'SPICY' viral video of Ron DeSantis on Hannity was doctored (badly) — and even lefty 'fact-checkers' ADMIT it



A video has been making the rounds on social media that appears to show Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) telling Fox News host Sean Hannity and Lara Trump that the FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was “not a raid.”

The video, which has been viewed more than 3.5 million times as of this writing, was captioned "Ron DeSantis went on Hannity and things got SPICY" and featured a (very badly) altered video in which footage of DeSantis at a 2020 press conference was inserted to look like he was correcting Hannity's use of the word "raid" to describe the recent Mar-a-Lago debacle.

“It’s not a raid. With all due respect. It was not a raid. They were serving valid process in accordance with the laws and Constitution of the United States and the state of Florida. They did it with integrity. They did it with honor. And to say it’s a raid is disinformation," DeSantis says in the video, kicking off the alleged "spicy" back and forth.

\u201cRon DeSantis went on Hannity and things got SPICY\u201d
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1660358867

Both Reuters and AP News have issued fact-checks to debunk the doctored video, because apparently people on Twitter can't decern the extremally, blatantly, painfully obvious alterations for themselves.

Did people really not notice that Hannity is in a weird time loop that makes him appear to be suffering some sort of seizure? Or the way Lara's face is frozen mid-blink? Or how about DeSantis' beyond-even-the-world's-worst-mouth-breather default position when Hannity is speaking? And if none of that clued folks in, surely the crazy chyron would do the trick, right?

Maybe not.

DeSantis' then-press secretary Christina Pushaw (who just resigned from her job as press secretary to work as the rapid response director for the governor's re-election campaign) had to set the record straight.

\u201cOf course it\u2019s fake. The clip of DeSantis is from 2020 when he was responding to a question about Florida police executing a felony search warrant at the home of a fired state employee who had a documented arrest history of physical violence against police.\u201d
— Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1660393636
\u201cThe subject of that 2020 warrant, Rebekah Jones, was home when FDLE/TallahasseePD knocked on her door. They waited patiently outside for 25min while she yelled at her husband to \u201ccall Chris Cuomo\u201d & setup her camera to capture a BIDEN HIRE ME sign in the background of the \u201craid\u201d\u201d
— Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1660393636
\u201cThis is not a matter of dispute. Literally all of it is on video. The full FDLE body cam footage is public; Chris Cuomo/Biden Hire Me stuff is visible in videos Jones herself put on YouTube.\n\nJones\u2019 FL arrest/Baker Act record is public like her LA charges for battery on police.\u201d
— Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1660393636
\u201chttps://t.co/yde3YRXklM\u201d
— Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1660393636

Gov. DeSantis joined Glenn Beck on the most recent "Glenn Beck Podcast" to talk about the unrelenting leftist and media attacks accusing him of tyranny and scaremongering about how he'll "kill" our "democracy" and to explain why he isn’t slowing down.

DeSantis is unafraid to call out their lies and keep Florida on the front lines for freedom. When Disney tried to protest his Parental Rights in Education law, he stood his ground — and won. He did the same with CRT and woke prosecutors and is now gearing up to take on ESG.

In the video clip below, he details what his state has already done, what the legislature is preparing to do, and why he's calling on other states to join in his anti-ESG battle: "If we pooled our voting rights together, we would be able to counteract what California and New York and a lot of these other pension plans are doing."

Watch the video clip below or find the full episode here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here



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Howard Stern spots the REAL reason Will Smith slapped Chris Rock: 'Smith and Trump are the SAME GUY’



By now, you've no doubt heard about the Oscar night spectacle in which actor Will Smith marched onstage and smacked comedian Chris Rock across the face for making a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Content warning: Profanity:

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rockpic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1648434735

Soon after, anyone with a platform and an opinion (which is pretty much everyone these days) was offering up their ideas on what caused Smith's explosive meltdown, and many were quick to find a way to blame, you guessed it, former President Donald Trump.

