Hannity just called Jimmy Kimmel a “pervert assh*le.” Now, they’re going at it on Twitter

The Trump era was made possible by the gradual erosion of reality propagated by far-right networks like Fox News. They radicalized a huge chunk of conservatives in this country and when Trump became president, a putrid symbiosis took root in this country.

Trump won the presidency because conservative news outlets were so radical, and once in power Trump prompted these networks to become even more radical. It’s a dizzying, downward spiral that is eroding the very fabric of our democracy.

Of all the professional liars and fearmongers in the employ of Fox, few have lost their rationality and shame as quickly as Sean Hannity, who has taken to peddling literal conspiracy theories during his primetime slot.

He’s abandoned any attempt to report the real news, and simply spews hatred and petty distractions at his audience. His latest target is popular late night television host Jimmy Kimmel.

Hannity launched his campaign against Kimmel yesterday by attacking him for crude videos he made as a young comedian. The videos have been public forever, and while they are a little inappropriate and perhaps in poor taste to a modern audience, they’re certainly far from criminal and essentially harmless.

Hannity referred to Kimmel as “Harvey Weinstein Jr.” The deeply offensive comparison shows how cynical and dishonest Hannity has become. There is an ocean of difference between Kimmel making penis jokes and Weinstein raping and terrorizing women for decades. It’s absurd to pretend they’re even slightly similar and demonstrates how desperate Hannity is to attack the left.

Hannity then took aim at The Man Show which Kimmel starred on. It’s almost funny that Hannity thinks dredging up an old show is some kind of “scoop.” Everyone knows Kimmel was on the show. Again, it was crude at times, but it’s also public knowledge and a complete non-issue.

Molly McNearney, Kimmel’s wife and co-header writer for his show tweeted back at Hannity, calling him out for his hypocrisy by pointing out that he is acting offended by Kimmel’s old comedy bit, but was completely fine with Trump bragging about sexual assault on the Access Hollywood tape.

This morning, Hannity returned to this dry well again by attacking Kimmel for the video and whining about the host’s criticism of First Lady Melania, asking his unhinged fans to vote on what “offensive” thing Kimmel will do next.

Kimmel himself chimed in by voting for “whichever” option helps Hannity “trivialize the horrors of Harvey Weinstein by comparing them to televised comedy bits in which every woman was a willing participant who gladly signed a release.” The concise tweet perfectly deconstructed precisely what’s so offensive and disingenuous about Hannity’s rhetoric.

Hannity responded with a tepid tweet and the two went back and forth.

Not surprisingly, Kimmel got the last laugh.

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