Thomas J. Basile (born October 22, 1975) is an American businessman, political commentator, and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He served in the

George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...

in various capacities, including in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and was the executive director of the

New York Republican Party The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

from 2009–2011. Basile was a councilman in

Stony Point, New York Stony Point is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. The town is located north of the town of Haverstraw, New York, Haverstraw, east and ...

, and currently runs the strategic communications firm Empire Solutions. He is the author of the 2017 book ''Tough Sell: Fighting The Media War In Iraq'', writes for

FoxNews.com The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative cable television, cable List of news televisi ...

and ''

Newsmax Newsmax (Newsmax Media, Inc. or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax) is an American right-wing to far-right cable news and digital media company founded by Christopher Ruddy on September 16, 1998. Newsmax Media divisions include its cable ...

'', and hosts the

Newsmax TV Newsmax TV is an American conservative television channel owned by Newsmax. The network primarily focuses on opinion-based talk shows. It carries a news/talk format throughout the day and night, with documentaries and films on weekends. During a ...

program "America Right Now".

Early life and education

Basile grew up in

Clarkstown, New York Clarkstown is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States. The town is on the eastern border of the county, located north of the town of Orangetown, east of the town of Ramapo, south of the town of Haverstraw, and west of the Hudson Rive ...

, in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of th ...

. He attended

Clarkstown High School South Clarkstown High School South is a Public school (government funded), public high school located in West Nyack, New York, United States. The school educates students in grades 9 through 12, and is one of two high schools in the Clarkstown Central S ...

. Basile graduated from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

in 1997, with a BA in political science and history. He then earned a JD from the

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

Career

In 1997, after graduating from Hofstra, Basile ran as a Republican for Clarkstown Town Supervisor. The incumbent Democrat went on to win. From 1997–2000, Basile served in Governor

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

's administration as Public Relations Director for the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation. Basile worked on the 2000 Bush–Cheney presidential campaign and was a consultant to the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

during the 2004 Presidential election. In the

, Basile served as Director of Communications for the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

(EPA) under

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...

. From 2003–2004, Basile served in Iraq as senior advisor to the

Coalition Provisional Authority ) , capital = Baghdad , largest_city = capital , common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'') , government_type = Transitional government , legislature = Iraqi Governing Council , title_leader = Administrator , leader1 = Jay ...

(CPA) under

Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004. Early life and education Born on ...

. The U.S. Department of Defense subsequently awarded him the Joint Civilian Service Commendation for his service with the CPA. Basile was also the press secretary for the

second inauguration of George W. Bush The second inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd president of the United States took place on Thursday, January 20, 2005, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 55th inauguration and marked the be ...

in January 2005. From 2009–2011, Basile was executive director of the

. With David Webb, Basile co-founded TeaParty365, the New York City metropolitan area chapter of the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

. Basile has served as a councilman in

, since January 2014. He also serves as the Deputy Town Supervisor. Basile and Webb were featured in the 2011 ''Time'' Person of the Year report, "The Protester", as leaders in the Tea Party Movement. In 2018, Basile unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

to represent the 39th district, defeated by Democrat

James Skoufis James Skoufis (born October 18, 1987) is an American politician of the Democratic Party currently representing the 42nd District of the New York State Senate since 2023. Skoufis previously represented the 39th District prior to redistricting fro ...

. Basile heads the strategic communications firm Empire Solutions, which he founded in 2005 after leaving government. He is the former host of ''Sunday in America'' on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

radio, where he continues to contribute. Basile is also an adjunct professor at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Publications and writings

Basile wrote the 2017 book ''Tough Sell: Fighting The Media War In Iraq'', published by Potomac Books. The book's

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...

is by Ambassador

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...

. In the book, he relates his firsthand experiences in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

during the Iraq War and criticizes the media for biased coverage. While he defends the Bush administration's decision to launch the war, he is critical of the communications strategy to defend the policy. Reviewing the book in the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...

journal ''

Parameters A parameter (), generally, is any characteristic that can help in defining or classifying a particular system (meaning an event, project, object, situation, etc.). That is, a parameter is an element of a system that is useful, or critical, when ...

'', James P. Farwell wrote, "Basile merits high credit for his patriotic service and his thought-provoking book that provides keen insights into what it takes to make strategic communication in war zones a success and into the obstacles to good strategic communication. ''Tough Sell'' is highly recommended.

Personal life

Basile resides in Stony Point, New York, with his wife and their three children. He is a Knight Commander with Star in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basile, Tom Living people 1975 births Politicians from Rockland County, New York New York (state) Republicans George W. Bush administration personnel American political writers Conservatism in the United States Hofstra University alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni Newsmax TV people