Fox News host Sean Hannity, the conservative media commentator often credited as one of president Donald Trump’s closest confidantes, hinted on live television he may one day launch his own bid for the White House.
The comments came as Hannity opened his show on Tuesday night while exchanging jokes with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, who quipped about taking over his popular nightly programme.
“A few year years, it’s all yours,” Hannity said in response. “Who knows, I might run for president. You never know!”
To be clear, Hannity appeared to be making the statement in good humour and did not reveal any specific intentions to run for elected office — still, the comments were sure to add fuel to previous reports that suggested Hannity was eyeing a future in politics after his media career ends.
A New York Magazine profile of the TV host said he has “expressed openness” to the idea of running for office after Mr Trump’s electoral upset victory in the 2016 presidential election. Hannity has also previously joked about running for office with his executive produce Lynda McLaughlin, claiming he was “being vetted more than Obama”.
In response to Hannity suggesting he may run for president, Kilmeade shrugged and responded: “Everyone else is.”
While Hannity might only be a television host, he appears to have a direct line to the president, frequently speaking with Mr Trump about his White House agenda and pushing for him to take action on certain issues, according to reports. Mr Trump regularly calls into Hannity’s show, occasionally going on long tangents about his apparent enemies and the mainstream media as he did in an interview last week.
Mr Trump used his time on Hannity’s show last week to undermine one of the nation’s top infectious disease experts, Dr Anthony Fauci, as a “nice man” who has “made a lot of mistakes” while simultaneously saying about wearing face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19: “I have no problem with masks, it’s really up to you.”
