Veteran newscaster Ted Koppel recently called out Fox News host Sean Hannity for harming America by encouraging people to put ideology over facts.
In a CBS Sunday Morning report about the partisan divide in America, Koppel lamented that extreme voices on the left and the right were "driving the country further and further apart."
Koppel asked Hannity why he was pushing a "highly partisan agenda" on Fox News.
"Honestly, I think liberalism has to be defeated," Hannity opined. "Socialism must be defeated in a political sense. We don't want a revolution in this country."
"What more do you want?" Koppel wondered. "You've got the White House, you've got the House, you've got the Senate."
"And we have angry snowflakes," Hannity replied. "And then we've got a Democratic establishment. I say the press in this country is out to destroy this president."
Koppel traced the roots of the problem back to President Ronald Reagan's abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, which forced television and radio programs to present balanced points of view.
Hannity, however, argued that the American people deserved credit for being intelligent enough to seek out alternative viewpoints.
"You're cynical," Hannity said, observing Koppel's disdain. "You think we're bad for America? You think I'm bad for America?"
"Yeah," Koppel stated without hesitation.
"That's sad," Hannity complained.
"Because you're very good at what you do," Koppel explained. "And you have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts."
(h/t: Mediaite)
