It seemed at least conceivable that Mick Mulvaney might be in danger of losing his dual roles as OMB director and “acting” White House chief of staff following a disastrous press conference on Thursday, during which he admitted the Trump administration held up aid for Ukraine in exchange for political help for President Trump.
To those who may be concerned about the “quid pro quo,” Mulvaney advised them to “get over it.”
But that danger grew far more real after Fox News host Sean Hannity threw Mulvaney under the bus and then drove over him on his afternoon radio show.
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“What is Mulvaney even talking about?” Hannity wondered aloud. “I just think he's dumb, I really do. I don't even think he knows what he's talking about. That's my take on it.”
After spending a few minutes ranting against “cowardly” Adam Schiff, Hannity continued going after Trump’s chief of staff. “I guess the truth is complicated,” he said. “This is what, you know—this is why, I think, some of these people are so stupid. Read the transcript. We don't need a non-whistleblower whistleblower.”
“You don't need a chief of staff's idiotic interpretation of things,” he added of Mulvaney, “when the president and the president of Ukraine and everybody else can read it all themselves. That's what's amazing.”
Hannity’s take stood in sharp contrast to that of his fellow conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who heaped praise on Mulvaney for his performance during his show.
“You hear how good Mulvaney is here?” Limbaugh said after playing a clip from one of his many contentious exchanges with reporters. “He’s wiry but he’s explosive. And he’s snarking back at ’em and they don’t even know it.”
