During a phone interview with Fox & Friends on Monday, President Donald Trump derailed a question about the two-year anniversary of the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, by launching into awkward comments about Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt’s love life with fellow anchor Sean Hannity.
When co-host Lawrence Jones asked Trump how he was feeling about the July 13, 2024 attack, Trump instead began discussing Earhardt. “Well let’s put it this way, so I’ve known Ainsley longer than the two of you. I’ve known her through a great gentlemen, a very handsome man named Sean Hannity,” Trump said. “She seemed to be attracted to him for whatever the hell reason.”
Trump continued unprompted, saying he once told Earhardt that being president is dangerous and joked, “Why didn’t you tell me that, Ainsley? I wouldn’t have run.” He then veered into criticism of media coverage, claiming the press would distort his sarcasm by reporting he regretted running for office.
The hosts made multiple attempts to steer Trump back to the original topic. At one point, Jones tried interjecting with a follow-up question about Graham, but Trump talked over him. Only after several attempts did co-host Griff Jenkins manage to refocus the conversation, according to reporting from HuffPost and Yahoo News.
The awkward moment is not the first time Trump has made unsolicited comments about Earhardt and Hannity’s relationship on air. In August 2025, while discussing efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump similarly pivoted to praising the couple. “There’s a guy named Sean Hannity, he might take a very lovely lady that he knows very, very well to dinner in Washington,” Trump said at that time. “Ainsley and Sean are great people, and when they go out to dinner, I don’t want to see them get mugged,” he added, claiming his policies had made it safe for them to dine out.
Earhardt and Hannity, who have been together since 2019, announced their engagement in December 2024. The couple has maintained a largely private relationship despite working together on the morning show.
Trump’s rambling style during interviews has drawn repeated attention. During Monday’s call, he spoke for nearly six minutes on tangential topics, including statistics on presidential assassination rates and comparisons to other dangerous professions like race car driving and bull riding, according to HuffPost’s account of the exchange.
Sources
- Yahoo News — Trump’s July 13, 2026 phone call to Fox & Friends and the awkward comments about Earhardt and Hannity’s relationship.
- Daily Express US — Trump’s remarks on the call, Earhardt and Hannity’s engagement announcement in December 2024, and social media reaction.
- HuffPost — Details of Trump’s nearly six-minute rambling response, the hosts’ attempts to redirect the conversation, and context about the call’s purpose regarding Lindsey Graham’s death.
