It’s not enough that Sean Hannity has turned his show into a non-stop Donald Trump infomercial. Now, he’s suggesting that any journalist who isn’t a Trump sycophant like himself is no journalist at all.
Last night, Hannity said at the opening of his show:
HANNITY: And tonight, President-elect Donald Trump beats down the abusively biased alt radical left mainstream media. Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway will join us in a few minutes.
But first, the president-elect is now fighting back against the press that openly colluded with the Clinton campaign and that tried to undermine his candidacy every single step of the way.
This, from the guy who flew colleague Newt Gingrich to meet with Trump in order to push Gingrich as a VP pick; from the network that leaked information about a debate question to Trump before the first Republican candidates’ debate; from the network whose CEO was advising Trump as early as June, 2015.
Hannity went on to suggest that CNN is not worthy to cover Hannity’s beloved Trump because contributor Van Jones “viciously attacked Donald Trump on a consistent basis.”
This would be funny were it not so despicable. Jones is a contributor because he’s paid to give his opinion. So is Hannity but he does it for a full hour, five nights a week. It’s hard to think of anyone who spends more time viciously attacking anyone he disagrees with politically. How much time did Hannity devote to meritless smears about Hillary Clinton's health? Hannity also helped promote his beloved Trump’s bogus birtherism. And how about Hannity’s campaign to promote criminal Cliven Bundy’s armed insurrection against the U.S.? I could go on and on about Hannity’s viciousness but I think you get the idea.
Nevertheless, this blight on the news profession had the nerve to hold himself up as some kind of standard bearer for journalism:
HANNITY: The media already had its chance to cover Donald Trump fairly and honestly. They blew it. And in my opinion, it’s time to reevaluate the press in this country, and maybe it’s time to change the traditional relationship that the press will have with the White House.
In this day and age of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, does Trump really need to be granting access to biased journalists that openly oppose him?
Look at the video the president-elect released yesterday. It was detailing actions that he will take on key issues during his first 100 days in office. Now, Trump can do this and speak directly to you, the America people, without having his words twisted and taken out of context. Why not do that?
Until members of the media come clean about colluding with the Clinton campaign and admit that they knowingly broke every ethical standard that they’re supposed to stand and uphold, they should not have the privilege, they should not have the responsibility of covering the president on behalf of you, the American people.
So who is supposed to have the responsibility of covering the president? Only brown-nosers like Hannity?
Hannity’s colleague Juan Williams explained in an op-ed why a press pool is an important part of American democracy, not a self-serving privilege of access.
But Hannity didn't even consider that. To him, it's democracy shmemocracy. All he seems to care about is political power.
Sean Hannity: not just a disgrace to cable news but a disgrace to America, too.
Watch Hannity’s anti-Americanism below, from the November 22, 2016 Hannity show.
First of all, his disdain and lack of respect for freedom of the press is telling. He clearly has no real understanding of why we have a press pool to cover the Presidency. It looks like Trump has the same attitude so I don’t foresee this press situation getting better anytime soon.
And, secondly, the MSM is “alt radical left”?! WTF?
I’ve been reading about Hannity’s freak-outs over the term “alt right” being used to describe some of Trump’s supporters (the largely white supremacist contingency with “alt right” being a term they have chosen to use themselves). He’s been in a twitter fight with Buzzfeed’s Rosie Gray over it (and I read that she was going to be on his show after she challenged him to invite her on). Hannity has been whining about how there’s been too much media coverage of Trump’s “alt right” supporters and not enough coverage of the “alt radical left”.
Television discussions about media coverage have become of huge importance for the talking heads in light of Trump’s win. Okay, I have no problem with that as most everyone seems to think that the media has failed the folks during this election season in one way or another.
However, Hannity is trying to pull a fast one here. There’s an important reason why the media was covering the “alt right” insurgence of Trump supporters (and Trump’s weak, prodded denial of them). Hannity is desperately trying to make the “alt right” out to be something that Americans should not be concern about. He castigates the media for bringing them to the fore (while ignoring the fact that Trump used dog whistle language to encourage them and put Bannon in his campaign and now his administration). Hannity is looking to downplay the unAmerican, discriminatory bigotry of the “alt right” and attempting to play the false equivalency game.
But that’s not enough for Hannity. As per his typical heavy-handed style, he isn’t satisfied to just use the term “alt left” – he decided to throw in the word “radical” too so that his viewers think that the “alt left” is far worse and more scary than the “alt right”. It’s not just the “alt right” vs. the “alt left”. Nah, in Hannity’s bogus reality, the “alt right” is made up of Americans who want to make their country great again vs. the “alt radical left” who want to destroy the country that the folks love. Geez.
“I will listen to Klannity when he undergoes that waterboarding for charity.”
WATCH OUT ARTHUR! There are FLYING PIGS in your vicinity!
[sarcasm]
;^)
This Long Island hustler has a long history of throwing people under the bus-think Clive Bundy, Bushes. He will turn against Trumpster, if all the masses-including Trumpster’s fan club, does the same.
The difference is that one would think Hannity is old enough to know better than to say things like this. But he clearly isn’t. And he’s clearly one of the more visible angry bullies we’re going to have to deal with over the next 4-8 years. As we’ve noted before, you’d think that these guys would be delighted to see Trump get away with this, and that they’d be doing cartwheels down the sidewalk. And we are seeing plenty of glee out of them, and plenty of gloating. But it’s coming from a place of such anger and such obvious hatred that it’s very difficult to watch unfold. Hannity clearly doesn’t just want to celebrate his guy making it to the White House. He wants to rub everyone’s noses in this disaster for as long as he can – a trademark bullying activity that we’re seeing become more and more commonplace on the Right. O’Reilly, Limbaugh, Hannity, Kelly, Carlson, Bolling and plenty of others are all doing it. They’re openly shouting down anyone who dares to say anything even meekly of protest, and if they have any issues with the incoming mess, it’s that they don’t think that it’s Right Wing enough.
I really do think 2017 is lining up to be the Year of the Bully.
I will listen to Klannity when he undergoes that waterboarding for charity.