Sean Hannity, once the most important mouthpiece for Donald Trump, seems to be increasingly on the MAGAworld outs. And a new revelation that Hannity doesn’t buy the Big Lie isn’t helping.
In a just-released deposition surrounding Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit, the Fox News star said he’d never believed—not “for one second”—baseless election fraud claims stemming from the 2020 election. That stance, directly at odds with many of his primetime segments and the beliefs of many of his closest allies, has put Hannity in an awkward position.
Among the MAGA all-stars currently upset with Hannity are MyPillow maven Mike Lindell, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, far-right radio host Stew Peters, and even reportedly Trump himself.
ADVERTISEMENT
But the person leading the criticism of Hannity happens to be an old friend: pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood.
In a lengthy phone interview with The Daily Beast, Wood said he’d first met Hannity in 1996 when Wood was representing Richard Jewell after the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Despite Hannity doing “all the talking” in the years that would follow Jewell being exonerated, Wood went on to consider Hannity a “friend” and had a “good relationship” with the Fox News primetime host.
Fast-forward decades later to the days following Trump’s 2020 election loss. According to Wood, on Nov. 6, 2020, he sent Hannity a text message of a clip of Wood speaking at the Republican National Committee headquarters. Along with the clip, Wood expressed frustration to Hannity that Fox News cut away from his comments.
In response, Hannity appears to have tried redirecting the conversation to something they both agreed on: election fraud.
“They stole it,” Hannity wrote, according to Wood’s screenshotted text messages. “And they will get away with it. And our country will be destroyed.”
Responding to Wood’s complaint that Fox News “cut off” his remarks, Hannity also made a rather peculiar admission. “I don’t watch Fox,” he said.
For his part, Wood said he’s “very disappointed” and “unhappy” with Hannity.
“This obviously contradicts it,” Wood said of Hannity’s recent testimony in the $1.6 billion Dominion lawsuit.
The personal injury lawyer-turned-election conspiracist has since posted a blown-up picture of Hannity’s face next to an image of his pitbull rescue dog named “Hero.” The lawyer claimed such a comparison was intended to leave his supporters able to “connect the dots.” In reality, Wood posts the comparison photos of those he views as foes. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and former Vice President Mike Pence are frequently compared to his dog.
But Wood isn’t alone in his crusade against Hannity.
Pillow-hawking, election-fraud true believer Mike Lindell has also soured hard.
“Sean Hannity is disgusting,” Lindell told The Daily Beast. “He’s a terrible journalist that does not do his job or his diligence” when it comes to “election crime.”
“He doesn’t seem to have any concern over any election problems in the country, and it’s disgusting,” he added.
Asked if he’s expressed such frustration to Hannity, Lindell said he’d “of course” told him, but the right-wing pillow superstar claimed the Fox News host “never got back to me.”
Neither Hannity nor Fox News representatives returned multiple Daily Beast requests for comment.
Other fervent Trump backers, including former Trump administration official Steve Bannon and far-right commentator Jack Posobiec, have also taken jabs at Hannity over the last week.
Bannon wrote that Hannity should face “accountability” for “TERRIBLE advice” to Trump, while Posobiec has taken a series of jabs at the Fox News host, including posting a picture of Hannity alongside CNN host Don Lemon and Michael Avenatti.
Trump superfan Bill Mitchell responded to Hannity’s deposition remarks by writing, “And just like that, Hannity ends his career.”
Hannity’s also been called a “fraud” by conservative commentators. Far-right radio host Stew Peters has labeled the Fox News host a “clown” following his voter fraud boomerang. “He regularly washes and dries Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer’s jock straps,” Peters told The Daily Beast.
Conservative media has also now gone after Hannity over his election fraud comments, suggesting Hannity is part of a “fake patriot grift.”
Others on Telegram, such as far-right “Stop the Steal” activist Ali Alexander, have found an alternative, and oddly specific line of attack—that Hannity allegedly wears a “CIA” lapel pin on his primetime show.
(While it’s true that Hannity wears an assortment of pins, it’s usually unclear what the pins are exactly advocating, though that hasn’t stopped right-wingers, such as failed congressional candidate Kathy Barnette, from claiming they are “FBI” pins.)
Still, Hannity could probably dismiss the dissatisfaction of most of the Island of MAGA Misfit Toys if it weren’t for one problem: According to two sources close to Trump, the former president himself is apparently “mad” at Hannity.
“In terms of direct contact with Sean, I think it’s been a while,” a Trump source said.
While the tension between Trump and Hannity pre-dates this latest revelation, Hannity disclosing that he has never believed that Trump actually won the 2020 election is sure to further complicate their relationship.
“Hannity was his lapdog for years, but just like everyone else who’s been Trump’s bitch at one point or another, the second Trump finds a reason to throw them in the garbage, he takes it,” a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast.
According to three Trumpworld sources, Trump is still upset with Hannity because the Fox News host advocated for Trump to endorse Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz. After Oz fell on his face, Hannity found himself on the outs of Trump’s inner circle.
“A lot of the heartburn stems from the Pennsylvania senate race,” a source close to Trump said.
Instead of placing responsibility on his wife, Melania Trump, who also reportedly advocated for endorsing Oz—or looking inward at his own political acumen—the former president has apparently just decided it’s all Hannity’s fault.
“Hannity gets the blame for Oz because it’s more convenient than blaming Melania, and now he’s been shown to be ‘disloyal’ under oath, so it’s Hannity’s turn to get tossed overboard,” the same Trump adviser said.
While Hannity has found the ire of Trump—along with his most loyal supporters—a fellow Fox News host has played his cards more carefully.
According to a Trump source, Tucker Carlson “isn’t openly hostile to Trump, but anyone who’s paying attention knows he’s not a fan either.”
“Trump is never on the show and rarely gets discussed,” the source added. “Tucker thinks Trump has a lot of the right enemies, but that’s about it.”
For a period of time, rumors were flying around Trumpworld that the former president was slated to join Hannity’s show after his presidential announcement at Mar-a-Lago. But a source familiar with the matter called those rumors “not true at all.”
Now, with this latest revelation that Hannity has apparently never bought into Trump’s lies about the election, it’s even harder to imagine the two repairing things any time soon.
