Sean Hannity, one of the longest-tenured personalities at Fox News, took to Twitter Thursday morning to remember and give thanks to his former boss, Roger Ailes, who died in the early morning hours after suffering complications from a blood clot.
Ailes, the former chief executive of Fox News, was a controversial figure in American media and culture. He became a villain, of sorts, this past year when news broke that he had a reputation for being a serial sexual harasser.
Yet Hannity, one of the most loyal conservatives on TV, remained forever faithful to the man who helped procure him one of the most lucrative jobs in news and entertainment.
Hannity sent out a series of tweets Thursday lionizing the life of his old friend.
Hannity singled out the “impact” Ailes had on American politics and media. He called him a “strategist” who was always playing chess 5 moves ahead of his opponent.
The right-wing pundit also thanked Ailes for taking a “huge risk” in hiring him in 1996, when he was just a young, local radio talk show host.
Hannity, who recently suffered the loss of his former Fox News co-host Alan Colmes, was clearly sensitive Thursday to all the reactions from political writers to Ailes death.
But it was Hannity’s tweet about Ailes and the afterlife that drew the largest reaction on social media.
Political writers, of whom Hannity was subtweeting, were quick to point out how deranged the tweet sounded.
yes cuz that's what all faiths tells us the afterlife is all about https://t.co/E0FPiyJMcm
— Jon Ward (@jonward11) May 18, 2017
not even death can stop Roger Ailes from plotting vindictive revenge schemes against his enemies https://t.co/SIimKzUcEW
— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) May 18, 2017
Sean Hannity spinning Roger Ailes death into a win is actually Peak Fox https://t.co/b67JZeloyO
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) May 18, 2017
The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel noticed that Hannity was very concerned and protective of Ailes’ reputation. The Fox News host has not given the same considerations to Seth Rich, however, as Hannity has promoted a conspiracy theory involving Rich on his show.
Have you apologized to Seth Rich's family yet https://t.co/rm1v4CXnj3
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) May 18, 2017
