Fox News host Sean Hannity decried what he called “the state-run legacy media mob” while hosting his show in front of dozens of Republican lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol.
With President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, the GOP controls the White House and both houses of Congress. Conservatives also hold a 6-3 supermajority on the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, it was reported
that Hannity would visit the Oval Office to interview his friend Trump. Hours later, the host went to the Capitol to do his show in front of a live audience of Republican members of Congress.
Hannity took issue with a sermon delivered at the National Prayer Service, which Trump attended earlier in the day. The bishop pleaded
with the president to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now” thanks to the president’s stated policies.
“In every corner of Washington, D.C., that is what Republicans are up against,” Hannity said. “And that is especially true for the state-run legacy media mob that I argued died on November the 5th. They have learned no lessons from the 2024 election. They’re still droning on and on about the end of the world as we know it.”
He then played two clips from MSNBC’s inauguration coverage in which Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow criticized Trump.
After the clips ended, Hannity again referred to “the state-run legacy media mob” – this time to bash pundits who criticized Elon Musk for making a salute
not unlike those performed by the baddies in films about World War II.
Hannity has frequently referred to MSNBC and other liberal-leaning networks as “state-run,” but with President Joe Biden’s departure from office and full GOP control of the government, it doesn’t quite work as a dunk anymore.
In 2022, it was revealed that Hannity had been coordinating with the Trump White House between Election Day 2020 and the end of Trump’s first term. The Fox News host repeatedly texted
with Mark Meadows, Trump’s then-chief of staff. On the day of the election, for example, they had this exchange:
HANNITY: Hey… NC gonna be ok?
MEADOWS: Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote… On radio
HANNITY: Yes sir… On it. Any place in particular we need a push
President Donald Trump boasted on Tuesday that he has used H-1B visas to hire foreign “wine experts” and “high quality waiters.”
During a White House press conference, Trump was asked about the ongoing debate over H-1B visa immigration and the replacement of American workers.
“There’s been some debate within your orbit over whether or not to keep or eliminate H-1B visas. What’s your position on that?” asked a reporter. “Do you want to keep H-1Bs or do you want to get rid of them?”
Trump replied, “I like both sides of the argument, but I also like very competent people coming into our country, even if that involves them training and helping other people that may not have the qualifications they do. But I don’t want to stop, and I’m not just talking about engineers. I’m talking about people at all levels. We want competent people coming into our country.”
Getting the name of the visa wrong, Trump continued, “H-B1, [sic] I know the program very well. I use the program. Maitre d’s, wine experts, even waiters. High quality waiters. You gotta get the best people.”
He concluded, “Now, by doing that, we’re expanding businesses and that takes care of everybody. So I’m sort of on both sides of the argument, but what I really do feel is that we have to let really competent people, great people come into our country.”
Trump’s allies split into a civil war last month over H-1B visas and their relation to immigration fraud
.
Billionaire Trump surrogate Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued in favor of the visas – with Musk endorsing
a post that suggested Americans were too “retarded” to do skilled jobs – while former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and other populists opposed
the system.
Trump sided
with Musk and Ramaswamy on the issue, expressing support for the importation of foreign workers.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” he said. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
Former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was not interested in shaking the hand of a man who refused to do the same with former Vice President Kamala Harris, his wife.
As vice president, Harris swore in members of the Senate earlier this month. That included Sen. Den Fischer (R-NE), whose husband Bruce Fischerrefused
to shake Harris’s hand when she extended it for a shake.
Before President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Monday, Harris and Emhoff attended a ceremonial tea, which the Fischers also attended because the senator served as Trump’s inauguration co-chair. According to CNN, Bruce Fischer attempted
to shake Emhoff’s hand and was rejected:
At the ceremonial tea at the White House before the motorcades headed to the US Capitol, the former second gentleman refused a handshake from Bruce Fischer, the husband of inauguration co-chair Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a person familiar with the interaction tells CNN.
The tense moment came after a viral exchange earlier this month when Fischer’s husband did not shake Harris’ hand as they stood in the old Senate chamber at the beginning of January for the traditional repetition of the oath and family photo with the vice president. At one point during the interaction Harris encouraged Fischer’s husband forward, saying, “I’m not going to bite, don’t worry.”
