When Megyn Kelly accused unnamed TV hosts of rigging interviews with Donald Trump so as to look like they were asking tough questions, I thought of Bill O’Reilly. But Sean Hannity protested so much, I have to think she hit a nerve.
In Kelly’s interview with Howard Kurtz yesterday, she acknowledged that the information she withheld until her book came out, after the election, that she had been threatened by Trump several days before their now-famous debate confrontation was “the biggest story in the country.”
Then there was this:
KURTZ: Certain TV hosts were in the tank for Donald Trump, you say, and to the point where, you say, that they would arrange with Trump in advance to ask him certain critical questions or do certain hits on him so they would appear to have some credibility. So are you suggesting they were playacting?
KELLY: Yes. It was acting.
Kelly went on to claim that this happened at more than one network. She would not reveal anything more than that because, she said, she found out via “off-the-record conversations that I was privy to, that I’m not at liberty to reveal.” But she said it had been “confirmed to me by more than one television executive.”
Anybody want to bet that the networks she referred to were Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network?
My first guess about whom Kelly was referring to was Bill O’Reilly. Because, frankly, Hannity is such a blatant sycophant, I don't think he ever bothered to hide it. O’Reilly, on the other hand, did ask Trump some tough questions. More significantly to me, Trump once signaled that he had gotten a question in advance of an O’Reilly interview.
But Hannity’s unhinged response makes me reconsider (h/t Mediaite):
No idea who @megynkelly is talking about. When I asked ?'s about Justices, The wall, Refugees, Obamacare, economy etc I wanted real answers! https://t.co/AZxax2rpur
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 20, 2016
I never asked a question from a TelePrompTer in my life. I cannot speak for others. https://t.co/OSs0sO9tDS
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 20, 2016
I would love to know who was "Acting". https://t.co/AZxax2rpur
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 20, 2016
Curious who she was referring to. I am transparent, I want to defeat Isis, protect the homeland and get people out of poverty and working! https://t.co/tranPp7y2k
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 20, 2016
You may recall that Hannity and Kelly had a previous dustup over Trump. The two subsequently made a big (suspicious) show of being #friends.
They may have to send out a new round of #friendship tweets.
Watch Kelly talk about Fox hosts playacting below, from the November 20, 2016 MediaBuzz.
When Kelly asked someone in Congress about this, she didn’t ask about whether it was appropriate for Chaffetz to keep beating a broken drum like this or whether the Right has played on their base’s hatred of this family. No, she instead began shouting at a GOP congressman and played tape of him essentially promising his supporters that a Trump presidency would mean a prosecution. I think he got her point – if they back off the Clintons, Fox News will make them pay dearly for it.
It’s true that Kelly is positioning herself as a political gadfly to the Trump White House. But nobody should be fooled into thinking that she’s doing this on behalf of anyone but the Far Right. Which is truly staggering to behold. Here we have what will be the meanest, angriest most Far Right presidency potentially in our history – and Megan Kelly is arguing to push them even farther to the right. I didn’t think it was even possible to do that.
Grandpa Hannocchio thought Kelly was targeting him. This paranoid old hawk’s skin is thin as membranes. Now both Billy and Hannocchio are mad at Kelly.
These cafeteria Catholic frauds like to run to the suits and cry on their shoulders because Kelly is mean to them. Both of them are insecure, weak old men.
Hannity on the other hand was never shy about his love for all of the GOP candidates and his hatred for the Dems. Had the nominee been Pataki, Hannity would have been in his corner all the way. Since Trump prevailed, Hannity made himself a champion for that campaign – I don’t think anyone, even on the Right, is able to dispute that. It’s right out in the open.
So it’s odd to see Hannity acting this defensive. Kelly’s comment wasn’t about him. I can only imagine that he realizes how obvious his behavior has been and he’s trying to defensively project his issues into Kelly’s statements.
It looks to me like Kelly is trying to position herself at Fox News as the “Sam Donaldson” of the Trump years, where she’ll regularly ask the unwanted question of the president’s surrogates. But we should remember that Kelly will almost always be doing this from the RIGHT, not from anywhere else.
It frankly continues to amaze me how angry the Right Wing is after watching Trump get away with this situation. One can only imagine how they would have behaved if Trump hadn’t squeaked through.
“Allright Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup”