Fox News’ host Mark Levin has been mocked for fawning over Donald Trump during a sit-down interview to promote the former president’s new $100 book.
In the interview which aired on Sunday night, Mr Levin showered Mr Trump in compliments, calling him “remarkable” and saying that talking to him is the “most impressive conversation I’ve had”.
“Let me just say this, Mr President. I’ve talked to a lot of important people: Supreme Court justices, presidents, presidential candidates, brilliant people,” he said.
“And talking with you is really the most impressive conversation I’ve had.”
He continued to gush: “Number one, there’s very few people who could sit there and speak the way you do from subject to subject to subject to subject. If people would let you speak and actually listen to you.
“While you have the enormous pressure on your shoulders of these grand juries and other things going on and you still are able to do it. That is absolutely remarkable.”
Mr Levin’s gushing over the former president was picked up on by viewers who roasted him on social media and questioned what company he normally keeps.
“How incredibly sad for Mark Levin. Who the hell does he hang out with? Nobody?” one person tweeted.
Another person agreed: “Apparently, Mark Levin doesn’t get out much and never speaks to intelligent people.”
Someone else chimed in: “The Fox News love affair continues. Watch Mark Levin kiss Trump’s a** until it’s raw.”
Mr Trump sat down with the Fox News host to promote his new book “Letters to Trump” – a collection of private letters sent to him by world leaders and famous figures, including a letter from King Charles which is set to be published without Buckingham Palace’s permission.
The letter was sent to Mr Trump in 1995 thanking him for giving him an honorary membership to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, The Daily Telegraph reports.
During the interview airing on Sunday, Mr Trump accused China of what he called “the rape of America”, saying he was “very close to” President Xi Jinping – but got “one of the best trade deals” out of him.
“I was stopping the rampage. It was the rape of America … that’s what it was,” he said.
He also went on to compare his own impeachment and ongoing legal battles to Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, claiming that Mr Nixon is just like him – only without the support of “great Jim Jordan”.
“I’ll never forget: when that happened, we had such great support. Nixon had no support. You know, he just didn’t have support,” he said.
“He was very, very tough with people. I get along with people. I mean, I have great Jim Jordan and all these congressmen are great. They’re really incredible people.”
He continued: “Nixon didn’t get along with the people in Congress. He didn’t get along with the senators. But the fact is, we have some great people in the Republican Party, but I get along with them, and they stuck together.”
The interview comes as Mr Trump’s civil rape trial is about to begin this week in New York.
Magazine columnist E Jean Carroll has claimed that Mr Trump raped her in the dressing toom of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the 1990s.
Jury selection begins on Tuesday in the case.