Trump's biggest ally at Fox News has been called his 'shadow chief of staff.'
Fox News host and prominent Donald Trump ally Sean Hannity lamented on Thursday night that his heart was "troubled" and that America is "going to hell in a handbasket" now that President-elect Joe Biden will soon be sworn in.
"Your heart should be troubled," Hannity told viewers, as he transitioned from his program to fellow Fox News host Laura Ingraham's show.
After Ingraham chided him for his downbeat attitude, Hannity doubled down.
"We're going to hell in a handbasket. I hate to be honest, but I'm not going to lie," said Hannity.
He also told Ingraham that he was "done" writing books after the election results. He noted the title of his most recent release, "Live Free or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink" and said, " Now we're on the brink side of things, and I was hoping we wouldn't get here."
Hannity has been an ally of Trump's since Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015. He has used his primetime show to advance Trump's lies and misstatements, and to attack those seen as enemies of Trump, even when they were Republicans.
Hannity has been described by some in the media as Trump's "shadow chief of staff" due to his closeness to Trump. Reportedly, the two men spoke on the phone with each other "virtually every night."
In return for his support, Trump has used the presidency to promote Hannity, who he said deserved a Pulitzer Prize. Trump has frequently appeared with Hannity for interviews, including a time he postponed a call with the president of China to speak with Hannity instead.
Despite access to Hannity and Fox's large audience, Trump did not get reelected, losing the popular vote by over 7 million.
From the Jan. 14 edition of Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle":
SEAN HANNITY: Your heart should be troubled. Laura Ingraham takes it away.
LAURA INGRAHAM: Every time you say your heart should be troubled, you go right to me. I don't know, that's like, a hard handoff.
HANNITY: I don't mean it about you.
INGRAHAM: I know, but that's a hard handoff.
HANNITY: Hang on – Laura Ingraham will make your heart feel better? I don't know, what do you want me to say?
INGRAHAM: We're going to hell in a handbasket ---
HANNITY: Pretty much.
INGRAHAM – and that takes us to Laura. No, we're – no we're not. The good thing is that our policies worked.
HANNITY: I hate to tell you, we really are.
INGRAHAM: No. Our policies work.
HANNITY: We're going to hell in a handbasket. I hate to be honest, but I'm not going to lie.
INGRAHAM: Is that going to be your next book title, "Hell in a handbasket." My mother used to always say that.
HANNITY: No, no, no. There's no more books.
INGRAHAM: Oh, you're done with that?
HANNITY: I didn't do one for ten years, I'm done with the books. I did it to warn America. "Live free or Die: America and the world on the brink." Now we're on the brink side of things and I was hoping we wouldn't get here.
INGRAHAM: That's the fighting spirit, Hannity.
HANNITY: Just telling you, I'm not going to stop fighting, I'm fighting like hell.
INGRAHAM: Okay. Let not your heart be troubled.
HANNITY: My heart's troubled. It's aching for my country right now.
INGRAHAM: Alright, well, I'll save it, don't worry.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
