Fox News star Sean Hannity is turning heads with a huge admission he made during an interview with the Los Angeles Times regarding far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“From the first time we met, we just hit it off, and there was a certain relationship that developed that was like, ‘Oh, come on, you don’t believe all that,’” Hannity said of the governor during an interview at Fox News’ headquarters in New York, the outlet reported on Sunday.
“It was always friendly and never contentious. You can say anything to him. You can have fun with him,” Hannity added.
The Times added: “Hannity, who typically cites California’s problems with crime and housing as a symbol of all that’s wrong with the Democrats, was even singing praises for In-N-Out Burger at his second interview with the governor.”
The apparent success of his interview with Newsom prompted the Fox News star to then negotiate a debate between Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the latter of whom has been running second to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, though lately he has been overtaken in some polls by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served a stint as UN ambassador under Trump.
“Hannity negotiated the terms and details directly with the political rivals, who will meet Thursday in a 90-minute showdown at 6 p.m. Pacific on Fox News,” the Times reported.
Fox News is billing the event as “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate.” It will take place without an audience, the Times reported, adding that Hannity himself will be asking all the questions.
Of Newsom, Hannity also offers this advice to the GOP of his political skills: “I warn conservatives and Republicans, you’d better pay attention to this guy.”
Newsom’s camp said the governor fully understands the situation: He’ll be appearing on conservative-leaning Fox News with a solid conservative host.
“We are under no illusions,” Nathan Click, an advisor to Newsom, told the Times. “This is a two-on-one match with the refs in the tank for the home team. But Gov. Newsom has long believed that Democrats have to go on offense in enemy territory, and that’s exactly what he intends to do.”
For his part, Hannity has said he will be fair to Newsom.
“I kept my pledge to give him a fair shot and let him answer,” Hannity said. “If I have one goal going in, it’s that people walk away and say, ‘Wow, that was a good, spirited, healthy informative debate.’”
“I look forward to the opportunity to debate Gavin Newsom over our very different visions for the future of our country,” DeSantis wrote on the X platform in September.
“The contrast of California’s failures to Florida’s success demonstrates that Ron DeSantis is right: decline is merely a choice,” said DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo.
“Whether Newsom or Biden is the Democrat nominee in ’24, they both offer the same failed and dangerous ideology for America that helped get us in this mess. We look forward to putting Ron DeSantis’ record of success up against it,” he added.
Both men agreed to a debate in August but it has taken several weeks’ worth of negotiations to settle on the ground rules.
Three days after agreeing to the debate, DeSantis explained his reasoning to a crowd in Iowa.
“One, Biden’s agenda is ultimately just trying to take the California agenda nationally anyways. … California leftism is kind of how the Democratic Party operates,” he said, adding that “Biden may not be the candidate” and Newsom, instead, may throw his hat into the ring to try and become the 2024 Democratic nominee.
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