Fox News' Sean Hannity speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
The MAGA-sphere was struggling to recollect itself after one of its latest conspiracy theories went down in flames on Tuesday.
MAGA maven Sean Hannity deleted a post on Tuesday accusing former special prosecutor Jack Smith of having contact with a prosecutor investigating President Donald Trump for attempted election subversion while attending an NBA game in Atlanta.
Earlier Tuesday, the MAGA social media machine was already up and churning with the accusation as Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) leveled the question at Smith before live cameras on, telling Schmitt he had text messages from Smith's team that Jack Smith was in Atlanta Feb. 2024, one day after DA Fani Willis admitted a relationship with co-worker Nathan Wade.
"What would you say if I had a series of text messages from your team that said you were in Atlanta at a Warriors Hawks game the day after Willis and Wade announced their affair," said Schmitt, adding: "I don't think you know that we have this stuff, I'll give you a second to process it."
But there was no processing required, as Smith quickly dismembered the accusation by explaining that he had attended an entirely different game.
News media pounced elements of the MAGA echo chamber that had fired prematurely before understanding their target.
“Are you going to update this tweet now that it is clear the senator mixed up the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes? I mean, this is absurd stuff,” wrote Tangle News founder Isaac Saul of former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge, who had claimed Smith “seemed off balance” and “taken aback when Schmitt said he was bringing receipts” of memos, transcripts and texts.
MAGA leader and Fox News entertainer Hannity had already quietly deleted his own similar accusations hours later on Tuesday, without apology or explanation.
“Clearly the talking points and marching orders were sent out to push this story before it was revealed that Schmitt either lied or was embarrassingly wrong and confused the Atlanta Hawks with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes,” one heckler said on X.
But other media, including New Republica writer Brian Beutler, had screenshot Hannity’s claim, and reposted it after its sudden absence.
“Here’s a deleted tweet from Hannity, who won’t admit error, won’t chastise Schmitt, and won’t lose stature with anyone on the right, including the most of the blue-check community on this website,” Beutler said. “This is what you all like about him!”
Other members of the online MAGA community were slower to action, with Alt-right entertainer Benn Johnson failing to delete his own Schmidt-related post later that Tuesday.
“Are you really this ignorant or just pretending to be,” said one commenter beneath Johnson’s lingering post.