
Fox News host Sean Hannity slammed The New York Times as “fake news” on Saturday after the newspaper published a report saying he advises President Trump.
The report claims that Hannity, who is a prominent defender of Trump on his show, also privately counsels the president. The Times reported that Hannity often encourages Trump to focus on repealing the Affordable Care Act and other campaign promises.
After the report was published, Hannity unleashed several tweets at the Times, claiming they “colluded with [Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonMillennials and the great reckoning on race Biden chooses Amanda Gorman as youngest known inaugural poet Can Biden encompass the opposition he embodied? MORE] in 2016” and calling them “total fake news.”
@nytimes You colluded with HRC in 2016. It's none of your business who i do or do not talk too. Total fake news speculation about me/@POTUS
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 22, 2017
@nytimes Any conversation I have with ANYONE is supposed to be PRIVATE. I have NEVER talked to you. Was I surveilled and unmasked by u/NSA?
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 22, 2017
Reporter Maggie Haberman, one of the authors of the piece, responded to Hannity, saying she didn’t understand his reaction.
W all due respect, we were interested in who POTUS talks to, not you, and several ppl close to him cited you https://t.co/sb9y4nDJYt
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 22, 2017
Also reached out to Fox News pr, who took no issue w it. And it was hardly critical of you. Not sure why the reax https://t.co/sb9y4nDJYt
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 22, 2017
Hannity then said the Times has “no clue” who he talks to and said he “doubts Trump talks to [you] either.”
The @nytimes has no clue who I talk to as I refuse to EVER TALK TO THEM! @POTUS knows you are FAKE NEWS and I doubt he talks to u either.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 22, 2017
Times reporter Glenn Thrush also responded to Hannity’s tweets:
I was once sitting with a Republican elected official preparing for an interview when he got an email from u giving him political advice https://t.co/lhn4UFQn7I
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) April 22, 2017
Trump gave Haberman and Thrush an exclusive interview earlier this month in the Oval Office.