That Fox News political pundit Sean Hannity and his colleague Shepard Smith don’t always see eye to eye is a given at this point. The two have had an openly antagonistic relationship about their respective positions at the conservative-leaning cable news channel for some time, especially during the lead up to Donald Trump’s presidency. Even so, they seem to have no trouble working together, though they generally keep to their respective sides of the opinion and news reporting divide. But that all changed on Friday when Hannity responded to what he evidently felt was a personal drag by Shepard in a recent interview.
Speaking with Time, Shepard remarked “that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining”:
“I get that. I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there. I don’t want to sit around and yell at each other and talk about your philosophy and my philosophy. That sounds horrible to me.” He cites his values growing up: “You don’t talk about your money, you don’t talk about your politics, and you don’t talk about your sex. Right now, everyone wants to talk about those things, and I’m not one of them. Not going to do it.”
The Fox News host was talking about his personal preference for news reporting as opposed to opinion programming, but Hannity apparently took the comments personally. “While Shep is a friend with political views I do not share, and great at breaking news, he is clueless about what we do every day,” he tweeted. “Hannity breaks news daily-Warrant on a Trump assoc, the unmasking scandal, leaking intel, Fisa abuse, HRC lawbreaking, dossier and more REAL NEWS!”
https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/974687899802374145
Fellow Fox News opinion-haver Laura Ingraham took a break from telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” to provide her two cents’ worth as well. Unsurprisingly, she agrees with Hannity. “Always liked Shep, but his comments were inconsiderate & inaccurate,” she said. “The hard working team at the Ingraham Angle does real reporting, develops impt sources and scores big interviews. Very proud of them.”
Always liked Shep, but his comments were inconsiderate & inaccurate. The hard working team at the Ingraham Angle does real reporting, develops impt sources and scores big interviews. Very proud of them. https://t.co/3aR1EHAK3Z
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 16, 2018
Meanwhile, media watchdogs like The Daily Beast’s Andrew Kirell were quick to point out the contradictory nature of Hannity’s comments. For despite his insistent that his opinion program “breaks news daily,” the conservative pundit has also claimed he is “not a journalist” in previous arguments concerning his position at Fox News.
So, wait, which one is it? 🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/JBPgLO6ZL6
— Andrew Kirell 🤙🏻 (@AndrewKirell) March 16, 2018