Sean Hannity ought to ditch his Long Island estate, luxury Florida penthouse, and private jet and live on $15,000 for three months in Washington, D.C. before he insists it’s no problem for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to do so.
On Monday, Sean Hannity extended to his radio show the Fox News mockery of Congresswoman-elect Ocasio-Cortez for suggesting it would be tough for her to live in Washington, D.C. for three months before she starts earning her Congressional salary in January. It’s important to note that Ocasio-Cortez did not say she couldn’t manage. This is what she told The New York Times:
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said the transition period will be “very unusual, because I can’t really take a salary. I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real.” She said she saved money before leaving her job at the restaurant, and planned accordingly with her partner. “We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January.”
For some reason, a member of Congress worrying about how to make ends meet is terrifying to Fox News. A panel on America’s Newsroom laughed at her comments – to which she had a great comeback:
1. @FoxNews, why can’t any of your anchors say my name correctly? It’s been 5 months.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 9, 2018
2. It is bizarre to see 1%-salaried anchors laugh at the US housing crisis.
3. Never purchased pricey clothes + always told my story. But repeating lies until they are believed is your thing. https://t.co/Py5aXFi3Z4
Hannity, who reportedly earned $36 million last year, couldn’t resist setting Ocasio-Cortez straight about living off modest savings. During his November 13, 2018 radio show, while on a tear against Nancy Pelosi, Hannity digressed to take a swipe at Ocasio-Cortez. First, he crowed about Ocasio-Cortez joining a climate change protest outside Pelosi’s office (which was not really the “Democrats in disarray” Hannity made it out to be) and claimed “Democrats have no agenda” and only ran on “impeach Trump, investigate Trump.” (FACT CHECK: Democrats mostly ran on health care).
Then Hannity laughed as he mocked Ocasio-Cortez:
SEAN HANNITY (HOST): by the way Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez actually said she can’t afford an apartment in D.C. There’s one little itsy bitsy problem, she actually can. She apparently has $15,000 in the bank. Oh and she—oh she spent her Friday night making macaroni and cheese and flirting with the idea of running for president in the future during some live Instagram Q&A session that she did, which I thought was pretty entertaining also.
Given that Hannity’s sideline is a property empire making money off strapped homeowners and renters, he should know better than anyone that $15,000 is a skimpy amount to both live on and find an apartment in Washington, D.C. The median rent in D.C. is $2,700. Presumably, Ocasio-Cortez will also have to furnish it, put down some kind of deposit and pay utilities.
Again, Ocasio-Cortez did not say she could not afford an apartment, she was pointing out that it was an issue for her given that she doesn’t have a huge budget. In fact, she told supporters to send money to charities helping families struggling with housing in her district rather than to a GoFundMe page for her.
Let’s hope Hannity hears about that, either in his Long Island estate, his luxury penthouse in Naples, Florida, or on his private jet. Not because he will likely apologize for being a pompous boor but because Ocasio-Cortez’ fierce dedication and sincerity will probably scare him all the more.
Listen to multimillionaire Hannity lecture Ocasio-Cortez about her budget below, from the November 13, 2018 The Sean Hannity Show, via Media Matters.
(Hannity image via screen grab)
