Fox News host Sean Hannity interviewed former President Donald Trump on Monday and, apparently, omitted crucial chunks of their conversation about Ukraine when it was broadcast to Hannity's radio audience.
Justin Baragona, the senior media reporter at The Daily Beast, noticed the discrepancy on Tuesday.
"According to Trump, all he needed to do was let Russia 'take over' parts of Ukraine," Baragona explained. "Saying that Russia was going for the 'whole enchilada' with Joe Biden as president, Trump added that Russia 'took over nothing' while he was in the White House because Russian President Vladimir Putin 'understood' that 'he would have never done it.'"
Trump added, "that's without even negotiating a deal. I could have negotiated. At worst, I could've made a deal to take over something, there are certain areas that are Russian-speaking areas, frankly, but you could've worked a deal."
But as Baragona pointed out, that is not what Hannity played.
"Instead, shortly after Trump says, 'I could have negotiated,' the audio quickly skips about 30 seconds of speaking time before picking back up where the former president pivots to his complaint that 'China no longer respects the United States,'" Baragona observed.
Baragona also noted that "besides asserting that he would have stopped Russia from invading Ukraine by making a deal to let them 'take over something,' Trump also said in the portion not aired by Fox that 'so many more people are dying than is being reported' while reiterating this 'would have never happened' under his watch."