Sean Hannity gave Eric Trump a friendly platform to lie his head off about how his “beloved’ father has been “really like a father figure to America.”
REALITY CHECK: Donald Trump was always the least popular man ever to inhabit the Oval Office and his approval rating plummeted at the end of his term. CNN’s Harry Enten noted that “That type of decline at the end of a presidency is historically large. Most presidents actually gain ground, and none have lost the type of ground Trump has.” In short, Trump finished his term with the lowest approval rating since scientific polling began, according to Enten.
But you would never know that watching the Hannity show last night. Although Sean Hannity never agreed with Eric Trump about his father’s popularity (Hannity painted Daddy Trump as the world’s biggest political victim), Hannity never corrected the obvious lies, either.
The two complained about the horrors of the Biden administration, despite the fact (not mentioned, of course) that Joe Biden is already more popular than Donald Trump ever was. Eric claimed that Biden has “already cost thousands and thousands of jobs” and that rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change means “we're going to start paying for all the environmental problems” of China and India.
Then the guy who predicted that after Election Day, when Democrats would no longer be able to “milk” the coronavirus, it would “magically all of a sudden go away,” now predicted a resurgence of popularity for Daddy. “I think people are going to miss Donald Trump really quickly. I think they're going to miss him really, really quickly.”
After a long spiel of victimhood, Eric Trump said, “Even when he's a private citizen, they're still trying to impeach him. I mean, that's how kind of deep this whole thing goes.”
FACT CHECK: Trump was already impeached, while he was still in office.
I’m tempted to say that’s how deep Eric Trump’s ignorance and/or dishonesty goes but there’s more.
ERIC TRUMP: And it's -- they want to tar and feather the man. They know he did a great job for this nation. They know that there's never been a more beloved political figure in our country's history. There are 75 million Americans who would follow him to the end of earth.
I mean, they love the man. They love what he stands for. They love that he was a fighter. That he carried that fight largely alone. Oftentimes, he had to fight for the entire Republican Party, right, because they weren't doing a whole lot. …
And then you look at Biden by contrast. … His heart is not in the right place.
Later, Hannity asked what passes for a hard-hitting question on this show. “If your dad decided to run in 2024, your -- he comes to you and he asks you your thoughts, what would you say to him?”
You will probably not be shocked to learn that Eric Trump would encourage him. But it’s worth noting that Eric Trump gave no indication that either Daddy Trump plans to run or that Eric actually wants him to.
TRUMP: I'd say, well, what my father did is something that no political figure has ever done in American history. And he changed this country and he changed it for the better. And he taught people how to fight and he gave Americans the greatest civics lesson and it's exactly, frankly, what this country needed.
He's really a father to America and I'm incredibly proud of him, and I would be right by his side again. As painful as it was, Sean, and you know how painful it was, as painful as it was, I would be right by his side encouraging him, because he's a -- he's an amazing guy and I have never been more proud of him. I've just never been more proud of him.
You can watch Hannity promote Eric Trump’s distorted view of reality below, from the February 3, 2021 Hannity.