After they finished and Harris shook the third-term senator’s hand in congratulations, she reached out to Bruce Fischer, who looked down at her hand and said “thank you.”
A full-length image of the interaction shows that the GOP senator’s husband was holding a cane with one hand and the Bible for his wife’s swearing-in with his other. But the awkwardness of the moment was evident from Harris’ widened eyes and clenched teeth smile.
And it was still on Emhoff’s mind on Monday: “Why would you try to shake my hand,” he told Bruce Fischer according to the person familiar with the interaction, “when you wouldn’t shake my wife’s hand?”
CNN said that neither the senator nor Harris were involved. Bruce Fischer, the report stated, later apologized.
“And by the time they headed to the car to the Capitol, tempers had cooled and there was a cordial conversation which touched on golf, among other things,” CNN added.
A Danish Member of the European Parliament had some pointed words for President Donald Trump.
As he did during his first term, Trump has expressed interest in attempting to acquire Greenland
– the large and autonomous Danish territory between Canada and Iceland. Politicians in Denmark and Greenland have said the territory is not for sale.
During a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, MP Anders Vistisen addressed the U.S. president’s fixation with the island:
Dear President Trump, listen very carefully. Greenland have been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It’s an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, fuck off.
Vistisen’s message drew a rebuke from Parliament’s vice president.
“If the translation was correct, the term you used is not allowed in this house and there will be consequences to the message you have used,” said
Nicolae Stefanuta. “It is not ok in this house of democracy. Regardless of what we think of Mr. Trump, it is not possible to use such language.”
Last week, the prime minister of Greenland made it clear that the territory has no intention of becoming American.
“We will always be part of NATO,” Prime Minister Mute Egede told
Fox News. “We will always be a strong partner for U.S. We are close neighbors, we have been cooperating in the last 80 years, and I think the future have a lot to offer to cooperate with, but we want to also be clear. We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be a part of U.S., but we want a strong cooperation together with U.S.”
Fox News host Jesse Watters struggled to find an excuse for Elon Musk’s controversial hand gesture on Tuesday, arguing that the billionaire Trump surrogate was “asking for it” by making such a suspicious-looking salute.
Musk received backlash after he made a hand gesture
at President Donald Trump’s inauguration which critics argued bore a strong resemblance to a fascist Roman salute.
“Elon’s thing, to grab your heart with one hand and then to shoot it out in the sky,” reacted Watters, as he struggled not to laugh. “You’re just– you’re asking for it. You’re asking for it.”
The Fox News host suggested, “Maybe he’s just not very well coordinated, I don’t know. But I’m sure it was fine. Didn’t he go to Israel to like help save the hostages?”
Jesse Watters Primetime Guest Michael Shellenberger replied, “Well yeah, and also, of course, Elon went
to the death camps.”
He continued, “I mean, one of his closest friends is Jewish. You know, I mean, this is ridiculous. Elon Musk and Donald Trump have done more for free speech over the last two years than Democrats have done in the last 20, and I just think that that gives them the moral power that President Trump has needed. You see Zuckerberg falling in line for them to go and push a free speech agenda around the world.”
While Musk received heavy backlash
over the gesture, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claimed
on Monday that it did not resemble a “Nazi salute.”
“This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety,” the organization declared. “It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge.”
The ADL concluded, “In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
President Donald Trump issued a “full and unconditional pardon” to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road dark web black market, Tuesday.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” announced Trump in a statement. “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”
Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 after being charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, aiding and abetting the distribution of narcotics, and conspiring to commit money laundering, among other crimes.
Between 2011 and his arrest in 2013, Ulbricht had operated the dark web black market known as Silk Road, which allowed anonymous users to purchase goods without a trail, including illegal items such as drugs.
While Ulbricht did not sell drugs himself, his website facilitated their sale and purchase and allowed users to sort through listings based on drug type, with categories such as “Opioids,” “Stimulants,” and “Prescription.”
“Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people’s addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people,” said then-New York Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara at the time of Ulbricht’s sentencing. “Ulbricht went from hiding his cybercrime identity to becoming the face of cybercrime and as today’s sentence proves, no one is above the law.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) – a vocal defender of Ulbricht – celebrated the pardon on Tuesday.
“Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon!” he wrote
. “Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President! #freeRoss.”
Trump promised
to free Ulbricht during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention last year.
“If you vote for me on day one, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served,” he vowed. “He’s already served 11 years. We’re gonna get him home. We’re gonna get him home.”
MSNBC’s Ari Melber criticized Elon Musk for using taxpayer money to promote the “Department of Government Efficiency” – and a cryptocurrency.
On Monday, President Donald Trumpsigned
an executive order creating the aforementioned advisory group, which is led by Musk. Created by Musk, the acronym is a nod to Dogecoin, a nearly worthless cryptocurrency that the billionaire said he owns
. The ostensible purpose of the commission is to cut waste from the government and make it more efficient, but the effort has been met with widespread skepticism – particularly after Musk claimed he could easily slash $2 trillion from the federal budget. He has since walked back that claim
.
The DOGE commission has its own government website, though so far the site has nothing beyond an introductory page
with no links.
“Department of Government Efficiency,” it reads. “The people voted for major reform.” On the page is an image of a dog, similar to the Dogecoin logo.
On Tuesday’s edition of The Beat, on MSNBC, Melber took Musk to task:
We recently reported on government adviser Elon Musk exploiting his role to promote the crypto he owns… He named his government group currency coin, which is named after a dog… which is really no different than trying to rename a government department after Coke or Tesla. I mention that because now, Musk’s taxpayer-funded .gov website for his Trump policy group promotes the same crypto coin. Again, you see a different version of that dog.
So, day one, Donald Trump’s chosen advisor, Elon Musk, is taking your taxpayer dollars and promoting his crypto businesses, stuff that he owns. He owns some of that. And the product, which is a crypto coin with this dog here, has nothing to do with cutting government spending or anything related. He’s not even pretending. It’s just a blatant grift.
Melber then pivoted to Trump and criticized the president for launching a meme coin just days before his inauguration.
On Friday, Trump announced the rollout of $Trump, a cryptocurrency meme coin that has netted
Trump more than $50 billion on paper since trading began. His coin holdings account for nearly 90% of his net worth. Over the weekend, First Lady Melania Trumpalso launched a coin
– $Melania – which is now also worth tens of billions.
Photo by: WILL OLIVER/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
The television ratings for President Donald Trump’s second inauguration are in, and they dropped 27% from President Joe Biden’s in 2021 and were nearly 20% lower than Trump’s first swearing-in in 2017.
Unsurprisingly, Fox News dominated the ratings for the festivities in the nation’s capital, beating out both their broadcast and cable competitors, and drawing in the second-highest ratings for Inauguration Day coverage in the network’s history, according to a Fox News press release. An average of 10.3 million viewers tuned into Fox News from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm ET Monday, including 2 million in the advertiser-coveted demographic of ages 25-54.
CNN averaged 1.7 million viewers during that same time period, MSNBC 848,000 viewers (the network has traditionally come in third for Inauguration Day coverage), ABC 4.7 million viewers, CBS 4.1 million viewers, and NBC 4.4 million viewers, according to early viewing numbers from Nielsen reported
by The Wrap’s Loree Seitz.
Altogether, Trump’s triumphant return to the White House drew an average total viewership for the day (tracking from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm ET) of 24.59 million viewers, reported The Wrap. That figure is based on combining viewer numbers from fifteen networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Merit Street Media, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, and PBS.
That number of 24.59 million viewers was 27% lower than Biden’s 2021 inauguration (33.76 million viewers tracked from 17 channels) was 19.75% lower than Trump’s first inauguration in 2021 (30.64 million viewers across 12 networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, Univision, Telemundo, CNBC, Fox Business Network, Galavision, and HLN).
The Wrap also analyzed the demographic breakdown of the viewers. Monday’s audience drew 1.43 million viewers ages 18-34, 4.67 million viewers ages 35-54, and 17.4 million viewers over 55, while the audience from 2021 was 2.85 million viewers ages 18-34, 8.21 million viewers ages 35-54, and 21 million viewers over 55.
