Do You Believe in Miracles? Sean Hannity and Gavin Newsom Teamed Up to Give the Best Hour of Cable News in Ages

If one truism unites our nation’s political pundits, it’s this: the United States has rarely been more politically divided.

Travel across the partisan spectrum, and nearly every talking head will tell you in great detail that the country is splintered by fierce partisan loyalties and competing sets of “facts” while blaming their political foes for the current state of enmity. Which is why something of a miracle happened last week, during the 9 p.m. hour of Fox News of all places.

Sean Hannity, the veteran supporter of former President Donald Trump, sat down for an hour-long interview with the Democratic Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and the two men somehow managed to model the sort of mutually respectful behavior that has gone almost entirely missing in today’s public discourse.

The conversation was so convivial, so forthright, so lacking in hidden agenda or disingenuous “gotcha” moments that one might expect new age gurus to announce the harmonic convergence has dawned. It was wildly entertaining along the way.

The conversation was not without confrontation and conflict. But the nature of the discussion — an open back and forth from two sides of the political aisle — meant both Hannity and Newsom did the impossible: they made reasonable concessions.

Hannity got Newsom to admit that the current homeless problem in his home state is nearing crisis stage. The governor took responsibility, calling the situation a “disgrace.”

The Fox host also brought up Newsom’s ill-advised dinner at Thomas Keller’s famed French Laundry during the height of the pandemic. It’s hard to think of a better example of strict Covid protocols for thee, but not for me that many on the right saw as naked hypocrisy. Under questioning, Newsom admitted the dinner was a “dumb” and “terrible mistake.”

Hannity agreed it was “dumb” before giving Newsom some credit for owning it. “Everybody makes mistakes,” he said.

But the California governor gave as good as he got. He appeared to subtly zing Fox News on the private communications released during the Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit, saying at one point, “I respect your audience too much to let them be misled on this.”

Newsom, who has been rumored to be considering a run for the White House in 2024, refused to criticize President Joe Biden — despite some encouragement from his host. And no doubt to the dismay of his fevered anti-Trump supporters, he praised the former president for their cooperation during the pandemic.

Overall, the interview almost felt like a period piece from a pre-Trump political landscape. Over the last decade, understanding and sane discourse have been replaced by anger and rank partisanship. Somehow, at 9 p.m. on Fox News, those values were restored? Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.

According to Politico, the interview was Hannity’s idea:

Hannity directly appealed to the Democratic governor a few months ago and offered up his platform, according to three people familiar with the exchange. In his April opener, Hannity noted that the two men — both silvering Irish Catholics — had known each other for years. He wanted to sit down and chat about real issues, mano-a-mano.

The same piece revealed that Newsom is an avid Fox News viewer, which might have started when his ex-wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was a co-host of The Five. She is now engaged to Donald Trump, Jr. of all people, to which the two men are reported to enjoy a convivial relationship that sometimes features discussions about hair products (no, I am not joking.)

Look, we’ve long been trapped in an extremely balkanized political media ecosystem in which cable news viewers almost entirely consume partisan comfort food. Fact-based journalism is proving to be a very difficult business model because so few viewers tune in.

Hannity’s interview with a political foe, handled by both parties with respect and grace, is worth celebrating. The rest of the cable news landscape should take note.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.