As I’ve previously posted, Megyn Kelly and others on Fox took a snippet of Nancy Pelosi’s comments on CNN’s State of the Union and used them to suggest she thinks Hamas is a humanitarian organization. Last night, Fox’s own Kirsten Powers told Sean Hannity, “There’s no way” Pelosi believes Hamas isn’t a terrorist organization.
The clip Fox is going gaga over shows Pelosi saying:
PELOSI: We have to support Iron Dome to protect the Israelis from the missiles. We have to support the Palestinians and what they need. And we have to confer with the Qataris, who have told me over and over again that Hamas is a humanitarian organization, maybe they could use their influence to -
CROWLEY: The U.S. thinks they’re a terrorist organization though, correct? Do you?
PELOSI: Mmm-hmm.
CROWLEY: Yeah.
It seems clear to me even there that Pelosi was trying to say we need to confer with the Qataris because they could be helpful to broker peace, not because they support Hamas. But if you read the full transcript, it couldn’t be clearer.
But Hannity and his like-minded pals on the panel last night didn’t seem to care. For good measure, Hannity lumped Pelosi in with yet another swipe at Russell Brand. He labeled Brand and Pelosi “two such morons.”
Powers told Hannity:
First of all, neither of them are dumb. Let’s just …stipulate that. …I think that Nancy Pelosi’s statements have been taken out of context. If you look at the entire interview, she’s saying this is what the Qataris told her. …She wasn’t endorsing it, though, and she refers to Hamas as a terrorist organization in that interview. …She says that they have initiated the conflict and they shouldn’t be using children as human shields. So I think you’re kind of – you’re twisting her words. I mean, she thinks they’re a terrorist organization!
Hannity kept trying to interrupt. He made a hammy show of putting his hands over his eyes. “Shouldn’t the former Speaker of the House know that they’re a terrorist organization?” he asked. Apparently, he had no interest in considering the full context of Pelosi’s comments. You have to wonder if he ever bothered to even glance at them.
However, Powers was not deterred.
I don’t think that you can take away from that that she doesn’t understand that. I think that she makes this one statement which you sort of are grabbing on to and then you ignore the fact – if you’re talking about Hamas, (she said), "They shouldn’t be using human shields. They’re a terrorist organization. They initiated this conflict. Israel has a right to defend itself." …I’m willing to state, I know I can prove it – she does not believe Hamas isn’t a terrorist organization. There’s no way.
Powers also pointed out that it’s true Hamas does do “humanitarian things,” as do other terrorist organizations. “That doesn’t make them a humanitarian organization,” she added.
The discussion moved back to Brand. I reiterate my assertion that despite Hannity’s repeated insults about Brand, he’s actually pleased by the attention.
