Late last month, George Floyd—an unarmed Black man in Minnesota—died after former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd had been accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill.
President Donald Trump has routinely faced scrutiny from a body of Congress dominated by the opposing political party. Unlike most Presidents, he's responded to this traditional oversight by flouting Congressionally issued subpoenas and insulting his political enemies on Twitter.
Far-Right Fox News host Sean Hannity saw fit to compare murder by police to oversight by Congress and law enforcement bodies—an inclination he quickly tried to walk back.
Watch below.
Accusing "corrupt, high-ranking law enforcement officials" of being hell bent on overturning the 2016 election, Hannity said:
"Even the President himself—it's not the same thing that happened to George Floyd—but it's horrific. He was a victim of crooked cops. Now, again, not the same circumstances, I'm not making any comparison."
Toward the end of the show, Hannity played a clip of Attorney General William Barr criticizing the basis for FBI investigations.
Hannity used the moment to make the comparison again.
did it again at the end of the show. can't help himself pic.twitter.com/U6c0d6aOvD
— Brendan Karet 🚮 (@bad_takes) June 10, 2020
Hannity said:
"I said earlier—there's no comparison in the case—George Floyd didn't need to die, shouldn't have died, this can't happen at all. We saw the action of one cop and the inaction of three cops, Judge. But I for three years have also—again—one bad cop, look what happened. Look at what is the result."
Despite his numerous qualifications, people weren't here for Hannity's comparison.
Hannity said numerous times that he wasn't making a comparison between the murder of George Floyd and investigations of Trump, but—by definition—he was.
Definitions don't appear to be Hannity's strong suit.
@winnieharlow/Instagram
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
