CNN Mocks ‘Vice President Sean Hannity’ and His Hold on the GOP

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:32 pm

CNN’s New Day this morning took some well-deserved shots at President Donald Trump’s documented friendship with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

POLITICO writers Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer were on the show discussing their new book, Hill to Die On, with co-anchors Alisyn Camerota and Jake Berman. The book describes the pitched battle that has taken place on Capitol Hill in Washington during the first two years of Trump’s presidency.

“Authors of a new book on Trump’s relationship with Congress detail the extent of Sean Hannity’s involvement in policy.”

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“During the shutdown Jim Jordan was in almost constant contact with Sean Hannity… It shows Sean Hannity’s hold on members of Congress and on the President.”

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The book also makes clear that there is no love lost between the two parties, and there are some massive differences in how they operate.

‘Vice President Sean Hannity’

“Let’s first talk about the vice president, Sean Hannity,” Camerota said with tongue in cheek, to start off the discussion. “It is fascinating, in your book, how often he’s involved in policy conference calls.”

Palmer agreed that this was true, and somewhat shocking, saying:

“Yeah, that was one of the stunning things throughout the book that we detailed is him being on conference calls with Republicans, with the president around health care. We still have members of Congress leaving private meetings where they are deciding what they are going to do on major issues and the first call is Sean Hannity.”

“That they make or he calls them?” Camerota asked.

And Sherman replied:

“Both ways. During the shutdown, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was in almost constant contact with Hannity. This isn’t a criticism of them. It shows Sean Hannity’s hold on members of Congress and on the president.”

Sean Hannity’s Influence in Washington Is Not a Joke

New Day co-anchor Berman then jokingly asked if the Senate had confirmed Sean Hannity, since he apparently is one of the Trump administration’s most senior officials.

Everyone laughed, but it is really no joke. For an extreme right-wing TV host to be the main policy adviser for Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress is a scary thought. The American people must be informed so next year they can make their preferences known through the ballot box.

When they do that, Trump and the GOP will learn that Sean Hannity’s views are far outside the mainstream. His views are not popular, except among the right-wing fringe voters who comprise much of Trump’s political base.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.