In this article, we will be comparing Sean Hannity’s private texts and public remarks on Fox News before January 6. We’ll explore how his opinion of Donald Trump changed over the course of the election, what he said about Hillary Clinton, and other interesting information.
As of January 6, 2009, Fox News host Sean Hannity had been a strong supporter of Donald Trump for President. His enthusiastic support continued during the campaign and after Trump’s election. Then suddenly on Jan. 9 Hannity announced that he wouldn’t vote for Trump , saying “I’m not a Trumper . I was never a ‘Trumper .'” He said he had many issues with Trump and that “for me, the issue right now isn’t a ‘Never Trump’ or a ‘Trump Train,’ because at this point it’s a runaway Trump Train.”
Hannity privately on 1/5: "I'm very worried about the next 48 hours"
Hannity on Fox on 1/5: "Big day tomorrow, big crowds" and "this all kicks off in the morning tomorrow" https://t.co/3LpFJiMa8h pic.twitter.com/EChXpcZ6HW
— Madeline Peltz (@peltzmadeline) January 4, 2022
Hannity’s flip-flop got renewed attention when The Hill reported on January 19 that Hannity shared sensitive political information with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair . The information was reportedly related to a fierce debate within the Obama administration on how to handle Iran and included a claim that US intelligence officials had “tens of thousands of emails” showing that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had mishandled classified information through her use of a private email server.
In late December 2016, Hannity had begun saying he would be voting for Trump even though he thought that “Trump’s too polarizing to bring the country together” and that “it was going to be a tough election.”
We compared Hannity’s public statements with private text messages, which were among those leaked by Project Veritas through its hidden camera interviews with Hannity producer Aaron Bracey and John Elder, the associate producer for the Laura Ingraham Show. The private texts appear to have been captured in November 2016, several months after Trump’s election.
Hannity’s private texts show that he was still a “never Trumper” during his pre-inauguration public support of Trump: – “I’ll say I’m a never Trumper but it’s so damn obvious they are going to steal this election.” (November 13, 2016) – “Trump can’t win. 🙁 Hillary will destroy Trump .” (November 13, 2016) – “He won’t. The establishment will cheat him in the end.” (November 14, 2016)