Fox News's Sean Hannity Sean Patrick HannityFormer Florida attorney general calls Kyle Rittenhouse 'a little boy out there trying to protect his community' Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week MORE on Friday defended Reza Aslan, saying the former CNN host should not have been fired for calling President Trump "a piece of s---."



"Reza calling the @POTUS a POS is bad form. Calling me the same fair game. I do not think you should be fired. You apologized," Hannity wrote to his 2.44 million followers, adding, "#FreeSpeech."

Reza calling the @POTUS a POS is bad form. Calling me the same fair game. I do not think you should be fired. You apologized #FreeSpeech https://t.co/VBof8qHsxY — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) June 9, 2017

CNN parted ways with Aslan one week after the host called Trump "a piece of s---" and "an embarrassment to mankind" on Twitter.



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"CNN has decided to not move forward with production on the acquired series 'Believer with Reza Aslan,' " the network said in a statement. “We wish Reza and his production team all the best."

The Iranian-born Aslan had been the host of CNN's "Believer," which aired weekly on Sunday nights. The 45-year-old author and religious scholar also called the president a "man baby" in a subsequent tweet.

That tweet was in response to a decision by NBC News not to report on Trump sharing a Drudge Report tweet reporting London terror attacks because it contained "unconfirmed information" at the time. The network instead referred to the situation as a "security incident."

Aslan apologized days later for the since-deleted tweet.

“I should have used better language to express my shock and frustration at the president’s lack of decorum and sympathy for the victims of London. I apologize for my choice of words," he said.

Hannity, a vocal supporter of Trump, also previously defended "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert in May amid a debate about free speech.