Sean Hannity, the biggest Trump insider at Fox News, says MSNBC and CNN are 'state-run TV'


Most people think of "state-run TV" as propagandist television networks that are run by the government to boost the country's leader and tell his (or her, but usually his) side of any news event. Fox News star Sean Hannity appears to have a different definition.
Hannity is one of President Trump's most loyal and influential television boosters, along with Fox News host Jeannine Pirro and Fox Business host Lou Dobbs. They are all apparently in regular contact with Trump himself, and Trump makes it known publicly that he watches their shows and other programs on two Fox networks. Hannity has even appeared alongside Trump at his political rallies, and Trump reportedly takes political and policy cues from his Fox friends.
In this case, Hannity was complaining that "Fake News CNN" and "conspiracy TV" MSNBC are "both state-run TV" because they interviewed two kind of shady antagonists of the president — Michael Avenatti, a lawyer who represented a porn actress Trump paid off, and Lev Parnas, dug for dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine with, he says, Trump's full knowledge and approval.
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.
Hannity's next guest, his screen said, was Reince Priebus, Trump's first chief of staff and former head of the Republican National Committee.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Rupert Murdoch's conservative son wins succession battle
Speed Read Lachlan Murdoch will get control over the media empire that includes Fox News and The Wall Street Journal following his father's death, while his siblings will receive payouts
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits