Fox News Hosts Privately Begged Trump to Act During Capitol Riot. Here’s What They Said On Air

Fox News hosts privately begged then-President Donald Trump to act during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, according to text messages to then-White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows. Those texts were read aloud by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Monday night during a hearing of the House select committee investigating the riot.

Cheney read the correspondence just before the committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Department of Justice charge Meadows with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the committee. The measure will now be voted on by the full House of Representatives.

Fox News did not air the hearing, though CNN and MSNBC did.

“Mark, the President needs to tell people in the Capitol to go Home. This is hurting all of us,” texted Laura Ingraham. “He is destroying his legacy.”

“Please get him on TV,” said Brian Kilmeade. “Destroying everything you have accomplished.”

“Can he make a statement, ask people to leave the Capitol,” asked Sean Hannity.

However, on the air, the Fox News hosts sang a different tune the violence.

On the night of January 6, Ingraham repeatedly suggested that the worst rioters might not have been MAGA at all, arguing Antifa was “sprinkled” through the crowd and saying she’d never seen Trump supporters armed or armored at rallies.

“I have never seen Trump rally attendees wearing helmets, black helmets, brown helmets. Black backpacks. The uniforms that you saw in some of these crowd shots. Have you ever seen them wearing… those knee pads and the, you know, all of the pads on their elbows?” she said to The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway. “I just, I mean, I’ve been to a lot of these rallies. I know you, you both have covered them. I have never seen that before. Ever.”

On his radio program that day, Hannity appeared to defend the rioters.

“Apparently a standoff outside of the House door chambers. Not sure why, they knew this was coming,” he said on his radio program. “They knew there was going to be a march. They knew they were heading to the Capitol. I’m not surprised. I am surprised that they didn’t have more of a police presence there when they got there.”

Later that night, Hannity condemned the violence on air.

“Now, let me stop here and be crystal clear: those who truly support President Trump, those that believe they are part of the conservative movement in this country, you do not, we do not support those who commit acts of violence,” he said on Jan. 6. “They – people we don’t believe should be vandalizing our nation’s Capitol, attacking the brave men and women that keep us safe in law enforcement. They don’t storm the Capitol.”

Kilmeade expressed opposition to holding Trump accountable for Jan. 6, but condemned the riot on January 6.

“This is Americans attacking with their faces apparent and transparent while they sat in the speaker’s office,” he said. “That clown should be arrested now, hopefully. And to put up a Trump flag and take down the American flag is not patriotic. One of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”

Watch above, via CNN.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to add additional description of the on-air commentary.