During an episode of his SiriusXM radio show, Howard Stern said he'd cracked the code on Smith's bizarre behavior:

"Will Smith and Trump are the same guy," Sherlock Stern deduced.

Content warning: Profanity:


"Will Smith and Trump are the same guy." \u2014 @HowardStern on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the #Oscars https://mediaite.com/a/ptwrx\u00a0pic.twitter.com/g3pK6P3fqt
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) 1648477432


“[Smith] open-hand, with a lot of force, smacks [Rock] right in the mouth on TV,” Stern said. “Now the first thing I said to myself was ‘what the f*** is going on, is this a bit?’ Because where is security? This is a live television event. Not one person came out, because he’s Will Smith, this is how Trump gets away with sh**. Will Smith and Trump are the same guy.

He decided he’s going to take matters into his own hands, you know, at a time when the world is at war. Bad timing, man. Calm your f***ing a** down," he added.

Mediaite's tweet highlighting the segment of Stern's show got mixed reviews:

When people say TDS isn\u2019t real
— Heyden (@Heyden) 1648487019
Do you think nothing would have happened had it been Ben Affleck slapping Chris Rock?!????
— KT (@KT) 1648487730


If he means that we as human beings, since around 2016 coincidentally or not, have lost all dignity about ourselves, have lost the ability to turn the other cheek, and have lost all control of impulse in the face of criticism or words we don\u2019t like, then he\u2019s absolutely right.
— Jeremy Swank (@Jeremy Swank) 1648483935
I used to like Howard, he's turned into a real piece of poop. Don't you dare compare the two. When did Trump raise his hand and they were constantly making fun of his wife. Smith only thinks of violence to solve problems.
— Jewel (@Jewel) 1648477184


This happens when they can get over Trump! Everything in their little minds has to include Trump. \n\nTDS is a serious condition!
— CYNDI (@CYNDI) 1648477936

CNN analyst suggests audience reaction to Will Smith's slap is 'psychological case study on how Trump got normalized'



A CNN analyst suggested that the reaction of the Academy Awards audience to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage is a "psychological case study on how Trump got normalized."

What are the details?

The analyst in question is Asha Rangappa, whose Twitter profile indicates she also is a former FBI special agent, a Yale faculty member, and a lawyer.

Here's what Rangappa tweeted Sunday night regarding the slap's aftermath:

So did like anyone walk out after that happened??? Or are we getting an independent psychological case study on how Trump got normalized?
— Asha Rangappa (@Asha Rangappa) 1648439848

"So did like anyone walk out after that happened???" she wondered. "Or are we getting an independent psychological case study on how [former President Donald] Trump got normalized?"

Rangappa — who reportedly bullied and doxxed a 22-year-old female Washington Free Beacon intern in 2020 and called her a "Karen" after Twitter ordered Rangappa to take down the offending post — on Monday morning mocked the notion that she was comparing Smith to Trump.

"The MAGA hate emails have begun, which tells me that the below tweet has made its way to the Breitbart ecosystem," she tweeted. "The sad part is that they are so stupid they don't realize I'm not comparing Smith to Trump, I'm comparing the audience to them."

Rangappa added that she "found the trigger" in the form of Fox News' story on her tweet: "Seriously, like clockwork — as soon as Fox News, etc. publishes something, I get unhinged, racist, threatening emails flooding my inbox."

Agreement

She wasn't the only individual to equate the incident and its aftermath to Trump and other sociopolitical forces:

  • Shock jock Howard Stern said on his Monday show that "this is how Trump gets away with s**t. Will Smith and Trump are the same guy."
  • Strategist Steve Schmidt — emphasizing the "power of group psychology" — asked, "Do you want to know how Trump happened? Watch the Oscars and the crowd reaction. The pull to belong is very powerful. Pull to conform to what is happening around you is a powerful tide. Applause for assault in a tuxedo in California is the same as applause for assault while wearing a red hat in Alabama. That was a crime. There was no virtue attached to it. None whatsoever."
  • CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez tweeted, "Slapping someone is a crime. That's what Mr. Smith did — on live TV, in public, while being seen across the globe. That the American audience game him a standing ovation after that says a lot about us, our culture ... and how Trumpism came to prominence in this country!"
  • Another Twitter user said, "If you're curious why Germans allowed Hitler to happen, or Americans allowed George W. Bush to lead us into Iraq, or why Russians are allowing Putin to murder Ukrainians....look at how the Oscar crowd and his supporters handled Will Smith tonight."

