Fox News host Sean Hannity said Tuesday that he believed in second chances and would not speak out against CNN returning anchor Chris Cuomo to the airwaves following his suspension.
Hannity closed his show Tuesday with his reaction to the news that CNN had suspended Cuomo indefinitely — just hours earlier — after learning that the “Cuomo Primetime” anchor had used his professional contacts to gather information about what stories might be coming down the pipe about his brother, former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY).
“All right. Some thoughts on Chris Cuomo. CNN suspended him,” Hannity began, going on to note that he had never been one to call for boycotts or for other people to be fired — especially in cases where his main issue with the person in question was a difference of political opinion.
“I’ve defended with a lot of people that I don’t like or agree with: comedians, Don Imus, even people that I really don’t like that much, Bill Maher, Joy Reid, but I believe in their right to exercise their freedom of speech, it’s a right I deeply believe in,” Hannity continued before going on to address Cuomo’s situation specifically.
“It’s clear that Chris totally mishandled the mess with his brother. We don’t know what the governor told him from the start, and honestly, he probably, my guess, wasn’t honest with his own brother. But it’s easy to support people when things in life are going well, it’s always easy. Chris’ brother, Andrew, was in big trouble,” Hannity added, arguing that even if Cuomo had stepped out of bounds in terms of his role as a broadcaster, his motive — however misguided — appeared to be simply to help his brother.
“Helping a brother, and a friend, in the worst moment of their life, is probably not the worst offense and he probably lied to himself even though he handled it wrong in terms of his work. If Chris does get back on the air, I assume he will apologize. I believe in second chances when sincere apologies are made, but it’s you, the audience, that decides if the apology is sincere,” Hannity concluded.
Hannity previously defended Cuomo after he lost his temper during an exchange with a man who approached him in public and called him “Fredo.”
As The Daily Wire reported:
In the leaked video, Cuomo confronted a man for calling him the name “Fredo,” a reference from “The Godfather” films. The CNN host threatened to throw the man down some stairs and told him calling an Italian the name Fredo was like calling a black person the N-word.
Hannity responded by saying that Cuomo did not have anything to apologize for — in fact, he thought the heckler owed Cuomo an apology for approaching the CNN anchor and calling him names while he was out with his family.
I say good for @ChrisCuomo
He’s out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jackass in front of his family.
Imho Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology. https://t.co/VnyMNgz14U
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) August 13, 2019
“I say good for [Chris Cuomo]. He’s out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jacka** in front of his family,” Hannity tweeted. “[In my opinion] Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology.”