MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republican lawmakers denounced him. Newt Gingrich demanded a do-over. And the hosts of ‘Fox & Friends,’ President Donald Trump’s favorite morning television show, gave him a verbal slap on the wrist for his performance during a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The mass desertion by some of the president’s stalwart allies made his remaining defenders — Sean Hannity and a handful of right-wing media personalities — all the more conspicuous in the wake of Trump’s Helsinki appearance by virtue of being virtually alone. Leading them all was Hannity, who has shadowed Trump across the globe for high-stakes international summits to provide him with a friendly interview platform moments after their conclusion. He was in Singapore last month to interview the president after his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and he was in Helsinki on Monday [7-16-18] to shield him from bipartisan criticism that he had disgraced the U.S. by refusing to stand up to Putin. Though some right-wing radio hosts offered their own defenses of the president, the Hannity-Trump interview stood out as a singular safe space for the president on cable news, underscoring the significance of Hannity’s platform for the maintenance of the Trump brand. The relationship is mutually beneficial: Monday night’s interview drew about 4 million viewers, squashing the cable news competition and, in turn, providing the president with a megaphone that broadcasts directly to his political base.”
-Eliana Johnson, “Hannity wins as Trump’s lone defender,” Politico, July 18, 2018 10:21 am