Pushback

Not everybody saw things quite that way, however.

Brandon Straka — creator of the anti-Democrat "Walk Away" campaign that made headlines during the 2020 election — tweeted that Smith "just unapologetically normalized violence at the Oscars & the left-wing Hollywood audience continued to clap and cheer for him & then hand him a trophy. Apparently if you can’t take a joke it’s not only acceptable to cancel someone — you can charge a stage & hit them."

Anything else?

Smith slapped Rock after the comedian joked about the lack of hair on Jada Pinkett Smith's head. Pinkett Smith, Will Smith's wife, revealed in 2018 her diagnosis of alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss, NBC News reported.

After Smith slapped Rock, Smith turned around and walked back to his seat, sat down, and twice hollered at Rock, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"

Content warning: Profanity:

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rockpic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1648434735

Minutes later, Smith received a best actor Oscar for "King Richard," in which he portrays Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams.

Smith got a standing ovation as he took the stage, after which he said as part of his acceptance speech that "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family." Smith also invoked God and said he's being called "to love people, and to protect people, and to be a river to my people."

The actor also issued an apology — but not to Rock.

"I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees," Smith said, adding that "art imitates life ... I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. Love will make you do crazy things. ... Thank you, I hope the Academy invites me back."

Far-left Democrat Ayanna Pressley tweets praise for Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at Oscars — then tweet is gone moments later



Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley tweeted praise for actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock onstage during the Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night, then apparently deleted the tweet moments later, Politico reported.

Smith slapped Rock after the comedian joked about the lack of hair on Jada Pinkett Smith's head. Pinkett Smith, Will Smith's wife, revealed in 2018 her diagnosis of alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss, NBC News reported.

Pressely, a Massachusetts politician, also has alopecia.

What did Pressley's tweet say?

"#Alopecia nation stand up! Thank you #WillSmith,” Pressley tweeted, according to NBC News. “Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives living with alopecia in the face of daily ignorance & insults.” The network reported that Pressley's tweet also said, “Women with baldies are for real men only … boys need not apply."

Just-deleted tweet from Rep. Ayanna Pressley #mapoli #Oscarspic.twitter.com/gGFlStTQ3D
— Grace Panetta (@Grace Panetta) 1648435754

Pressley — whose tweet included a photo of herself with her husband Conan Harris — apparently deleted the tweet shortly after posting it, Politico said.

Another Democrat — U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York — also tweeted what seemed to be support for Smith's slap before apparently scrubbing it from Twitter, NBC News said.

"Teachable Moment: Don't joke about a Black Woman's hair," the tweet read, according to the network.

Jamaal Bowman also briefly tweeted about Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock before deleting itpic.twitter.com/KLKXbI4o9E
— Ben Jacobs (@Ben Jacobs) 1648436039

Neither Pressley nor Bowman explained why their tweets were deleted, NBC News said, adding that requests for comment from their offices were not immediately returned.

Anything else?

After Smith slapped Rock, Smith turned around and walked back to his seat, sat down, and twice hollered at Rock, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"

Content warning: Profanity:

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rockpic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1648434735

Minutes later, Smith received a best actor Oscar for "King Richard," in which he portrays Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams.

Smith got a standing ovation as he took the stage, after which he said as part of his acceptance speech that "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family." Smith added that "I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world" and that he's "being called on in my life to love people, and to protect people, and to be a river to my people."

Smith added, "Now I know that to do what we do; you gotta be able to take abuse, you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you in this business; you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you. You’ve got to smile and pretend like that’s OK." Smith also thanked fellow actor Denzel Washington for telling him minutes before, "At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you."

