Fox News’ talk show host Sean Hannity said Thursday that calling for political adversaries to be imprisoned is “beyond despicable,” despite his coverage of former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her investigations.
Mr. Hannity, reacting to a Politico report that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to see President Trump “in prison” rather than impeached, said that narrative would turn the U.S. into “a country we no longer recognize.”
“Speaker Pelosi now apparently telling senior Democrats that she’d like to see Trump behind bars. Based on no actual crimes, she wants a political opponent locked up in prison? That happens in banana republics — beyond despicable behavior. And by the way, they would literally turn, in many ways, the USA into a country we no longer recognize,” he said.
“They focus on one thing and one thing only. That’s their rage. Their obsession. Donald Trump the president lives in their heads 24/7,” the talk show host said.
However, Mr. Hannity has said as recently as April that Mrs. Clinton’s email server remains “a real threat to our safety and security” and has said she “should be in jail” and to “lock her up” on numerous occasions.
He even asked Mr. Trump during a March interview about his abandoning calls for Mrs. Clinton’s imprisonment without questioning whether that narrative will turn the U.S. into an unrecognizable country.
Calls for political opponents to be imprisoned are still present in Mr. Trump’s rallies.
During a May rally in Pennsylvania, the audience started chanting “lock them up” when Mr. Trump was condemning special counsel Robert Mueller and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Trump fueled the chants, adding they “have a great new attorney general who will give it a very fair look.”
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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