On Tuesday night’s episode of Hannity, host Sean Hannity welcomed Duck Dynasty star and renowned homophobe Phil Robertson on the set to discuss the recent developments in the Middle East surrounding the radical Islamist group ISIS. Hannity treated Robertson as if he is a legitimate religious and/or foreign policy expert whose opinions about issues regarding extremism in other areas of the world should be taken seriously. Let me frame that another way. A mainstream news network allowed the host of a prime-time show to bring on a person who is famous for having a long beard and making duck calls to have a serious discussion about the rise of a dangerous terrorist group halfway around the world and the political, sociological and military ramifications surrounding the situation.
As one would guess, the interview was an unmitigated disaster. It was nothing more than a propagandist segment full of biblical readings, with the born-again Robertson, who has absolutely no credentials to speak about Middle East politics or religion, being treated as a well-rounded authority whose perspective should be sought. In one eight-minute long segment, Fox News somehow found the bottom that many thought it had reached many, many, many times before.
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Below is video of the interview, courtesy of Fox News:
Now, the worst part of the interview, and the one that will get the most coverage, is where Robertson said that we either need to convert all Muslims to Christianity or kill them. While one could argue that he meant only radical Islamists, such as the ones in ISIS who recently beheaded another American journalist, it was apparent through the discussion that he was really lumping all Muslims in the Middle East together. He spoke about how they are all killing each other in countries like Egypt and Iraq even though we (Americans) aren’t there. His worldview is that all non-Christians need to find Jesus Christ or eventually be killed. He used a quote from his trusty Bible (he uses the Declaration of Independence as a bookmark) to justify death to non-believers.
Hannity attempted to give Robertson a chance to back away from his ‘convert or kill’ credo, but Robertson stood firm. He claimed that he would love to “have a Bible study with all of them and show them the error of their ways and point them to Jesus Christ,” but that he’d be willing to personally have a gunfight with them if it came to that. Sure, Phil. You’ll be right there on the front line with Hannity ready to die for the cause. You always have to love this type of faux-tough chickenhawk blathering from the wingnut crowd.
The interview concluded with Hannity pimping Robertson’s latest book. Hannity and Robertson used the book as a way to talk about how Christians in America are totally being victimized and treated as second-class citizens. All in all, a huge plate of malarkey served up for the Fox News audience to gobble up.
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
