Fox News' Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity are glad Trump has been 'vindicated.' But they're still really angry.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Fox News' biggest stars are going on the offensive.
Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson took to the airwaves on Monday evening, just a day after Attorney General William Barr briefed Congress on the principal conclusions drawn from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's conduct surrounding Russian election interference in 2016. But they were not in a celebratory mood, despite the fact that they both said Barr's summary vindicates Trump — and them.
Instead, both hosts used the opportunity to lay into other networks, particularly CNN and MSNBC for peddling what they believe were lies — told deliberately to mislead audiences about the Mueller investigation, all in the name of conspiracy to increase viewership and profit. Hannity singled out a few publications like The Atlantic and The Huffington Post for writing headlines like "The Collusion with Russia Is in Plain Sight" and "Manafort indictment reveals Trump Russia Collusion," respectively. He expressed particular dismay that The New York Times and The Washington Post won Pulitzer Prizes for their reporting on the investigation.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I am pissed off and so should the rest of the country be over what has happened," Hannity said. "We were lied to over and over again." Hannity, who has been an ardent Trump supporter throughout the process, also said that he is going to "hold every liar, every propagandist, every conspiracy theorist accountable."
Carlson expressed similar sentiments of anger toward the media. But he had a secret weapon — a leftist. The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald appeared as a guest on Carlson's show. Greenwald is, to put it gently, not of the same political persuasion as Carlson. But he is also known for being at odds with Democrats and a large swath of the media and over its coverage of the Mueller investigation, and he had some choice words for MSNBC and Rachel Maddow in particular. Tim O'Donnell
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
Microdramas are boomingUnder the radar Scroll to watch a whole movie
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
