Douglas Schoen

Douglas E. Schoen (born June 27, 1953) is an American lawyer, political analyst, author, lobbyist, and political commentator. In 1977, he co-founded the political consulting firm Penn, Schoen & Berland, and was hired by President Bill Clinton and Ukrainian steel oligarch Victor Pinchuk. From 2009–2021 he worked for Fox News, and since 2021 for Newsmax TV.

Early life and education Schoen was raised on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the son of a corporate lawyer. He graduated from the Horace Mann School in New York City. While still a high school student, he canvassed the Upper West Side for Dick Morris. In 1974, he graduated from Harvard College.

Schoen graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude and Harvard Law School. While in college, Schoen founded Penn & Schoen with Mark Penn, also a Horace Mann School alumni.

Career Consulting work While still at Harvard, Schoen first worked as an independent political consultant for Louis R. Gigante, associate pastor of St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church, in the South Bronx, who successfully ran for New York City Council in 1973.

In 1977, he co-founded the political consulting firm Penn, Schoen & Berland with political strategists Mark Penn. He also did work for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008 and later became associated with the People United Means Action movement of disaffected Clinton supporters who refused to support Barack Obama. Schoen was a consultant for Jeff Greene in the 2010 Florida Senate election.

In 2010, Schoen hosted a fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate John Gomez.

Pinchuk donated $13.1 million to the Clinton Foundation in the years after Schoen's introduction. Schoen registered as a foreign agent lobbying on behalf of Victor Pinchuk. Michael Cohen solicited Schoen for the donation from Pinchuk, which was the largest outside donation the Trump Foundation received that year.

Media Fox News and Newsmax hired Schoen as a columnist. In 2010, he authored a book on the Tea Party movement with Scott Rasmussen.

Newsmax TV announced that Schoen would be leaving Fox News and on January 19, 2021, Schoen joined Newsmax TV as an Analyst.

It was reported in 2019 that he joined Mike Bloomberg's exploratory 2020 presidential campaign as a pollster.

Schoen served on the Advisory Council of Represent.Us, a nonpartisan anti-corruption organization.

In 2019, Schoen served as a Fellow at the USC Center for the Political Future.

Views Schoen has identified as a member of the Democratic Party, but has frequently criticized the party and taken positions on various political topics at odds with the party's views. Schoen's critics have called his identification as a Democrat "phony" and calculated to help his Fox News career. Steve Benen called Schoen the quintessential "Fox News Democrat" and said he is "actively hostile towards [Democrats] and the party's agenda."

Schoen has been critical of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement. In a 2011 The Wall Street Journal op-ed, he wrote, "President Obama and the Democratic leadership are making a critical error in embracing the Occupy Wall Street movement—and it may cost them the 2012 election." He believes that the protesters represent "an unrepresentative segment of the electorate that believes in radical redistribution of wealth, civil disobedience and, in some instances, violence," and that their common bond is "a deep commitment to left-wing policies."

In an interview with NPR on January 26, 2021, Schoen advocated against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, claiming it was divisive and distracting.

Works Enoch Powell and the Powellites, Palgrave Macmillan, 1977. The Power of the Vote: Electing Presidents, Overthrowing Dictators, and Promoting Democracy Around the World, HarperCollins, 2007 Declaring independence: the beginning of the end of the two-party system, New York: Random House, 2008, , The threat closer to home: Hugo Chávez and the war against America, New York: Free Press, 2009, , Hopelessly divided : the new crisis in American politics and what it means for 2012 and beyond, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012, , The Nixon effect: how Richard Nixon's presidency fundamentally changed American politics, New York; London: Encounter Books, 2016, , America in the age of Trump: opportunities and oppositions in an unsettled world, New York: Encounter Books, 2017, , The End of Democracy: Russia and China on the Rise, America in Retreat, Regan Arts, 2020