Additional data from the early Nielsen numbers provided to Mediaite:
11:30 AM – 1 PM/ET
FNC: 10.3 million P2+; 2 million A25-54
CNN: 1.7 million P2+; 534,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 848,000 P2+; 104,000 A25-54
FBN: 282,000 P2+ ; 16,000 A25-54
ABC: 4.7 million P2+; 1.1 million A25-54
CBS: 4.1 million P2+; 907,000 A25-54
NBC: 4.4 million P2+; 1.2 million A25-54
A reporter asked President Donald Trump on Tuesday whether he would continue to sell his meme cryptocurrency after making “several billion dollars” on the coins in just the last few days.
During a press conference on Trump’s first full day in the White House, a reporter brought up Trump’s controversial cryptocurrency and asked, “Do you intend to continue selling products that benefit yourself personally while you’re president?”
“Well, I don’t know if it benefited. I don’t know where it is,” Trump replied. “I don’t know much about it other than I launched it. I heard it was very successful. I haven’t checked it, where is it today?”
The reporter informed him, “You made a lot of money sir.”
“How much?” Trump asked.
“Several billion dollars it seems like in the last several days,” the reporter answered.
Trump shrugged off the huge amount of money, concluding, “Several billion? That’s peanuts for these guys.”
Trump received backlash
from allies and enemies alike this week after he launched a controversial cryptocurrency meme coin in the hours leading up to his inauguration.
The president reportedly made
more than $50 billion in just 48 hours. However, critics compared
the stunt to a Ponzi scheme and expressed concern
about corruption.
“What the fuck are we doing people, are we really doing a $15 billion scamcoin to lure suckers into crypto casino roulette the week we start to run the government?” reacted
former Trump State Department official Mike Benz. “Will cash from the wallet now holding 80% of the coins be using the funds to advance US interests? Or money & run?”
A sworn affidavit sent to senators by Danielle Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, contains a slew of shocking allegations, including more details about the Defense Secretary’s alleged alcohol problems and “emotional abuse” of a former wife that was the reason she “feared for her personal safety.”
Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and his mother walked back the email while staunchly defending her son. Nonetheless, Hegseth’s critics have still raised concerns over the allegations and argued that his résumé is far thinner than past nominees for a job that entails exercising command and control over our all military service branches, overseeing a nearly $900 billion budget
, and supervising
millions of people.
At his Senate confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth was grilled by multiple Democrats regarding the variousallegations
against him, his past controversialcomments
, and his lack of experience
.
NBC News broke the report earlier Tuesday that Danielle Hegseth had been interviewed by the FBI back in December and then submitted this sworn affidavit
to senators in response to a Jan. 18 letter from the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who expressed frustration that neither he nor the GOP chair of the committee had been informed of her past interview or accusations.
The initial report on this affidavit noted that Danielle Hegseth accused Pete Hegseth of exhibiting “erratic and aggressive behavior over many years” that led Samantha Hegseth to fear for her safety.
Later in the day Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal published an article
containing a link to the affidavit, with only minor redactions, and reported additional details about the allegations therein, that he “regularly abused alcohol to the point that he passed out at family gatherings, and once needed to be dragged out of a strip club while in uniform.”
The affidavit (embedded below) begins with Danielle Hegseth stating that “it is my personal opinion that Hegseth is unfit for the position of Secretary of Defense,” and she is “providing this statement as a proffer of the testimony that I would have provided to the Senate had I been called as a witness during Hegseth’s confirmation hearings,” with the contents of the affidavit reflecting what she previously told the FBI.
In the affidavit, Danielle Hegseth says she believes Pete Hegseth “has an alcohol abuse problem and was abusive to his ex-wife Samantha, as I understand those terms as a lay person,” and makes multiple allegations against him, that she observed herself or heard from Samantha Hegseth or other sources and believed because what she was told “is consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years.”