The actor also issued an apology — but not to Rock.

"I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees," Smith said, adding that "art imitates life ... I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. Love will make you do crazy things. ... Thank you, I hope the Academy invites me back."

Oscars quickly unravel after best actor Will Smith rushes stage and slaps comedian Chris Rock in the face: 'Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!'



Actor Will Smith — who would go on to win best actor during Sunday night's 94th Academy Awards — slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face during the evening show after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife's alopecia diagnosis.

Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, shared an emotionally charged video earlier this month detailing her struggle with alopecia — an autoimmune disorder that results in sporadic hair loss.

What happened during the show?

Rock, while presenting an Oscar for best documentary feature, joked about Pinkett Smith's condition, quipping that the star looked like she was gearing up to play in a nonexistent sequel to "G.I. Jane" — a film in which actress Demi Moore shaves her head bald.

"Jada, I love ya," he said. "'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it."

Following the joke, Smith could be seen making a beeline for the stage and slapping Rock across the face.

A stunned Rock simply stood there as Smith exited the stage.

After a moment, the comedian composed himself and said, "Oh wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me."

Smith, by this time in his seat, then screamed at Rock, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"

Rock answered, "Wow, dude! It was a 'G.I. Jane' joke!"

Smith fired back once more, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"

Rock conceded and said, "I'm going to, OK?"

(Content warning: Rough language):

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rockpic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1648434735

Smith wins best actor — and addresses the slap in acceptance speech

Smith addressed the incident during his best actor acceptance speech for his role in "King Richard," in which he portrayed Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams.

The audience gave the emotional-looking Smith a standing ovation as he took the stage to accept his award.

He began his acceptance speech by saying, "Oh man. Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world."

"Making this film, I got to protect Aunjanue Ellis, who is one of the most strongest, most delicate people I’ve ever met," he continued. "I got to protect Saniyya [Sidney] and Demi [Singleton], the two actresses that played Venus and Serena [Williams]. I'm being called on in my life to love people, and to protect people, and to be a river to my people."

Smith added, "Now I know that to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse, you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you in this business, you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you. You’ve got to smile and pretend like that’s OK. But Richard Williams, and what I loved ... thank you, D. Denzel [Washington] said to me a few minutes ago, he said, 'At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.'"

"It’s like, I want to be a vessel for love," an openly weeping Smith continued. "I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena, I just hope they didn't see that on TV. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for trusting me with your story. That’s what I want to do — I want to be an ambassador for that kind of love and care and concern."

Image source: Twitter video screeenshot

He then went on to issue an apology to the Academy and to his fellow nominees — notably excluding Rock from the moment.

"I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees," he said. "This is a beautiful moment, and I'm not, I'm not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me, it’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people. Tim and Trevor and Zach and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue, and the entire cast and crew of 'King Richard,' and Venus and Serena, the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. Love will make you do crazy things. To my mother, this moment is really complicated for me, but to my mother, she didn't want to come out; she had her knitting friends. She has a knitting crew that she’s in Philly watching with. Being able to love and care for my mother, my family, my wife, I’m taking up too much time."

He concluded, "Thank you for this honor, thank you for moment. I thank you on behalf of Richard and Oracene [Williams] and the entire Williams family. Thank you, I hope the Academy invites me back. Thank you."

Here's Will Smith's tearful acceptance speech at the #Oscars. https://bit.ly/3JNjjaq\u00a0pic.twitter.com/Uq2krBbBld
— Variety (@Variety) 1648438100

What else is there to know about this?

The Academy issued a statement in reference to Smith's on-stage antics later that evening.

The statement read, "The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."

'The individual involved has declined to file a police report'

The Los Angeles Police Department also issued a statement on the matter, announcing that Rock had declined to press charges against Smith.

"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another," the statement read. "The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."

