Former President Donald Trump generated backlash late last month as Russian President Vladimir Putin was amassing troops at the Ukrainian border ahead of his invasion.
Trump praised Putin's strategy—declaring two pro-Russia separatist regions of Ukraine as sovereign and sending troops there—as "genius." Later, to a crowd at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said Putin was "smart" for taking over a country "for two dollars' worth of sanctions."
Even within the Republican Party, Trump's comments were controversial. Right-wing Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump's most vocal allies in the Senate, pushed back, with Graham saying he believes he knew what Trump was trying to say, but that "Putin's not a genius, he's a war criminal." House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also disputed Trump's comments.
Enter far-right Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Hannity's relationship to the former President has come under heavy scrutiny throughout the last four years, generating concerns about how his allegiance to Trump affects his coverage. Hannity generated controversy when he spoke at a Trump rally in 2018, despite technically being considered a journalist.
More recently, investigators with the House Select Committee investigating the pro-Trump insurrection at the Capitol last year uncovered texts Hannity sent to Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, urging Meadows to convince then-President Trump to call off the rioters.
On Thursday night, Trump called into Hannity's show for an interview, where Hannity once again sought to do Trump's damage control by eliciting a condemnation of Putin from him.
It didn't exactly go well.
This is getting weird. Hannity is coaching Trump throughout this interview and trying really hard to get Trump to say Putin is an enemy and evil pic.twitter.com/XHTzvS2emX
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 11, 2022
Hannity said:
"When you got criticized for saying Vladimir Putin is smart. We've had many conversations, and you've often quoted to me Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' Is that how you viewed Vladimir? Did you view Vladimir Putin and people like President Xi and Kim Jong Un and the Iranian mullahs as enemies that you needed to keep close?"
Trump wasn't taking the bait:
"I got along with these people. I got along with them well. That doesn't mean they're good people, it doesn't mean anything other than the fact that I understood them and perhaps they understood me. Maybe they understood me even better. That's okay, because they knew there'd be a big penalty. ... I got along with Putin, I got along with Xi."
Hannity tried again:
"I want to understand your thinking though, and the thinking is 'We got along,' but you knew they were looking out for their interests and you understood that they were capable of evil things."
Saying he agreed with Hannity "100 percent," Trump responded:
"Putin is for Russia and you see what happened. And that's all because they didn't respect our leader."
The response on social media was swift.
Given every opportunity, Trump fails again and again to criticize Putin. A man who just bombed a children's hospital and maternity ward.
All he can say is, "I got along with these people. I got along with them well! I got along with Putin." https://t.co/VRYDzu5YJ7
— Jennifer Hayden (@Scout_Finch) March 11, 2022
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. https://t.co/rCUPPLaWts
— Րυɱ૦Ր Һคς ɿ੮ 🏴 (@BrandiLynn4Ever) March 11, 2022
Hannity is trying so hard to get Trump to say Putin is the bad guy, but Trump just wants to talk about how well he gets along with him. Trump isn't missing the memo that Putin is evil, Hannity is missing the memo that Trump loves Putin. pic.twitter.com/R4HRZdF4Ff
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 11, 2022
No matter how much Hannity tries to lead him down the right path, Trump insists on owning himself. He can’t help it. pic.twitter.com/Owem7EtEn1
— Koosemar (@koosemar) March 11, 2022
Not weird, just another treasonous MF trying to help out a fellow treasonous MF. https://t.co/1CIiFCMyaf
— 🏹Artemis888🌐 Stop Putin & Fascist GOP🇺🇦🌻🇺🇸 (@Artemis888Infin) March 11, 2022
It’s pretty obvious, after years of “coaching” that he’s not going to speak poorly of Putin. https://t.co/S0VWrhBPut
— raomin (@tweetdonkey) March 11, 2022
Some accused Hannity and Fox News of working overtime for years to prop up the former President.
he always coached trump https://t.co/cQ8TvO65nB
— Ellen Enders (@EllenEnders) March 11, 2022
Watching Fox prop this corrupt evil idiot up in real time is wild https://t.co/XE09ogdEe2
— Grudgie the Whale (@grudging1) March 11, 2022
Well hell, that’s nothing new. @seanhannity was really the president and throughout the past 5 years, @DonaldJTrumpJr’s daddy has proved his love for #VladimirPutin, #KimJonUn etc. #TrumpIsARussianAsset 😡🤬 https://t.co/e4bw4N4kAk
— Mark Tween (@MarkTween11) March 11, 2022
Awkward.
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