A presidential candidate’s big-picture look at the war in Ukraine flummoxed Fox News host Sean Hannity: “Why are you blaming America’s role in this?”
(Video: Fox News)
The most recent town hall held by Fox News Tuesday saw audience members siding with Democratic primary challenger Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during an exchange on NATO and foreign policy. While there appeared to be a number of factual discrepancies, there was little question Hannity’s hawkish soapboxing was at odds with a push for any form of a peace deal.
“So Ukraine, to appease [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, who I think is evil, they’ve already given up Crimea. It was annexed. So, what? They have to give up the Donbas area?” the host wondered, linking previous Russian aggression with the ongoing conflict that began with the Feb. 2022 invasion.
“Ukraine, because of our pushing the Ukraine into the war on two occasions in-” Kennedy began in response only to be cut off, “We pushed them into it, or did Putin invade?”
Calling up the Minsk agreements from 2014 and 2015 that, in part, saw a ceasefire and withdrawal, the candidate appeared to muddle the timeline of events as he expanded, “In 2019, France, Germany and Russia all agreed to the Minsk accords. That year, [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy ran for president. He was a comedian. He had no political experience. Why did he win? Because he ran on one issue: signing the Minsk accords.”
“As soon as he got in there, Victoria Nuland and the White House told him he couldn’t do it,” Kennedy claimed of the current Under Secretary of State who had left the State Department in Jan. 2017 only to return in May 2021 for President Joe Biden’s administration. “Then Putin sends 40,000 troops in. That’s not enough to conquer the country. Clearly, he wanted us to come to the ne- — he wanted somebody to come to the negotiating table.”
Furthering the argument that there had been a chance for an early peace deal, the guest suggested that the United Kingdom’s then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been dispatched to squash a pending agreement in 2022, solely to prolong the conflict.
“Putin, in good faith, began withdrawing troops from the Ukraine. What happened? We sent Boris Johnson over there to torpedo it because we don’t want peace. We want the war with Russia,” Kennedy charged to applause from the studio audience.
“Why are you blaming America’s role in this?” Hannity asked as he pivoted to the lack of militaristic support from NATO allies rather than addressing the belief that the United States had done too much.
Kennedy would go on to point out the expansion of NATO from the end of the Cold War to the present as he furthered his stance that there had been a decades-long provocation building in Europe, and while Hannity didn’t appear to agree, reactions showed favor to the candidate on social media.
It’s sad when a Democrat is more conservative than Hannity.
— NONBidenary (@KellyLMcCarty) July 26, 2023
Hannity is turning into Lindsey Graham.
— AmericanMike (@AmericanMike74) July 26, 2023
People like Sean Hannity/Mike Pence/Nikki Haley all sound like sales reps for the Military Industrial Complex- an industry that has robbed American taxpayers of trillions of dollars.
Not sure they’ll ever let RFK Jr win, but I’d vote for him.— Cliff (@realnyteams) July 26, 2023
Hannity is apparently a warmonger with no skin in the game , he’s doing the Lindsey, glad I left fox , only turned this up to hear RFK JR
— Michel Francois (@1tinsoldier1) July 26, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- ‘My heart can’t handle this’: World is touched by gripping story of band of dogs who escaped meat factory in China - March 25, 2026
- Michigan father sues school after they file a ‘no trespass’ order against him for exposing giant PRIDE flag - March 25, 2026
- Co-hosts squash Whoopi Goldberg’s argument that she already shows ID to vote - March 25, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.