Roger Ailes: Sarah Palin 'Had No Chance To Be President'

Sarah Palin responded to a harsh comment Fox News chief Roger Ailes made about her earlier this week.

During a speech at the University of North Carolina, Ailes said that "Sarah Palin had no chance to be president." The quote came from New York Magazine editor Gabriel Sherman's Twitter feed. Sherman, who was at the event, is writing a book about Ailes and the rise of Fox News. Ailes was at the university addressing a group of journalism students.

Palin responded to Ailes' remarks in an exclusive interview with Breitbart.com. Palin called the remarks "interesting."

She said, "I wonder if he is aware that the same thing was said about me when I ran for city council, mayor, and eventually governor." She added, "No doubt many people who are told they can’t do something will work that much harder, and they succeed." She suggested Breitbart.com send her employer the documentary recently made about her, "The Undefeated." Palin said, "The theme of Steve’s film isn’t about me, but about the idea of not letting others dictate one’s path in life and never giving up when you’re fighting for something precious like our exceptional nation and our children’s futures. So, would you send a copy of “The Undefeated” to him?"

Ailes clarified his comments on Friday. "When I hired most of the Republican contributors, none of them had any immediate prospects of becoming President -- I wasn’t referring to any of their long-term prospects, including Governor Palin. I hired all of them because they made for good television at the time. Sarah Palin is young and nobody can predict the future," Ailes said in a statement.

This is not the first time Ailes has said something of this nature about Palin, nor the first time Palin has struck back. In July 2011, Sherman wrote a cover story about Ailes for New York magazine, in which a Republican source close to the Fox News chief said that Ailes thought Palin was "an idiot" and "stupid." Later, Fox News and Ailes heavily disputed that report.

In October 2011, Ailes was quoted as saying that he hired Palin to be a Fox News contributor because "she was hot and got ratings." The following month when Palin announced that she was not going to enter the 2012 Republican primary race, Ailes was reportedly outraged that she did not make the announcement on Fox News. Instead, Palin went on Mark Levin's conservative talk-radio show.

This post has been updated with more information about Ailes' comments.