Sean Hannity Faces Backlash After Saying Americans Were Better Off Under Trump 4 Years Ago

Social media took no time pouncing on Fox News's Sean Hannity after he claimed the country was better off four years ago when Donald Trump was president. 

Using a popular 2024 election rhetoric that both GOP and Democrats have been using, "Were you better off four years ago?" While interviewing Sen. Tim Scott on his show, Hannity said he was better off four years ago. Hannity was referencing The View's Whoopi Goldberg, who recently accused Republicans of collectively forgetting how bad the economy was under the mismanagement of the COVID pandemic when Trump was president.

Attacking Goldberg, Hannity said that he feels for 60% of the Americans who are now living paycheck to paycheck, the answer is "Hell yeah, we were better off four years ago under Trump." Hannity was quickly fact-checked and slammed by social media, who pounced to slam him for what they called unfactual information.

A user called him a "brain worm," slamming him on X, "OMG This is the second time this imbecile has made this same mistake when trying to say we were better off 4 years ago (with 1000 dying every day and millions jobless). Brain worms like Trump." A user shared, "Even Hannity can't keep the fables straight....."

Another user criticized him, saying on X, "I think it's more that he really knows we're better off now, and his subconscious can't help but tell the truth." Another user slammed Trump's record on employment, saying on X, "Uh, we were living paycheck to paycheck under Trump. Until we all lost our jobs." 

A user slammed him on X, saying, "Remember 4 years ago when our kids were scared to death and asked us if everything was gonna be okay and we had to lie because we knew that the man in charge thought he could bully a virus by throwing ketchup tantrums? It was awesome! I’m sure 60% of us want to go back to that!"

Meidas Touch Network editor Acyn caught Hannity's lie, with a graphic from Forbes claiming in 2019, 78% of people were living paycheck to paycheck, much higher than Biden's record, adding in the caption, "And if Hannity wants to talk four years ago, in April 2020, the U.S. had a 14.8% unemployment rate with over 23 million Americans unemployed."

Due largely to consumer spending and the Federal Reserve's effective attempts to contain inflation without inducing a recession, Vox reported that the US economy is expanding faster than anticipated. Now that wages are increasing more quickly than inflation, some of the pressure from rising prices should be released.

What works is Biden's job creation policy. Under Biden, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest point since 1969, and in 2021, the US added a record 7.27 million new jobs. Since then, job growth has continued apace, but in 2023 it will only generate 2.7 million new positions. The unemployment rate and the percentage of discouraged workers in the labor market have decreased and remained below pre-pandemic levels.