Official LAPD statement on the Will Smith x Chris Rock incident:\n\n"The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."pic.twitter.com/cgzD9UPUlF
— Tony \u2022 GMA (@Tony \u2022 GMA) 1648440824

A spotty history

During 2016's Academy Awards, Rock made another joke at the expense of Pinkett Smith, who at the time was boycotting the awards ceremony to protest what she said was a lack of racially and culturally diverse nominees.

"Jada got mad, said she’s not coming," Rock said at the time. "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited. You get mad. It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for ‘Wild Wild West.’"

Hot mic catches Fox News anchor's stunned response to guest criticizing media calling election for Joe Biden



A Fox News anchor was caught on a hot mic offering a stunned response to a guest who questioned the media calling the presidential election for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Anchor Sandra Smith appeared not to realize she was still on the screen as she mocked her guest on her morning show, "American's Newsroom."

"I think everybody wants to know that this was done properly and legally and we can trust the results," said attorney Cleta Mitchell.

"And I think we have to look into every one of these concerns. Remember, just because CNN says, or even Fox News says that somebody's president doesn't make them president," Mitchell said.

"What?" Smith asked.

"What is happening? Like, Trace, we've called it," she said, referring to co-anchor Trace Gallagher, who was interviewing Mitchell.

Video of the comment was circulated widely on social media:

Sandra Smith, off-air, reacts to her colleague Trace Gallagher indulging a nutjob who denies the outcome of the ele… https://t.co/Jr18tWdWMF
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke)1604933417.0

That version of the video garnered over 2 million views on Monday.

Mitchell later responded on her Twitter account to the condescending response by Smith.

"Sandra Smith thinks FoxNews calling the election means Biden is President," tweeted Mitchell.

Sandra Smith thinks FoxNews calling the election means Biden is President. Forget that pesky Constitution... happy… https://t.co/iRCMjeyLhE
— Cleta Mitchell (@Cleta Mitchell)1604963465.0

"Forget that pesky Constitution... happy to be considered a nut job because I believe in the rule of law," she concluded.

Critics used the video to further pummel Fox News for what many said was a premature call for Biden winning the state of Arizona. Many Trump supporters have sworn of the network in favor of other news outlets. Fox News has stood by its call on Arizona, according to veteran journalist Chris Wallace.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a speech on the Senate floor Monday that the president had every right to litigate his concerns of the election and that the corporate media had no constitutional authority to call the election.

Furious activist in 'BBQ Beer Freedom' T-shirt goes viral after crashing Nevada presser: 'Biden crime family is stealing the election'



Video of a man wearing a T-shirt reading "BBQ Beer Freedom" has gone viral after he gate-crashed a Nevada press conference on the presidential election.

What are the details?

According to Newsweek, a clearly irate blonde man can be seen appearing behind Nevada's Clark County registrar of voters, Joe Gloria, who was providing an update on the state's election.

The man, who remains unnamed at the time of this reporting, begins shouting that "the Biden crime family is stealing the election" and "the media is covering it up."

Wearing his mask around his chin, the man punctuates his words by punching the air and pointing and shouts "We want our freedom for the world, give us our freedom, Joe Biden! You know Biden is covering up this election — he's stealing it!"

Gloria, who is clearly shocked by the man's presence, says nothing, and the unnamed man simply walks away after making his points.

During the briefing, Gloria said that all in-person early voting and Election Day ballots have been counted. The state continues to count mail ballots that were postmarked by Nov. 3. He also pointed out that the state's final vote canvas would begin on Nov. 16.

The state's six electoral votes remain up in the air as officials continue to tally ballots from across the state.

At the time of this reporting, the video has been viewed more than 11 million times via just one Twitter account.

User Timothy Burke shared one of the videos, captioning it, "This is 60 million of your neighbors."

At the time of this reporting, the New York Times reports that 86 percent of the state's vote has been counted. The outlet notes that former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has received 588,252 votes and President Donald Trump has received 580,605 votes.

This is 60 million of your neighbors https://t.co/Pg8KH6pgiZ
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke)1604524554.0