Hannity defense of Darline Graham exposes blatant double standard

Fox News host Sean Hannity was caught in a bind after defending Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for being unable to answer a question about Taiwan.

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Graham was in a debate with Rep. Ralph Norman this week when she was asked if the U.S. should be concerned about whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security threats. Graham said she didn’t know anything about national security issues. It’s “not my thing,” she said, shocking viewers with the gaffe.

Hannity gave Graham the time to defend herself on his show, “I know people have made a big deal about it and I’m like, I wonder how many people around the country, if I gave them a map could pick out Taiwan. I don’t think many. Not just as — I mean the whole country. Never mind South Carolina.”

As senior digital editor Acyn Torabi pointed out, just six months ago at the Munich Security Conference, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was asked a similar question, whether the U.S. should commit troops to defend the island if China were to move. AOC similarly fumbled as she tried to answer the question, saying that the U.S. obviously doesn’t want to get to that point and that the U.S.’ global position and strength would deter China from such an action.

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News host Martha MacCallum on “The Story,” that it was “embarrassing.”

“If I had given that answer, I would say, ‘You know what? Maybe you ought to go read a book about China and Taiwan before I go out on the world stage again,’” he continued.

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“I hope that Congresswoman Cortez has the same humility,” he said, adding, “I’m skeptical.”

Hannity similarly said that AOC “simply could not answer basic questions about global affairs. This is about as close to a Kamala Harris word salad as you’ll ever get. Take a listen.”

CNN’s Aaron Blake posted the two transcripts side-by-side, noting, “This is pretty bad from Hannity. He knocked AOC for not answering a very similar question to the one Graham got. Here are the transcripts from February vs. last night.”

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, an ex-governor of South Carolina, wrote in an X post that foreign policy experience is “not something you inherit,” as Graham did with her brother’s seat.

Failed gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, who was previously in the Trump administration, gave props to Norman, writing on X that Graham has “worked hard to hide any firm positions, and here she is at least being honest.”

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