Fox News host Sean Hannity couldn't hide his surprise on Wednesday night when his response to comedian Russell Brand's criticism met resistance from one of his own guests in Fox contributor Geraldo Rivera.
"He's a dufus, which is unfortunate. And his attack on you, unwarranted," Rivera told Hannity. "Still, I think that there are two sides to this story that are not necessarily being told."
"Geraldo, 3,000 rockets, three kidnapped kids slaughtered," Hannity responded before Rivera cut him off.
"Thirteen-hundred dead civilians, 30, 40 percent of them children, Sean," Rivera shot back. "This is undermining Israel. This is the worst thing for Israel's stature and standing in the world. It's fueling anti-Semitism, and it's going to do very, very little but prolong this crisis."
"Geraldo, if 3,000 rockets were fired into America, wouldn't you obliterate the infrastructure of the group responsible?" a visibly annoyed Hannity asked.
"Michael Bloomberg came home from Israel saying, ‘Open the airport, these rockets are ineffective, the Iron Dome's got them solid,'" Rivera answered, citing the former New York City mayor's recent trip. "How many civilians have been killed by those rockets? One Israeli Arab in the field. You have seen what happened in that hospital. You have seen what happened at the UN school today, Sean. We can no longer ignore what has happened."
Hannity was in a more jovial mood earlier in the segment, when he played footage of Brand's online commentary, in which the comedian said the Fox host "looks like the Ken Doll from the Toy Story 3 film" and bullied his way through interviews.
"I feel so bad that Russell doesn't like my style of interviewing," Hannity said. "Unfortunately, this out-of-work actor didn't stop at stylistic critiques."
Hannity dismissed Brand's criticism in part by reading the charter of the Palestinian group Hamas, in which it pledges to "obliterate" Israel.
"Three-thousand rockets, Russell, fired into Israel," Hannity said. "Two-thirds of the Israeli population in bunkers in just the last month. Now, Russell, if you're watching — and I'm sure you will — take a close look at your TV because I need to educate you, 'cause you're kind of dumb and ignorant."
Watch the discussion, as posted online on Wednesday, below.
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