Sean Hannity still has it — as in, the ability to get riled up at just about anyone.
The longest-serving host in Fox News history completely blew up at GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday. Hannity shouted him down, talking over the biotech entrepreneur and at one point suggesting that he may “not be qualified to run for president” before abruptly ending the interview.
Ramaswamy appeared on “Hannity” to talk about, among other things, his six-point plan to deal with the war in Israel and broadening international crisis. At one point, Hannity brought up Ramaswamy’s comments from a recent sit-down posted on X (formerly Twitter) by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
During that interview, Ramaswamy said he was irritated by the U.S. “ignoring certain other conflicts, while even more importantly ignoring the interests of the U.S. right here at home,” and suggested fellow GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley — a former board member at Boeing — is “in a position to get wealthier from war.”
When Hannity pressed him on those comments, Ramaswamy seemed taken aback.
“One of the things I loved about that interview with Tucker,” Ramaswamy said, “is that we were actually able have a thoughtful conversation.”
That’s where the fur began to fly.
An exasperated and agitated Hannity began speaking over Ramaswamy — and vice-versa — in a crosstalk hurricane for the Fox News ages.
“You go on these interviews … here’s your problem,” Hannity said as the candidate was still finishing his point. “You go on these shows, people quote your exact words and you deny your own words. And I’m saying if you’re going to be a presidential candidate, I’m going to give you your exact words, and you’re either going to own it, or pull it back!”
All the while Ramaswamy was trying to dislodge Hannity, saying: “Far from it! Sean, you have been sitting here for years, talking about the fake news media … how many times for the last several years. And now you’re following the mainstream media narrative–“
“Excuse me!” Hannity barked back. “I am following — I’m quoting your exact words. Did I or did I not quote your exact words?”
And so on. And so on.
At one point, Hannity lowered the boom on the 38-year-old: “I think it’s asinine to think someone who worked in the defense industry isn’t qualified to run for president — I think people who never held public office, like you, maybe they’re not qualified to be president. Anyway–“
At which point Hannity shut down the interview and teased his next segment without giving Ramaswamy a chance to respond.
Hannity did not address at any point whether his comments about the presidential qualifications of someone with no public service record might be in conflict with his own support of any particular past president.
Watch the entire exchange in the embedded video above.
