iowa.