After previously claiming the “market doesn't mean anything to me,” Hannity attacks Obama with Dow

Written by Lily Yan

Published

After previously denying that the market is a proper “indicator” of President Obama's performance handling the economy, Sean Hannity stated that “as the president's job approval rating crumbles, well, the Dow has been on the rise.”

On the July 27 edition of his Fox News show, Sean Hannity linked “President Obama's approval rating,” which he said “has dropped 7 points in the last month,” to “the Dow Jones industrial average,” which he noted is “now back over the 9,000 mark.” However, as Media Matters for America has noted, Hannity repeatedly blamed Obama for stock losses in March, at one point referring to "Obama's bear market." But when Hannity was confronted on May 1 with the fact that the Dow Jones industrial average had surpassed its level on Inauguration Day, he denied that the market is a proper “indicator” of Obama's performance handling the economy and stated: “The market doesn't mean anything to me.”

On July 27, Hannity said: "[T]here's some bad news for President Obama tonight and some good news for Wall Street." After displaying a graph mapping the Dow and Obama's approval rating, Hannity asserted, “Now you can see that as the president's job approval rating crumbles, well, the Dow has been on the rise. Is it just a coincidence? We'll let you be the judge.”

Discussing Obama's performance on the economy during the May 1 edition of Fox News' Hannity, Fox Business Network anchor Alexis Glick said, "[L]ook at the market in the 100 days. Yes, we went to 12-year lows in early March, but we have re-climbed back to where we were before he was inaugurated." Hannity responded: “The market doesn't mean anything to me. ... Alexis, you're the first person to tell people don't look at the market unless you're in it for five or 10 years, right? All right, so we're not looking at the market.” Hannity then added: “But this is the indicator that I'm looking at. The Congressional Budget Office says we're going to have $10 trillion in debt.”

On March 6, Hannity stated: “And our headline this Friday night: Welcome to Day Number 46 of 'Obama's Bear Market.' Now, that's what some news organizations are calling it tonight as the Dow Jones industrial average actually finished up about 30 points today at the end of a disastrous week.”

From the July 27 edition of Fox News' Hannity:

HANNITY: Well, there's some bad news for President Obama tonight and some good news for Wall Street. First, the bad news: A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows President Obama's approval rating has dropped 7 points in the last month. But despite America's crisis in confidence with their president, there continues to be some good news on Wall Street with the Dow Jones industrial average now back over the 9,000 mark.

And take a look when we put those lines on the same graph. Now you can see that as the president's job approval rating crumbles, well, the Dow has been on the rise. Is it just a coincidence? We'll let you be the judge.