Among the allegations, Danielle Hegseth describes how Samantha Hegseth “told me that she once hid in her closet from Hegseth because she feared for her personal safety,” at some point between 2014 and 2016, and that she was “aware that Samantha had a plan to deploy if she felt she reeded to get away from Hegseth,” which she told to Danielle Hegseth and “another person close to her.” This plan involved Samantha Hegseth “texting me a safe word/code word” that would signal Danielle Hegseth to call this other confidante, who would then “fly out to Minnesota to help her.”
“Samantha did text me this code word sometime in 2015-2016, and I did call the other person to let that person know Samantha needed help,” the affidavit continues, with Danielle Hegseth emphasizing that she believes that “Samantha feared for her safety and that she did have this plan, not only because I was part of its deployment one time in 2015-2016 but also because it is consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years.”
Danielle Hegseth further describes how she herself was “a victim of emotional abuse by Hegseth” during an incident in which she says “[h]e drunkenly yelled in my face one night in 2009” because he was angry that she “walked out of the room while he was telling a story” that had a “racial slant that bothered me.”
“He followed me out of the room and yelled at me that I was disrespecting him by walking away and that I disrespected his family,” Danielle Hegseth states, describing Hegseth as “very aggressive, in my face, dressed in his military uniform” and “very intimidating” as he towered over her with his six-foot stature towering over her five feet, six inch height. This yelling “went on long enough,” Danielle Hegseth adds, that a person whose name is redacted “had to come over and pull him away.”
“I have also heard Hegseth say that women should not have the right to vote and that they should not work,” the affidavit continues, and states that a person whose name is redacted “also once heard him say that Christians needed to have more children so they can overtake the Muslim population.”
The affidavit contains detailed allegations of Hegseth “abusing alcohol numerous times over the years,” with Danielle Hegseth telling how she and her ex-husband would frequently go to his house for holidays or to watch football games.
“At many of these events Hegseth would drink to the point of passing out in the room with the rest of the family as we carried on with the evening,” she says. “One Christmas, in 2008 or 2009, at his parent’s house, he drank so much he threw up and then passed out.”
Additional allegations about Hegseth and alcohol:
As I told the FBI, Hegseth acted this in way in public establishments, too. For example, on a night in 2013, at another family event, Hegseth, [REDACTED], and I went out to a bar later in the evening called the Wild Onion. [REDACTED] Hegseth got very drunk at this bar, and ultimately ended up dancing with gin and tonics in each hand and dropping several glasses on the dance floor, making a mess. When [REDACTED] finally dragged him out of the bar and as we walked back to my apartment, Hegseth repeatedly shouted “No means yes!” I took this to mean that, in his opinion, nonconsensual sex (rape) is ok. (¶ 16)
As I told the FBI, on another night in approximately 2013 Hegseth, [REDACTED], and I were out at a bar in downtown Minneapolis called Prohibition. Hegseth drank so much that night he passed out in the bar bathroom. Yet another night at Burch restaurant in Minneapolis, Hegseth drank so much at dinner the Uber driver had to pull over on the side of Interstate 94 so he could throw up. (¶ 17)
As I told the FBI, an instance I did not personally witness but that [REDACTED] told me about the next morning, was a night in 2009 when [REDACTED] and Hegseth were out in told downtown Minneapolis. Hegseth was in town for drill with the National Guard. They were at a bar and [REDACTED] noticed Hegseth had left. [REDACTED]found him at a nearby strip club called
Seville, drunk, in his military uniform, getting lap dances. [REDACTED] had to drag him out of the strip club. When [REDACTED] told me the story, he told me that Hegseth should not have done this and that it was a violation of military rules.” (¶ 18)
“I believe [Pete] Hegseth to be an erratic, volatile person with an alcohol abuse problem,” Danielle Hegseth’s affidavit concludes. “I do not believe he is trustworthy or of good character. It is my opinion he is unfit to serve as Secretary of Defense.”
Samantha Hegseth did not reply to the WSJ’s request for comment and issued the following reply to NBC News:
In an email response Monday, Samantha Hegseth said: “First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc.”
She added, “I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer.”
Asked what information was not accurate and for comment on the affidavit, she replied on Tuesday: “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
