Fox News was never particularly “conservative” other than what was put out by Tucker Carlson, and with its firing of him, the network has drifted even more toward the vies of the Establishment GOP and even left, and thus away from its MAGA audience.
Such was very clear in a recent spat between legacy Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, who hosts “Hannity,” and 2024 GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, who is largely picking up Trump’s MAGA mantle and fighting for the former president’s views on the debate stage and social media.
Ramaswamy is particularly skeptical, like Trump, of foreign intervention, which puts him in stark contrast with the neo-conservative, warmonger Establishment GOP and its lackeys. Such was clear when he made a remark about pro-war Nikki Haley profiteering off of the Hamas-Israel conflict, a comment that landed him in hot water with Establishment Sean Hannity.
That comment came when Ramaswamy spoke to Tucker Carlson in an interview posted to X and said, “It is wrong what happened to Israel, and I call that out as a human being and as somebody who’s on a belief of some people are on the right side and the wrong side of a conflict.”
He continued, “But the selective nature of ignoring certain other conflicts, while even more importantly ignoring the interests of the U.S. right here at home is what irritates the heck out of me.” He then said, “I don’t think she’s a child. I think that she is somebody that, like many politicians, is in a position to get wealthier from war.”
Hannity exploded over that comment, snapping, “What you’re doing here is — saying about Nikki Haley, is you’re saying that her concern for Israel is driven by financial and a corrupting influence. And your explanation that there’s disproportionate focus on rape, kidnapping and murder of the Jewish people in this attack and they’re – and your quote, ‘that there are frankly financial and corrupting influences that lead them exactly to speak the way they do.’”
Vivek blasted Hannity’s description of what he said as a “mischaracterization” and then, continuing, said, “Where I differ from other candidates in this field is that I also believe that this is Israel’s decision to make. The U.S. should stand with Israel, but we need to be very careful not to enter a broader regional war in the Middle East.”
Hannity, getting very agitated, demanded evidence, saying, “I want an exact explanation for your exact comments that are there ‘frankly financial and corrupting influences that lead them exactly to speak the way that they do.’ What are financial corrupting influences that Nikki Haley is taking a position on? We’ve got pictures of dead babies, decapitated, burned babies’ bodies. We’ve got the equivalent of what would be, population-wise, in the U.S., over 37,000 dead Americans. So, how much more evidence do you need? What are you talking about?!”
Ramaswamy, in response, said, “Well, the fact of the matter is, I think anybody who has been a military contractor, anybody who has made $8 million including on serving on the board of Boeing collecting stock options while running for U.S. president on corporate boards, has made money for military contracting through a family business is disqualified from being the U.S. president in a time of war. I think we cannot see our march to World War III in this country.”
For reference, Haley was on the Boeing board of directors and resigned from the position in 2020. She owns as much as a quarter of a million dollars in Boeing stock and Boeing, as a producer of the F-15, used by Israel and America, among other nations in the Middle East and wider world, is one of America’s largest defense contractors.
Watch them fight here:
“You deny your own words!” Sean Hannity rips into Vivek Ramaswamy for once again saying something, then denying later he said it. (Video: Fox News) pic.twitter.com/WWKksJdFH0
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) October 13, 2023
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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