Tennessee Democrat Justin Jones unleashed a blistering attack on Sean Hannity last night, during a chaotic interview which saw the lawmaker accusing the Fox News host of hanging out with “pedophiles and perverts.”
The bitter clash also saw Jones brandishing a photograph of the Ku Klux Klan, whom he compared to ICE agents conducting arrests of alleged illegal immigrants. Hannity landed several of his own verbal blows on the Democrat during the fiery shouting match, though, accusing Jones of making his constituents “less safe and secure” by criticizing the ICE crackdown.
But Jones was unflinching as he unloaded an excoriating critique of using the topic of immigration to distract from other issues during last night’s episode of Hannity.
When asked to list crimes committed by illegal immigrants in Jones’ home state, the congressman took a swipe at a topic that has long dogged the Trump administration: the Epstein files.
“You want to go through a list? Go through the list of the pedophiles and perverts who hang out at Mar-a-Lago,” Jones said, referencing Donald Trump’s estate in Palm Beach.
But the furious lawmaker did not stop there. Later in the interview, he called on God to get Hannity to “stop hanging out with perverts in Mar-a-Lago.”
Although Donald Trump is named in the Epstein files and did hang out with the convicted pedophile at Mar-a-Lago, he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Hannity has not been accused of any wrongdoing either.
The exchange covered a range of topics, with the discussion turning to the Ku Klux Klan at one point as Jones compared them to ICE.
When Hannity asked Jones, who has a Filipina mother and an African American father, about whether he knew anything about the White supremacist group, the Democrat quickly snapped back.
“They ran my grandparents out of Tennessee,” Jones fired back, before launching another attack on Hannity.
“My father was a U.S. Marine; he fought for this country. Who have you served, Sean, other than your pocketbook?” Jones said.
In response, Hannity tried to draw a distinction between the activities of ICE and the KKK, arguing that the latter was closer to the Gestapo.
Jones said that his comparison was apt, on the basis that ICE and the KKK both dragged Americans out of their homes while hiding their identities with masks.
The personal insults exchanged during the on-air squabble did not stop there, though.
At one point, Jones even accused Hannity of profiting from working-class Americans’ concerns over immigration and the cost of living.
“All you do…it’s the same talking points to keep people fearful, because you get paid $45 million a year to keep these people watching your show fearful,” Jones blasted. “So, they don’t pay attention to the CEOs taking their healthcare, letting their farms close.
“You don’t care about the American people, you’re distracting from the real issues,” Jones continued. “Their pain is real, but it’s not immigrants, it’s the corporate CEOs who are screwing them over and making it so they cannot afford groceries and their healthcare.”
His criticism comes a year into Donald Trump’s second presidency, which was founded upon a campaign promise to drastically cut prices.
According to Trump, he has done just that. He has often bragged about dropping the prices of some products by “400, 500 and even 600 percent,” even though this would mean that companies would be paying consumers to take their products.
Hannity hit back at each of Jones’ claims, branding the Democrat as a “disgrace” at one point.
“I’ll take the prayers, thank you very much, but the one that needs the prayer is you,” he added. “The victims in your state need your prayers, not me. Pray for them.”
The Independent has contacted Fox News and Representative Jones for comment.
