Rep. Keith Ellison completely turned the tables on Sean Hannity. Instead of letting Hannity talk through and roll over him, Ellison destroyed Hannity with his own tactics.
Video via Fox News:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Rep. Ellison has been on Hannity’s show before. He knew what was coming, and he didn’t let Hannity follow the standard Fox News script. Hannity set up the interview with all of standard edited video clips of Obama and Republican talking points, but things didn’t go as expected from the moment Rep. Ellison started to speak. Within the first 12 seconds of the interview Ellison calls Hannity the worst excuse for a journalist he’s ever seen. Hannity replied, “What? I didn’t hear you.” Ellison shot back, “You heard me.” Ellison continued, “What you just displayed wasn’t anything close to journalism. It was yellow journalism. It wasn’t anything close to try to tell the American people what is really going on, and it’s just shocking.”
Hannity tried to defend his edited video/GOP talking points attack on the president by claiming he was, “playing Obama in his own words.” Ellison called Hannity’s hackery deceptive, and told the Fox News host that he had just violated every journalistic ethic that he had ever heard of. Hannity tried to hide behind the I am not a Republican, I am an Independent excuse. Ellison smacked that down by saying, “You are nothing, but a Republican.” Ellison called Hannity a “shill for the Republican Party.” Hannity told Rep. Ellison to keep ranting, so he did. He told the viewers to ignore all of Sean Hannity’s commentary because Obama is telling the truth.
The Minnesota Democrat literally destroyed Hannity’s entire format. Hannity got so desperate that he pulled a Romney and offered to bet Ellison $10,000 that he is a registered conservative. Hannity ended up begging for a chance to speak on his own show.
Rep. Ellison did everything that frustrated viewers having been wishing someone would come on Sean Hannity’s show and do. Things got so bad for Hannity that he employed the Fox News cut and run, and ended the interview early.
Keith Ellison’s performance on Hannity was a textbook example of how a Democrat should handle appearing on Fox News. The Fox News formula is to use segment introductions and questions that box the Democrat into the Republican narrative. Ellison understood this, took control of the interview from the moment it began, and never gave it back to Hannity.
Rep. Ellison rolled Sean Hannity on his own show.
In the broader context, Ellison’s performance is a reflection of the confidence that Democrats are feeling right now. They are at the height of their powers, and Fox News is just a speed bump.
Sean Hannity finally got called out, and it couldn’t have happened to more deserving poor excuse for a journalist.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
