Fox News host Sean Hannity delivered President Trump a message on Monday night: if you want high ratings for your TV interviews, stick with Fox.
Despite all the hype and headline-making news from the president’s sit-down with George Stephanopoulos, ABC’s big Sunday night Trump interview was a ratings bust, finishing third in its time slot with 3.91 million total viewers. The hour-long special represented a sharp drop from Celebrity Family Feud, which drew an audience of over six million in the same time slot the previous week.
During his opening monologue on Monday, Hannity took some pointed shots at Stephanopoulos while celebrating the disappointing numbers from the president’s special.
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“I know George Stephanopoulos is a Clinton sycophant—oh, by the way, the lowest ratings EVER for his hour special,” the pro-Trump host exclaimed. “Our phone interviews with Donald Trump rated higher!"
Having promised more on this later, the cable news star ended his show by announcing that Trump would be joining his program on Wednesday night. Hannity also made sure to highlight that during a March phone interview with the president, he drew 4.3 million viewers, higher than ABC’s network special.
During the handoff with The Ingraham Angle, Hannity continued to kick dirt on the president’s Stephanopoulos interview. While Laura Ingraham pointed out that the special beat 60 Minutes in the demographic and it was competing with the final round of the U.S. Open, Hannity didn’t mince words, letting the president know that Fox News was the place to be.
“We thank the audience,” he declared. “This show, Tucker [Carlson], you, thank God you have made us number one in cable and we want to earn everyone’s trust every day.”
“But to be on a network and get your ass kicked and I only did a phone interview—by little ol' Sean Hannity. He needs to just pack it up. That is humiliating for him!”
Trump, meanwhile, promoted the interview over the weekend, tweeting that he “enjoyed” it and that he thinks he “do many more Network interviews.” As for Fox News, the president accused anchor Bret Baier of peddling “Fake News” on Monday night after Baier cited recent Fox News polls that showed Trump trailing in the 2020 race.
