It didn’t take long for Fox News host Sean Hannity’s joy over Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s imminent departure from House leadership to sour, as the veteran spin doctor got right to work Wednesday night bashing her newly elected replacement: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
Like he often did for prominent Democrats like Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Pennsylvania Senator-elect John Fetterman prior to the midterms, Hannity compiled a rolling list of items deemed to be part of Jeffries’ “radical record.” Among the charges: Jeffries “accused Republicans of stealing SCOTUS seats,” was a manager during former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, and “said Rudy Giuliani should be ‘locked up.’”
Hannity also hyped up a February 2018 tweet from Jeffries (that included a link to a Washington Post story about indicted Russians thanks to the Mueller investigation) as evidence that he is “an official election denier”—equating Jeffries’ statements and those of believers in Trump’s ‘Big Lie.’
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“Believe it or not, with Pelosi gone, House Democrats have even gotten more extreme and even more unhinged than they already are,” the Fox host whined, before introducing Larry Elder of the far-right publication The Epoch Times, and Fox contributor Jason Chaffetz.
Elder, who unsuccessfully ran for governor of California during Democrat Gavin Newsom’s recall election, disagreed with Hannity and said he viewed Jeffries as essentially no different than Pelosi. Chaffetz, however, agreed with Hannity that he is “more radical” than his predecessor.
“There’s a reason why Democrats lurched even further to the left. Their leader is now going to be from New York City as opposed to San Francisco. Their number two person is going to be from Massachusetts — surprise, surprise,” Chaffetz griped, referring to incoming Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA).
The former Utah congressman acknowledged that Jeffries is “a very nice guy,” but viewed his policies under a different light. “He is going to hug every tree, he is going to kiss every criminal,” he claimed, amusing Hannity.
