Hannity: CNN 'literally' kisses Hillary Clinton's a--

Fox News host Sean Hannity escalated his feud with CNN media critic Brian Stelter on Tuesday, getting personal and profane in just the latest spat over their networks’ coverage and treatments of the major presidential candidates.

Speaking to colleagues Tuesday on "Fox & Friends," Hannity bemoaned the "double standard" of media coverage between the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, declaring Tuesday that CNN and its anchors "literally kiss Hillary Clinton's ass and Obama's ass every day."


"There's a double standard in everything. Mike Pence said to me the other night that they're playing two on one. The media is so in the tank, so on board for Hillary, they're so abusively biased," the Fox News host remarked during the telephone interview.

Hannity took particular umbrage to a segment on CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday, referring to Stelter, the show's host, as a "little pipsqueak" who "allowed this arrogant professor from the Kennedy School of Journalism to talk about Donald Trump being a demagogue and demagogues like Trump become dictators. That's the type of coverage that CNN offers in this presidential race as they literally kiss Hillary Clinton's ass and Obama's ass every day."

Stelter's guest, John Huey, who was editor in chief at Time Inc. from 2006 to 2012, was a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy in 2013.

"Demagogues violate established rules of political conduct," Huey said on Stelter's show. "Most who are elected into high office change their democracy into some form of dictatorship."

All three co-hosts reacted with alarm to Hannity's use of the word "ass" on live morning television.

"Whoa," Steve Doocy remarked, as Ainsley Earhardt said, "Wait a minute. Sean, I don't know if we're allowed to say that. It's early."

"I think it's too late," Brian Kilmeade said, as Doocy mimed reaching for a "delay button."

As the co-hosts moved to talk about his upcoming town hall with Trump, Hannity offered a mea culpa: "By the way, I say that on my show every night. Sorry, guys."

"That's OK," Doocy said. "No, that's OK," Earhardt added.

Hannity’s barb directed at Stelter and his employer is the latest volley between the two prominent network figures.



During “Reliable Sources” on Sunday, Stelter blamed Hannity for spreading “conspiracy theories” about Clinton’s health.

The show then played a clip montage in which Hannity remarked upon Clinton’s “coughing fits” and “odd” facial expressions, asked a guest whether Clinton had a stroke and remarked upon the “violent jerking” of Clinton’s head during an encounter with reporters. Associated Press reporter Lisa Lerer, who was with Clinton at the time, hit back at the theories that she was suffering a seizure or was “scared.”



"Conspiracy theories are so much more interesting than the truth," Stelter said. "But the last time I checked, Fox still has the word news in its name."

The two went back and forth earlier this month on Twitter after Stelter criticized both Hannity and Bill O’Reilly for failing to challenge Trump’s claims that the election could be rigged against him. Stelter called Hannity “conspiratorial” — a term Hannity himself used — about voter fraud in 2012, specifically the 59 precincts in Philadelphia where Republican nominee Mitt Romney did not register a single vote.

"Hey Brian check [the Philadelphia Inquirer] after 2012. How many districts not a single Romney vote. Check Cleveland. Do u prep?" Hannity tweeted, also writing, "Calling us unpatriotic? 59 districts not one Romney vote. So you are voting for the liar HRC. Did DNC hurt Bernie?"

Stelter referred Hannity to his segment, noting that there were also precincts in Philadelphia where President Barack Obama failed to earn a single vote. “Rigged?” Stelter asked.

When asked for comment about Hannity's latest criticism, CNN pointed to a tweet from Stelter saying, "I wish Hannity had addressed my actual point: that he should help his audience instead of misinforming them."