Conservative pundits Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh issued contradictory statements regarding how they thought acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney handled his Thursday afternoon press conference.
The White House spokesman told reporters that millions of dollars in U.S. military aid for Ukraine “was held up temporarily” for “completely legitimate” reasons. He also urged those concerned about the “quid pro quo” to “get over it.”
Hannity expressed his feelings about Mulvaney’s performance during his radio show, saying, “What is Mulvaney even talking about? I just think he’s dumb, I really do. I don’t even think he knows what he’s talking about. That’s my take on it.”
“You don’t need a chief of staff’s idiotic interpretation of things,” the prime-time Fox News host continued. “When the president and the president of Ukraine and everybody else can read it all themselves. That’s what’s amazing.”
His fellow conservative commentator Limbaugh defended Mulvaney, by contrast.
“You hear how good Mulvaney is here?” Limbaugh stated after playing a clip from the press conference. “He’s wiry but he’s explosive. And he’s snarking back at ’em and they don’t even know it.”
Since Hannity and Limbaugh took their sides on Mulvaney’s performance, the acting chief of staff released a statement alleging that the media misconstrued his remarks.
