- Sean Hannity insulted Joe Biden in a text message to Mark Meadows after the 2020 election.
- "Biden is a semi conscious corpse," Hannity texted on December 12, 2020, according to a CNN report.
- Hannity also amplified Trump's false election fraud claims.
Following President Donald Trump's election loss, Fox News host Sean Hannity privately vented to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about election fraud claims and insulted then-President-elect Joe Biden.
In a text message sent to Meadows on December 12, 2020 — over a month after the election — Hannity expressed his support for Trump and disdain for Biden, and repeated conspiracy theories that the election was rigged.
"I truly feel sorry for our friend. He's never had a days peace. On the other side of this, he's exposed a very dark side of the swamp that's far worse than I ever imagined and I am not particularly optimistic for the future," Hannity said of Trump to Meadows, according to a text message CNN published on Friday.
"Biden is a semi conscious corpse, and he will be controlled by a very radical left wing element," the Fox News anchor continued.
Hannity then claimed that Trump "beat the deep state twice" but the "country has foundational corruption that likely can never be fixed."
"The ramifications of this are incalculable. Nobody will dare take this on again. That means we will no longer be the America we once thought we were. By the time the public wakes up to this it will be too far gone. I've lost all confidence in our institutional strength," he added.
Hannity exchanged a total of 82 text messages with Meadows between November 3, 2020 and January 20, 2021, according to CNN. The news outlet obtained 2,319 messages that Meadows has turned over to the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.
The texts reveal Hannity's thinking in the weeks after Trump's defeat and how the Fox News host fiercely stood by the president and his election claims, despite there being no evidence to support them. Fox News, along with every other major network, had announced Biden as the winner on November 7, 2020.
A Fox News spokesperson did not respond to Insider's request for comment.