Sean Hannity's Most Embarrassing On-Air Blunders

There's a list of Fox News anchors' messiest real-life scandals the public can't forget, and Sean Hannity is on it. His alleged crime? Sexual harassment. The Fox News anchor has, of course, denied the allegations, and he's still making waves on the network regularly, thanks to his penchant for stirring the pot. Kicking the hornet's nest is all in a day's work for Hannity, but he's often managed to embarrass himself in the process as well. 

During a chat with President Donald Trump's Secretary of Health, RFK Jr., in 2023, Hannity questioned the former presidential hopeful about his use of private jets despite being a so-called environmental activist. The conversation quickly took an awkward turn as Hannity attempted to make Kennedy pledge he'd never fly on a private jet again. Kennedy proceeded to say he's "not that kind of environmentalist" (via X) and wasn't about to tell people they had to give up this comfort. The two men both contradicted themselves during the interview, with Kennedy first claiming he doesn't fly on private jets before saying he doesn't use this form of transport frequently. Hannity, meanwhile, who for a moment seemed to be a ruthless environmental advocate while needling Kennedy, then went on to say he didn't care either way because he doesn't believe global warming exists. 

This exchange could have been even more awkward had Hannity been able to glimpse the future and ask Kennedy about the social media tempest that erupted in November of that year when the latter was spotted walking barefoot on an airplane, an act that left many netizens just a little grossed out. Hannity's fiery exchange with Kennedy has hardly been his most embarrassing moment on air, however. 

After former President Joe Biden's disastrous debate with President Donald Trump in June 2024, Sean Hannity described Biden as "mentally impaired," with a "very poor memory " on Fox News. He also called the then-president out for having "trouble with numbers and names and concepts."

Some thought this was a bold statement coming from Hannity, since he's previously been brutally called out by netizens for flubbing the names of some of the guests on his show. One such incident occurred in 2022, when Hannity hosted several guests, including Kellyanne Conway, former counselor to Donald Trump. While introducing Conway, Hannity referred to her as "Kellyanne Trump." One could see the guests smiling awkwardly at the blunder, but Hannity steamrolled straight ahead, seemingly blissfully unaware of his gaffe, which later trended on X, formerly Twitter.

"After ranting about cognitive decline Sean Hannity introduces Kellyanne Conway AS, DRUM ROLL PLEASE...Kellyanne Trump (Now Trending). We'd hate to embarrass him. SO. Don't accidentally RT this post," one pundit wrote on X after the footage resurfaced in 2024 after Hannity's comments about Biden's competence left many red under the collar. Added another, "Maybe Hannity should take some cognitive tests of his own." Some agreed that Hannity "has been going downhill for a while," but added that he had the benefit of not being nominated for president.

In a moment that had many in stitches, Sean Hannity managed to introduce Lara Trump to his audience as "Lara Sh-t" (via X) during an interview in February 2025. In this case, however, Hannity quickly managed to recover and reiterate her correct last name without missing a beat. This didn't keep pundits on X, formerly Twitter, from poking fun at the Fox News host, however.

Needless to say, most left wingers aren't exactly fans of Lara Trump, who's married to President Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump. Any opportunity to poke fun at her has often been met with enthusiasm, and this time was no different. "Sean Hannity calling Lara Trump Lara Sh-t on Fox News was the best Freudian slip of the week," one pundit wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Hannity was caught speaking the truth," another quipped in response. Added someone else, "Ouch, that's embarrassing."

Neither Hannity nor Lara ever commented on the flub, but one can imagine that Donald Trump's daughter-in-law couldn't exactly have been thrilled by the headlines that followed. By the time March rolled around, however, it appeared that she'd put it all behind her, appearing on Hannity's show once again. This time, the Fox News host managed to get her last name right, but Lara made headlines when she asserted that the American people "ought to be kissing the feet of Elon Musk and Donald Trump" for what she deemed their good works (via News Channel 6).

Every now and then Sean Hannity will invite a Democrat onto his show, but the funny thing is, he never seems to actually let them speak.

Hannity's had various awkward exchanges with former President Barack Obama's former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee. In 2022, Hannity tore into Goolsbee about the country's economy, and claimed then-President Joe Biden had cut the country's energy production by 40% while it had been thriving under Trump's reign. The more Goolsbee tried to explain to Hannity that he didn't have his facts quite right, and that Biden was actually making good headway in getting things back on track, the more Hannity spoke over him, barely letting Goolsbee finish a sentence. At one point, the former chairman simply laughed at Hannity, who either didn't want to or couldn't grasp the concept he was trying to explain. Things only got cringier from there, with Hannity babbling on asking the same questions over and over again even though Goolsbee had already attempted to answer them.

In 2013, Goolsbee told Chicago magazine, "I would say his [Hannity's] knowledge of economics is ideological. From my perspective, I would not say, lots of economic insight I agree with." He added, "With Fox News in general, and Hannity in particular, it's not an academic crowd. In some sense that's why I go on. It's two ships passing in the night ... It's the biggest problem in our society. Got to break down that barrier." It seems Goolsbee is yet to achieve this feat.

Sean Hannity once told former President Barack Obama's former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee, that he doesn't "suck up" to presidents during an interview on Fox News. That was in 2013. Now more than a decade later, Hannity seems to be contradicting his former statement.

In February 2025, Hannity interviewed President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and netizens were dismayed at how much Hannity appeared to enjoy the sound of his own voice. But then there was also the relentless sucking up Hannity resorted to during the interview, which an opinion piece by azcentral described as the stuff nightmares are made of. At one point, Hannity said, "I feel like I'm interviewing two brothers here." He and Musk also took turns praising Trump, with Hannity making sure to bash the media writing less than flattering things about the president. However, the Fox News host did remember to remind the president that science is an important subject in school when the latter droned on about what kids needed to be taught. "The only thing I want to do from D.C. is make sure they're teaching English, reading, writing, and arithmetic," the president said (via X). Hannity quickly added, "And science." The president didn't seem all that enthusiastic, replying, "And a little science, yeah."

Things turned even more awkward when Hannity brought up the lawsuit Trump filed against X, formerly Twitter, which cost Musk $10 million. He also mentioned that Musk technically heads DOGE for free. The shock was evident on Musk's face when Trump confirmed the payout. Had Musk not been aware his company had paid Trump $10 million? It sure seemed that way. Hannity then continued to indulge in some conspiracy theories with his interviewees for good measure.