Things were a bit awkward on Fox News Tuesday. The day before, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot made public some frantic texts numerous network hosts had sent then-chief of staff Mark Meadows. In them, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Brian Kilmeade sounded a lot more concerned about what was happening than they would later. What’s more, they were sure then-president Donald Trump could stop them. But when Hannity was confronted about them by one of his frequent guests, it didn’t go well.
Geraldo to Sean Hannity: “I beg you, Sean, to remember the frame of mind you weren’t when you wrote that text on January 6. And when Laura did. And when Brian did. And when Don Jr. did!”
Dan Bongino reacts by blasting Geraldo for “backstabbing” Trump. pic.twitter.com/YSPYfBwAf4
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 15, 2021
That guest was Geraldo Rivera, the longtime Trump pal who had a change of heart after he tried to overturn a free and fair election. Since then, he’s been the voice of reason on shows usually stacked with dittoheads, like Dan Bongino or Charlie Kirk. Earlier on his show, Hannity had tried to spin the texts as no big deal, claiming that what he said in those texts was the “exact same thing” he’d said “that night on Jan. 6 and well beyond Jan. 6.” (Note: Hannity has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the day’s events.)
The day after the texts were revealed, Hannity suddenly remembered how awful the Capitol siege was. But Rivera went a step further.” This was a riot that was unleashed, incited, and inspired by the president of the United States, which targeted the heart of American democracy,” Rivera said.
He was, of course, shouted down, with Hannity claiming Trump had spoken “peacefully” before a portion of the crowd violently invaded the Capitol building. So Rivera pleaded with him for some sanity.
“I beg you, Sean, to remember the frame of mind you were in when you wrote that text on January 6,” Rivera charged. And when Laura did. And when Brian did. And when Don Jr. did! Remember that concern you had. Remember the frustration you had at our beloved 45th president.”
He was again shouted down, and eventually fellow guest Dan Bongino lat him have it, too. “The backstabbing of the president you’re engaging in is really disgusting!” he told him.
Hannity took a far more different tone when he fired off that now notorious text. “Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol,” he wrote. Ingraham was much more flustered in her message, writing, “This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy.”
(Via Raw Story)