Sean Hannity speaks alongside President Donald Trump at a Make America Great Again rally on Monday in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Fox News host Sean Hannity appeared on stage beside Trump and thanked him for his work at a rally in Missouri Monday night, despite saying only hours earlier that he would not hit the stump for the President.

Hannity began by approaching the lectern and telling the audience, "by the way, all those people in the back are fake news," pointing to members of the media located in a press pen.

"I had no idea you were going to invite me up here, and the one thing that has made and defined your presidency more than anything else: Promises Made, Promises Kept," Hannity said, echoing the slogan on a banner that appeared behind the President's lectern.

Hannity then went on to tout improvements in the economy since Trump took office and lauded his decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal.

"Mr. President, thank you," Hannity concluded.

Hannity had previously said in a tweet that he "will not be on stage campaigning with the President. I am covering final rally for my show."

Hannity's colleague at Fox, Jeanine Pirro, appeared on stage after him.

Hannity is not a journalist, but he works at a hugely popular network with "News" in its name, alongside staffers who have to follow policies that forbid this type of political involvement.

Perhaps that's why Fox News reacted to the press release by saying that Hannity was not sponsoring the rally or campaigning for Trump.

Hannity hosted his 9 p.m. show from the rally site, and he interviewed Trump there.

The White House's communications team, led by former Fox News co-president Bill Shine, set up a similar on-site interview in Las Vegas in September. Trump arrived at the arena, walked up to Hannity's stage for a live chat, then began his rally.

But the Trump campaign isn't making a distinction between interviewing the president and showing up at the rally as a "special guest." The campaign's website encourages people to sign up for tickets to the event "w/Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, & Lee Greenwood."

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