Most conservatives view Sean Hannity as a steadfast warrior for conservative ideology. He is an unapologetic and ardent supporter of President Trump. Maybe that’s the reason Hannity seemed to flip out on many of his most dedicated viewers.
Pennsylvania Republicans just voted in a hotly contested primary. Three pro-Trump policy candidates were running neck-in-neck right up until primary Tuesday. About a month before the all-important primary, President Trump laid out his support for Dr. Mehmet Oz.
The nod from the still popular former president seemed to nudge Oz ahead of his two opponents. David McCormick and Oz regularly exchanged verbal blows ahead of the election. They were deemed to be virtually tied. But a third candidate began to rise rapidly.
Kathy Barnette started to close the gap in the race for the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat. Many staunch supporters of President Trump, him included, do not believe Barnette could win in November.
There have also been many questions about some of Barnette’s more radical comments. So, for Hannity to take a shot at Barnette, clearly in support of President Trump, wasn’t all that strange. But how he went about it was. This issue was Barnette’s involvement in the January 6 march.
She has used her marching at the Capitol as proof of her support for President Trump. But Hannity turned it back against her. Hannity talked about how she was surrounded by members of the “Proud Boys”. Hannity showed a video of Barnette walking beside them on January 6.
He then discredited the Proud Boys with some rather unflattering comments. While showing the video, Hannity exclaimed, “Look at your screen. Here is Barnette walking alongside, this just broke today, radical Proud Boys during January 6th.”
Fox News is not your friend. pic.twitter.com/CUDebQ53BV
— Eric Matheny 🎙 (@EricMMatheny) May 17, 2022
Hannity’s comments immediately went viral. Some called his comments an attack on President Trump supporters. But was it really? Others insist that FOX News is no longer the friend of true conservatives.
Viewers expressed their disappointment in what seemed like a hit piece on Trump’s supporters. But is that an overreach? Honestly, it appears that Hannity made a bad decision while trying to show support for President Trump’s endorsement.
He should have exercised better judgment. It is not a good look to denounce Trump supporters while anchoring a wildly popular conservative opinion show. We’ll have to assume this was a misguided blunder, certainly expecting a “proud apology”.