Fox News had no idea what to make of Rudy Giuliani's bombshell interview

Rudy Giuliani.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Fox News hosts are having a little trouble processing Rudy Giuliani's latest revelation.

After Giuliani, President Trump's outside legal counsel, appeared on Hannity late Wednesday to contradict previous White House statements regarding attorney Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels, other hosts and correspondents voiced a wide array of reactions.

Giuliani revealed that Trump reimbursed Cohen for his hush money payment to Daniels, which didn't sit well with some hosts who have been defending the president's claims of ignorance for months. Giuliani revealed that Trump "funneled" money to Cohen through retainer fees, and that he "knew the general arrangement." Trump has previously said that he knew nothing about the payment, which was arranged to keep Daniels quiet about an alleged affair.

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Media Matters notes that Fox News hosts, stunned by the sudden bombshell, struggled to offer cohesive analysis. When Giuliani first announced that Trump had repaid Cohen, host Sean Hannity simply said, "Oh, I didn't know that he did." Later, host Laura Ingraham of the Ingraham Angle was aghast that Giuliani had trampled all over Trump's previous claims. "I love Rudy, but they better have an explanation for that," said Ingraham. "That's a problem."

On Thursday morning, Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo was unfazed. "CNN was reporting this as such a bombshell," she said. "I mean, I sort of knew that the president knew it and paid it back. I assumed." Back on Fox News, the Fox & Friends hosts downplayed the significance of the entire case, asserting that "no one cares about Stormy Daniels," while voicing concern that "the story's changing."

Watch the various reactions below, via Media Matters. Summer Meza

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.